How to: Watercolor Rainbows
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A palette is a must if you are using tube watercolors.Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
Organize your supplies. Choose a good quality paper, around140 lbs.; the higher the weight the less the paper will warp when it gets wet. The colors of the rainbow are; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. One way to remember this is to remember the name ROY G. BIV. Fill the jar with water and moisten the brushes. If you are using watercolors from a tube, place a blob of each color on a palette. - 2). Place the paper on a flat surface. To begin with, practice on blank paper. When you are happy with the results, paint the background picture and when it is dry, paint a white line where you want the rainbow to be.
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Always soften the brush bristles in water before you begin painting.Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
Dip the wet (not dripping) paint brush into the red paint and paint a thin layer of red at the top of the rainbow. Clean the brush and repeat the procedure with the yellow paint. You will note that the next color in a rainbow after red is orange. However, overlap the red and yellow and you will create a layer of orange where the red and yellow mix together. This overlapping method also ensures soft, smudgy lines instead of sharp layers of color. - 4). Clean the brush again, and paint a thin layer of blue underneath the yellow. Remember to overlap the blue with the yellow, to create a green line of color. Clean the brush and repeat the procedure again with a thin layer of violet, overlapping the violet with the blue to create an indigo color.
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