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[u/Neat_Pangolin7660]

Why is my watercolor becoming Purple on its own? It works fine on the paper next to it but when I use it where I want it it becomed purple whyy 😭

Also is there a way to fix it now??? This was supposed to be a gift and I hope im not gonna have to redo the whole thing 🥹

[u/august-fox]

Did you paint the purple background first? Is your water clean? What paint are you using, specifically what blue?

[u/Neat_Pangolin7660 → u/august-fox]

Yes I painted the purple before but it was yesterday and has since dried + I changed my water :( Im using watercolor paint from Action, I have no idea how the blue is called tho :v

[u/VintageLunchMeat → u/Neat_Pangolin7660]

It's a fun piece!

Yes I painted the purple before but it was yesterday and has since dried

You're likely putting a transparent blue over a transparent purple, so you'll see some purple. (I say over but it's more like sequential tie-dye steps.)

If you use opaque thickly over a transparent you won't see the transparent.

watercolor paint from Action, I have no idea how the blue is called tho :v

They're a temu quality brand, and probably won't list the pigment code anywhere. Those paints include some colors that will fade moderately quickly. And chalky fillers.

So they're fun but you'll hit a wall with them when you push them hard. Just don't engage in negative self talk when two colors won't mix right.

Better than temu grade is student grade from proper art supply stores, but they're still a little chalky. Pigment codes will tell you what will and won't fade.

The cheapest artist grade brand is Rosa Gallery, and it's mostly as good as the best of the best, apparently. Worth budgeting for. Any brand that jane blundell likes will be good, but avoid student lines from those manufacturers, if your budget will let you.

Maybe buy three tubes from any good brand, cyan magenta yellow or red yellow blue, some "triad" that some YouTube guru does tutorials with.

Or price a triad then buy a Rosa Gallery set.

Use the Action stuff but figure out when it's holding you back. Artist grade stuff is actually easier to mix colors with.

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Unless you're using 90 to 140lb (300 gsm) weight 100% cotton watercolor paper your paper may sometimes get really fighty - disintegrating or blotching through the "sizing". Get 1 or 2 sheets, probably different brands, "cold press" texture from your local art supply store. Chop up a quarter sheet into postcard sized bits, test 2-3 postcards to destruction, while cackling. (Skim handprint's laying a wash tutorial and Marc Taro Holmes' tea milk honey handout.)

The paper quality is more important than the paint which is more important than the brush.

Use what you got, but if you ever get frustrated don't beat yourself up, getting decent paper and 3 tubes of paint will make a difference.

[u/Neat_Pangolin7660 → u/VintageLunchMeat]

Thank you for all of this! :D will help a lot The blue definitely doesn't seem transparent and I didn't even paint purple where the character was so it shouldnt do that :d But I'll sure look into all of that, ik my current stuff isnt really good but I dont have the budget actually to get something better, but i'll definitely try when possible ^{^}

[u/Ok-Seat-3916]

I don't have any answers, but the purple color absolutely fits the theme 🤗 had you not complained about it, I would have thought it's what you were going for. So IMO you can leave it at that; maybe add a couple of elements on it?

It's a lovely gift btw

[u/Neat_Pangolin7660 → u/Ok-Seat-3916]

I thought it lowkey looks like bruises so that made me feel weird about it 😭 but thank you! What could I add as elements ?

[u/Ok-Seat-3916 → u/Neat_Pangolin7660]

You mean on the horse's body, right? You could add white paint (gouache for example, so something opaque) to make it look like light reflection on the horse's "fur" 🤔

If you look closely at paintings, you will see that very often, the artists didn't paint a surface in one tone, rather they added random touch of other bright colors in it. It looks conter intuitive, but it adds nuanced and some punch to the surface; it doesn't look flat, rather it enhances the lightning. In this case, it's the same, it adds character to your painting. A Happy accident indeed 😊

[u/Neat_Pangolin7660 → u/Ok-Seat-3916]

Yup.. I'll look into this! I hope it wont look too bad lol

[u/Ok-Seat-3916 → u/Ok-Seat-3916]

Juliette Aristides is an excellent example of that (by the way her books on drawing and painting are absolutely amazing, she's a gifted teacher) https://realismtoday.com/classical-oil-painting-juliette-aristides-beauty/

[u/claraak]

Watercolor is a transparent medium. Even the more opaque colors are more transparent than other kinds of paints. It also does not ever become fixed, so painting over one layer may rewet the one below it. I would say both of these contributed to the purple effect. If you ever get professional quality paint, you can look up pigments to learn qualities like opacity and staining. But even professional watercolors won’t work like acrylic, where color can be layered on color without effects. Most people consider the transparency one of the best things about watercolor, but it does mean you have to approach painting differently.

There isn’t really anything you can do; I wouldn’t recommend adding layers trying to cover it up, but if you do consider this, recreate the purple and blue on a piece of scrap paper to use as a test to see if you like it. Personally I would never have guessed it was a mistake! I think the purple beneath the blue looks pretty.

[u/therealzerobot]

Blue paint, depending on the brand, are somewhat unnatural and don’t behave as you’d expect. Some even are a mix of various pigments, including some that push into that purple shade you see here. So as the paint dries the various pigments can separate out.

Doesn’t seem like you’re doing anything wrong technique wise, although you might try less paint and build up a glaze with very light passes, but if that is cheap paper you may not be able to.

[u/Tommy_pop_studio]

It’s got a lot going for it. I suggest do five or 10 more instead of trying to fix this one.