Just the term "negative painting" has always confused me. When my art instructors would start talking about the negative space and positive space in a painting, my eyes would glaze over.
I didn't understand.
Why? Because I was making a relatively easy concept much harder than it had to be.
What is Negative Painting?
It's just the process of painting around your subject to make it stand out in your composition. When you paint the actual subject, that's positive painting, When you paint around the subject, that negative painting.
Since white or opaque paint isn't generally used to paint subjects with watercolor, we save the white/light subjects by painting around them. This is negative painting.
For example: If you want white clouds in the sky, you paint the blue sky around them leaving the white of the paper as your clouds. You defined your clouds by painting around them-negative painting.
Three general tips when negative painting
1. Use semi-transparent or transparent paint when using the negative painting technique.
2. Use light colors and layer slowly. If you go dark too quickly, you risk losing the depth you're trying to achieve.
3. Paint each layer in steps with only 1-2 shapes saved in each layer. Let each layer dry completely before moving to the next one.
I've also created a free guide for you to print out and have handy while you paint. It also contains a step by step demo different from this video in this blog. A little extra bonus practice. Just click here to download it:
