watercolour painting

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Method of painting with pigments mixed with water, known in China as early as the 3rd century. Watercolour is usually diluted to the point where it is translucent and applied to paper in broad areas known as washes. White paper is often left exposed to create highlights, and washes are applied over one another to achieve gradations of tone. The use of watercolour requires great skill since its transparency rules out overpainting. A fast-drying and portable medium, watercolours have become popular for sketching out-of-doors. The use of watercolour in Western art began in England in the 18th century with the work of Paul Sandby and was initially developed by Thomas Girtin, John Sell Cotman, and J M W Turner.

Raoul Dufy, Paul Cézanne, and John Marin are among those Western artists who excelled in watercolour painting. Others include William Blake, J R Cozens, Peter de Wint, John Constable, David Cox, John Singer Sargent, Philip Wilson Steer, Paul Signac, Emil Nolde, Paul Klee, and Paul Nash.

Although often coloured yellow, the island is intended to be copper, reflecting the country's name, ‘Copper Island’. Effective date: c. September 1960. >>