Repetitive Shape Watercolor

This exercise teaches design, color unity, and watercolor wash techniques.
Draw a medium size freeform shape on drawing paper. Turn your paper 180 degrees and repeat a similar shape next to the first. Continue until you fill most of the paper.

1. Choose three colors that you think look good together. Mix enough of one of the colors in a thin watery mixture to fill about 1/3 of the shapes.
2. Tilt the paper at a steep angle and load your brush. Avoid getting too close to the edges of the shape when applying a wash. Point the brush upward toward the top of the shape and contact the paper as the brush moves to the side. Gravity will form a bead at the bottom of the color. Pull the bead down by holding the point of the brush under the bead and moving to the side.
3. Lay the paper flat, and finish edges of the shape with less paint in brush. If there is too much paint in the shape, squeeze the paint out of the brush over your resource pool and pick up the excess paint using the dry brush like a sponge. Always point the brush toward the edge of shape so your eye can see the point as it moves along the edge of the shape; turn the paper as needed. Don’t be concerned if the colors are not completely even. Skip to another shape using the same color and repeat the wash process. Don’t work next to a wet color but distribute the colors across the paper filling about 1/3 of the shapes. Leave spaces between these shapes of the first color (about 1/3)  after of the shapes are filled with color (about 1/3) you will start over at the first shape and apply a second wash over all the shapes in the first color group.. After you fill about 1/3 of the shapes, start over at the first shape and add a second wash over all the shapes; this will make the colors much more even. If you want even more color intensity, add a third or fourth wash over all the shapes.
4. Mix a watery puddle of the second color and repeat the process, avoiding other wet colors.