Creating granulation with watercolour

1. Granulation medium

For artists looking to introduce textured effects, Winsor & Newton Granulation Medium is an excellent option. This medium gives a mottled appearance to colours that would normally have a smooth wash. It is useful for all watercolour techniques, including landscapes, seascapes, and figurative work.

• Tip: For maximum effect, dilute watercolours with the medium alone. By diluting the colour further with water, a variety of results can be achieved. Granulation Medium is resoluble simply by re-wetting.

Watch how to use granulation medium in our video below.

2. Choosing the right paper

The texture of your paper significantly influences granulation. Rough-surfaced papers accentuate granulated effects, as the pigment settles into the crevices of the paper. Cotman Watercolour Paper Pads are particularly well-suited for granulating techniques.

• Paper selection guide:
  • Maximum granulation: Rough texture papers
  • Moderate granulation: Medium texture papers

3. Using granulating colours

Some watercolour pigments naturally granulate, while others need to be enhanced with Granulation Medium. To test a colour’s granulation potential:

1. Wet the paper.
2. Apply the pigment.
3. Gently rock the paper to allow the pigment to settle.

Creating additional texture effects

Beyond Granulation Medium, you can introduce texture using household items or other watercolour techniques

• Table salt: Sprinkle on wet paint to create subtle speckled effects. The salt absorbs water and leaves pigment to settle naturally.
• Rock salt: Produces more pronounced, textured effects.
• Masking fluid: Flicked from a brush and dried, it preserves areas of the paper, creating sharp shapes and starry textures when overlaid with a wash.

These methods, combined with Granulation Medium, offer endless possibilities for adding dimension and interest to your watercolour work.

Brush techniques for texture

• How you use your brush can add texture. If you work in a ‘dry brush’ technique, using less water, to leave more pigmented, scratchy marks.

Texture and Aquapasto Mediums:

• Texture Medium: This medium introduces fine particles that create a tactile, textured surface, adding depth and structure to your watercolour paintings. It can be applied directly to paper or mixed with watercolour to build layered effects, giving your washes a naturally rough, dimensional appearance.
• Aquapasto Medium: A translucent gel that increases the viscosity of watercolour and gouache, Aquapasto allows you to thicken your paint for a raised, impasto-like effect. It adds plasticity and body to your colour, enabling expressive, sculptural brushstrokes.