AQUARELL

WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUE

/For beginners and advanced levels/

A popular decorative technique of our time, watercolor painting offers a higher level of artistic expression compared to acrylic painting, yet it is an easier technique where you truly learn to handle paints and brushes. Unleash your imagination, and for the delight of your guests, discover a side of yourself you may not have dreamed of before.

The course is ideally a 2-day session. On the first day, you'll practice basic watercolor techniques, brush handling, and color mixing. The second day focuses on painting more complex patterns, occasionally using watercolor paper. By the end of the course, you'll gain solid knowledge, beautiful certificates, and with your immediately applicable skills, you can expand your range of services.

For watercolor painting, I use synthetic brushes, but other instructors may prefer natural hair brushes for their techniques. In my courses and instructional videos, I specifically address this.

COMPETENCIES ACQUIRED DURING THE TRAINING

(suitability, knowledge, skill, expertise)

• Understanding necessary materials, their sources, and health protection.
• Familiarity with essential tools, their correct usage during work, and post-work. 
• Basic knowledge of color mixing.
• Background painting and additional decorative possibilities.
• Proper brush handling, necessary movements.
• Correct amount of material, error correction options.
• Presentation and placement of motifs on tips and nails.
• Sequence of motif details (curing times).
• Presentation of additional decorative options, protecting and covering the pattern.
• Marketing, pricing.

NECESSARY MATERIALS, TOOLS

The material for watercolor painting is water-based watercolor paint. This type can be rehydrated with water after drying, so it requires careful use. The best paints are highly pigmented; Mijello or Schminke watercolors are most suitable for creating easy, quick, and visually stunning decorations. However, there are many high-quality paints available nowadays.

The quality of our work is not only determined by the paint's quality but also by the brushes we use. I prefer synthetic brushes for my work, and I'll explain why. The technique results in a delicate, subtle, feminine work that requires learning to guide and wash the paint. A circular washing motion is needed, where the first 2-3 millimeters of the brush hair lie on the tip or nail surface, experiencing continuous friction. This is where natural hair may face challenges. Natural hair behaves like our own hair. If we rub it too much and too hard with a towel after washing, the hair strands can be damaged, dried out, and break. In this task, in my technique, synthetic hair triumphs. WHY? Because synthetic hair blends perfectly with water, and it is not as sensitive and fragile as natural hair. In contrast, for natural hair brushes, very good quality is essential, which is often challenging to find in the market. Because I work with very little water and very little relatively dry paint, for two reasons. One is that a high level of skill is required for too watery techniques to ensure that pigments are placed precisely. The other is that I want to avoid problems with drying time thanks to the watery technique since we need to cover the work with a gel to protect it from smudging. So, in the end, the real reason I prefer synthetic brushes is that they endure the "strain" better. Of course, I also paint with a more watery technique, then I prefer natural, short-haired brushes.

I also need to mention surface preparation. If we're working on tips, they should be white. The pattern is beautifully visible on white, and no additional preparation is needed except for buffing the painting surface with a high-quality buffer. The painting surface should not be touched by hand from this point on because it needs to be clean, dry, free of grease, and dust-free for the paint to adhere properly. Therefore, it's not advisable to use a well-used buffer, as it no longer mattes but polishes.

My recommended tools are:

• KKSP Aquarell 3 – for color washing
• KKSP Nail Art 3/3 – for color washing
• KKSP Superliner – for fine line painting
• KKSP Gel Liner – if you want to finish the pattern with contouring
• High-quality buffer
• KKSP Shine & Go or matte top coat

A great thing about this technique is that our brushes are not at risk of paint drying in them, as watercolor can be rehydrated after drying. However, it is essential to wipe our brushes carefully. Never on a kitchen towel. Rather, on a soft tissue or napkin, wipe the brush dry with a pulling-twisting motion so that the tip ends up dry in one spot. This ensures a long life for our brush, which is in our best interest as it helps us save money, and we don't have to keep buying new brushes.

After painting the pattern, the surface needs to be sealed. I use traditional, glossy-curing gels without any issues for years. I've heard many problems over the past decade about watercolor not being a safe technique because the gel's surface breaks, and water seeping through hairline cracks washes away the pattern underneath. Well, if we buy cheaper gels, unfortunately, their quality may be questionable, and they can easily crack or simply not curing well in the lamp. But it's also possible that we painted the pattern with too much water, and it didn't have time to dry before applying the gel. If we follow the instructions, these problems will not arise, and we can enjoy the aesthetic experience provided by our delicate, feminine technique.

SOME ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION

• Work with an extremely small amount of paint (max. 2 mm on the brush tip).
• If you want a mixed color, use the KKSP Aquarell 3 brush with added water, and let it dry (but not completely) before use.
• Our brush is never wet, always just damp.
• Have 1-2 drops of water next to the paint for continuous, minimal moisture maintenance. • Always "stab" the water drop first, then pick up the color.
• Only pick up enough or rather just the right amount of color on the brush to run out after highlighting a detail.
• Paint in a circular or right-left sweeping motion. • The brush is mostly at a 45-degree angle to the surface.
• If you want to paint a thin line, use well-moistened paint.
• Paint thin lines with a vertical brush movement. • "less is sometimes more" - the principle always works.
• For drawing the pattern on the tip or nail, you can also use watercolor pencils, which are also water-soluble, so they can be erased if you don't want thicker lines in the end.
• The drawing should always be very faint.
• You can paint with watercolor on gel, porcelain, or even gel polish, as long as the background is light enough and matte!
• Mandatory to cover with a glossy gel.

A mandatory school degree is not necessary for the course; professional qualifications (nail care, artificial nail building) are beneficial, and practical experience with the technique is not required, as the training starts from the basics. No prior knowledge is required, but basic hand skills and the 3-finger pencil grip can be a good starting point.

At the end of the traditional live course, students receive a printed Aquarell Certificate, while participants in online trainings get pdf certificates.