What we’re making:
Playful stacks of overlapping watercolour shapes using the wet-on-wet technique — where wet paint is added onto wet paper to create soft blends and unexpected colour mingling. It’s relaxing, expressive, and no two stacks will ever be the same!

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🧰 You’ll Need:

• Watercolour paper (ideally cold press or textured)

• A water jar

• A palette with watercolours (pan or tube). A soft watercolour brush (e.g. size 6–10 round)

• Paper towel

 

🧪 Before You Start: Wet-on-Wet Explained

Wet-on-wet means that you’re painting onto wet paper or wet paint, allowing the colours to flow, bloom, and blend together freely. It’s unpredictable and magical — perfect for loosening up.

 

🖌 Step-by-Step Instructions

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1. Set up your space

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Lay out your paints, fill your water jar, and tear or cut your paper into strips (or use a full sheet if you prefer). You’ll be creating 3–4 vertical stacks of shapes.

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2. Lightly sketch your shape stacks (optional)

If you’d like some structure, very gently draw a line of circles or blobs down the paper in pencil. Think of a stack of bubbles or pebbles — not too uniform.

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3. Choose your colours

Pick a few colours to start with — 3 or 4 is plenty. You can change as you go. Mix up puddles of watery paint in your palette.  

• For the examples above, I had lemon yellow, alizarin crimson, purple, pthalo blue and ultra marine blue.  But you can use whatever you fancy.
   

4. Paint your first shape

• Load your brush with clean water.

• Paint a circle or blobby shape at the top of the stack using just water.

• Then, while it’s still wet, drop in your first colour.

• Gently tilt the paper if you want the paint to flow around.
   

5. Add more shapes down the stack

• Once the first shape is done (it can still be damp), paint a water shape below it.

• Drop in a new colour or a blend of two.

• Let the edges touch the shape above — the colours might bleed beautifully into each other.
   

6. Play with size and colour

• Try smaller circles, oval shapes, or larger blobs.

• Switch to a new colour if it feels fun.

• Let shapes merge a little or keep some gaps — totally your choice.
   

7. Let the paint do its thing

Watch the colours move and mix. Don’t fuss or try to control it too much. The best bits often happen when you step back and let the water take over.
 

8. Add little extras (optional)

• Try a few tiny dots or splashes at the end.

• You could use a clean, damp brush to soften edges or lift colour.

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9. Let it dry flat

Lay your painting flat and let it air dry naturally. Avoid hairdryers — they can blow the paint around too much.

 

🧠 Top Tips for Enjoying the Process:

• Don’t worry about perfect shapes — this is all about colour and flow.

• If a colour gets muddy, try letting it dry and layering a brighter colour over.

• If it feels overwhelming, do one shape at a time and take breaks.

 

💬 Final Thoughts

This exercise is as much about how it feels as how it looks. It’s a gentle, mindful way to explore colour, loosen up, and play. There’s no right or wrong — just colourful experimentation.

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