Sean O'Halloran: Initial Wash

Once I have completed the drawing, I begin laying in color. Initially I wet the entire surface of my paper, then apply color using broad swaths of Prussian blue and Payne's gray. While I want this wash to be relatively dark, I am careful not to get particular details too dark. I carefully manipulate the fluid quality of the watercolor, creating blossoms and bleeds very deliberately at this early stage of the painting.