What is glazing?

Glazing is the layering of repeated, thin applications of transparent color to alter either the saturation of a color in an area or altering a color itself - warming it up, cooling it down, or graying it.

Good glazing pigments are transparent and nongranular.

It is possible to glaze many layers - all that matters is that the paint is transparent, applied in a diluted wash, and dried thoroughly in between.

The same color can be glazed again and again, but each time, the mixture should be stronger - otherwise the color will not change or darken and will only look chalky rather than luminous. For maximum saturation, apply many layers of a color. Note that many thin layers will remain more transparent than a single application of a mixture dark enough to match.

Watercolor paper can only handle so many layers. I’ll be creating a paper test on this soon.

Quick tips to achieve a successful glaze:

To gray or mute colors glaze with the complement of a color, or an analogous color to the compliment. If you are glazing over several colors, try to find the color that links them. For example, yellow links blue and green, so glaze with the complement of that color (violet) to mute them.