Watercolor Applied with H2O from a Jar

That darker edge around a shape is the watercolor effect I've tried over and over––unsuccessfully––to get on the computer. It's called "pooling."

It was exciting and scary when Cricket gave me the set of watercolors and the brushes. Today when I was in my studio all alone, I decided to see if I could achieve this "pooling" effect.

I googled "watercolor pooling." Imagine my surprise when I found out pooling is considered a problem by most watercolorists! I read:

Solve the problem by reducing the amount of paint you put down at one time. Work with a drier brush, wiping it on a dry cloth before you pick up new paint. Pull some of the water out of your brush before you put it to the paper ... Don't add extra water to paint already down on the paper.

So I did exactly the opposite and am terrifically excited with the results.