Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth and
Ireland), also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A
watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the
paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble
vehicle. The traditional and most common support for watercolor
paintings is paper; other supports include papyrus, bark papers,
plastics, vellum or leather, fabric, wood, and canvas.
Watercolors are usually transparent, and appear luminous because
the pigments are laid down in a relatively pure form with few
fillers obscuring the pigment colors. Watercolor can also be
made opaque by adding Chinese white. In East Asia, watercolor
painting with inks is referred to as brush painting or scroll
painting. In Chinese, Korean, and Japanese painting it has been
the dominant medium, often in monochrome black or browns. India,
Ethiopia and other countries also have long traditions.
Fingerpainting with watercolor paints originated in China.
Although watercolor painting is extreme