Watercolour

Transparent paint made from powdered pigment bound with gum Arabic and thinned with water in use. The term usually refers to a type of painting where the paint has been applied in washes onto specially prepared white or light coloured paper. It is the light reflecting back from the paper through the colour that gives watercolour its special luminous quality. More generally the term can be used to describe any paint mixed with a medium soluble in water.