Why rewetting a dry wash changes the pigment itself

Rewetting is often described as reactivation, as if adding water simply returns paint to its original state. But a dry wash has already gone through a process. Pigment particles have settled. Binder has fixed them in place. The surface has reached a kind of equilibrium.

When water is introduced again, that equilibrium shifts.

During drying, different pigment particles settle at different depths within the paper. Some embed themselves deeper into the fibers. Others remain closer to the surface. Binder distribution is uneven. Gravity has already acted once.

When the wash is rewetted, those particles do not lift or move equally. Some respond immediately. Others resist. Some shift slightly. Others remain anchored. The internal structure of the wash changes.

This is why rewetted areas rarely look the same as they did before. Granulating pigments may separate differently. Flat areas may develop unexpected texture. Edges soften unevenly. The surface becomes layered, even if only one color was used.

Rewetting is not a reset. It is a second interaction layered onto the first.

Understanding this alters how corrections are approached. Going back into a dry wash is not undoing something. It is modifying a settled structure. What emerges is not failure, but history becoming visible.

Once this is understood, rewetting becomes less frustrating. It is no longer expected to restore, only to respond.