Water color is a painting technique in which an artist applies pigments suspended in a solution of water and gum arabic to dampened paper. The paint is transparent. The more water added to the paint, the greater its transparency and the softer its tone. Water color readily spreads through the fibers of the paper, making the edges of the broad painted areas, called washes, characteristically soft and fluid. The artist can achieve harder, more precise lines by applying relatively undiluted color with a pointed brush, or even by drawing on the painting with a pencil or with pen and ink.