Finishing Touches

 Finishing touches to the pour

Here is what the painting looked like after I removed all the masking fluid and the contact paper.

I was really pleased with the way the contact paper responded on this hot press paper. Very little of the color was accidentally lifted, as it often is with masking fluid, and the paint bled just a little under the edges to give it a realistic, not too hard edged, feel.

So here are some things you can do to improve your pour. (Sometimes you don't need to do a thing)

#1: For edges that seem too light or hard, you can just brush lightly over the area with water, and let the loosened paint flow over those edges. (Like in some of the hexagons in the background.)

#2: Soften edges with a lifting brush to push them more in the background. Or use the lifting brush to lighten an area, such as the leaf below. When that was dry, I also darkened the area behind the leaf to make it stand out better.

#3: Paint over an area to make the paint brighter, suh as the yellow and pink added to this leaf.

#4: Paint some shadows into the veins of the leaves to make it more realistic. Also in the picture above.

#5: Paint some small soft edges into glaring whites, so they don't look so flat. (see the white flowers)

Before and after:

Hot Press Paper

Below is a description of hot press paper. I wanted to use it on this project because the colors will stain the paper a bit more, and there is less paint seaping through tape and contact paper. The edges are very crisp., and the colors a bit more vibrant. Floral painters often use it, and it's amazing for pen and wash...the surface is much easier on pens.

I usually use cold press for every day because it is such a workhorse, and it takes any kind of technique I want to try. 

Hot press watercolor paper is a smooth, hot-rolled surface with no tooth, allowing for precise, detailed work, vibrant colors, and easy lifting. Ideal for illustration, calligraphy, and mixed media (ink/pencil), it dries slower and keeps pigments on the surface, requiring careful blending. It is best used for high-detail, graphic, or scanned, digital-ready artwork. 

Key Characteristics & Best Uses:

• Surface: Extremely smooth (similar to Bristol paper or hot-pressed cotton).
• Painting Behavior: Water and pigments sit on top, resulting in brighter, more intense colors.
• Best For: Detailed illustrations, pen and ink, technical, and high-detail botanical art.
• Techniques: Excellent for lifting color, creating hard edges, and dry brush techniques.
• Considerations: Difficult for beginners to achieve smooth, large washes without streaks. 

Using a color wheel

Here is a video on using a color wheel that is really helpful. It outlines what it is, how to use it to find a color scheme, how to use it to mix color.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfKx7MjSEK0

Sweet Potato leaves in a Pour

 More About Pouring--a demo

I decided to use the same photo of sweet potato leaves for this pour as I used for the negative painting. This would give a fair comparison of the two methods. (Also I've had a crazy week and didn't have time to look for something new.)

I redrew the picture. This time I used HOT PRESS paper for several reasons. I have heard that the smooth texture makes the masking have fewer gaps. (because of the bumpy texture of cold press.) I also wanted to experiment with contact paper to see if it masks better without the bumps.

Here is the drawing with the first masking.

The colors I chose for the first pour are Pthalo blue, Hansa Yellow medium, and Quinacridone Rose, which is a cooler red. I tried to use more staining colors so they wouldn't tend to lift as much when the masking is removed. I used very little blue in this first pour.

Tape the paper down. Wet the paper. Tilt the board toe mix the colors on the paper. Remember to wipe excess off the taped borders. This is so you don't get back-runs.

Second masking and pouring. I wanted to experiment with contact paper (usually I'd use clear contact paper, but this is all I could find...see the black and white leaf?) You can also experiment with tape, but some tapes don't handle more than 1 pour. Then I wet the paper and poured a second time, using the same colors as before with a bit more blue.

Third mask: I masked in four leaves and a few hexagon shapes in the background.

The third pour: I still wet everything, still used the same colors.

Fourth mask

Fourth pour. This time I changed colors to only blue and red. The blue is indanthrene, which is a very dark blue.

Now comes the hard part: WAITING. It has to be completely dry to remove the masking.

Next week I'll show how to make adjustments to your pour.

5 things to remember for a successful pour:

1. Use good paper, 100% cotton, either hot press or cold press.

2. tape/staple your paper down to a board so you can move it around and it doesn't curl up on you while your are working on it. Very small projects can just be taped.

3. Your first layers should be staining or quinacridone colors. Sedimentary and earthy colors lift more under the masking. However, feel free to experiment. I haven't tried it with some of the primateks.

4. BE PATIENT. Let the masking completely dry. Let the pour completely dry between masking.

5. You can use only 2 colors in a pour if you choose not to use 3. More than 3  at a time can lead to mud very quickly.  You can also re-do a pour after it is dry if color is not what you want or not where you want it.

What to Know before starting a "pour"

Today we worked some more on finishing the negative paintings.

It's a matter of building up the background layer by layer, darkening the values with each new layer.

Here are the steps I took to finish the sweet potato vine:

On some of the leaves, I created some veins, negative painting on each side of the veins.

Some of the flowers needed to stand out more because the original background was too dark. I used Bleed Proof White to give it a boost. 

I made a few enhancements, adding some color on leaves that looked dull, adding some color to the grasses. I completed creating some hexagon shapes in the background to unify the painting. I think I am going to call it finished. 

Here are just a few of the negative paintings the class created:

And one more Sarah is doing for a competition:

UNDERSTANDING POURING

This was our practice to understand pouring.

Basic supplies:

masking fluid and brush dedicated for masking

(I also showed how to used contact paper or tape for some masking)

100% cotton 140 pound paper

a board to attach paper to

3 primary colors in tubes (quinacridones, pthalo, reds, Hansa yellows, are good for the first pour)

3 small containers for mixing (Dixie cup, yogurt cup, etc)

large brush for wetting the surface

pad to absorb dripping paint

cup or container for draining off excess paint

Prepare 3 small jars of primary colors. Put a little tube paint in a container, such as a yogurt cup or bathroom sized Dixie cup, and add a little water to completely dilute it. Test the diluted paint on a piece of paper to be sure it is the right value. If it's too dark, add a bit of water; if too thin, add a bit of paint.

I use a  dog training pad to absorb the mess as I go along.

First make a copy of your drawing and create a "map" for masking. (Just on some drawing paper) Copy it onto your watercolor paper also. Mark the 1's first, to indicate that those shapes remain white; then mark #2's next, for your 2nd masking; mark #3's next, to indicate what will be the last masking.

Draw the simple picture on watercolor paper. Then mask off those shapes you want to keep white and are #1 on your map.

When the masking is dry, wet the entire paper and pour your colors. POUR YELLOW

first, because yellow has the least TINTING STRENGTH. In fast, yellow mixes will need less water in them for pouring. You can tilt the paper back and forth to get a good blend. When the colors look good to you, lay the painting flat and let it dry naturally, no blow dryer. (IT will glue the masking fluid to your painting if you dry it on hight)

Mask off your #2's; let the masking dry; then pour your next layer, increasing the amount of paint to water in your mixes.

After it is dry, mask off shapes with #3 on them. Dry the mask, then do a third pour,

this time with the paint darker.

When dry, remove all the masking fluid. You'll note that some of the first layers are not as colorful as they were at first. The masking fluid can remove some of the paint.

That is a good reason to use STAINING colors for the first pours.

Any quinacridones, Pthalos, Hansa Yellow, Anthraquinoid Red, Alizarin Crimson, are all good colors to start a pour with.

Here is a site that walks you through the pouring technique. It's a document with step by step photos.

https://americanwatercolor.net/pouring-transparent-watercolor/

Following is a series of  5 videos with steps for doing a pour.

How to make a board for stretching watercolor paper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PCb_wO0Goc&t=58s

Tools needed from pouring

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjkJecNAg2g

Art of pouring part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEbaUaDlB68&t=26s

Part 3: mixing paint for a pour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5UALDMLJNo

the art of pouring part 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEeIiOttQPA&t=1124s

the art of pouring part 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEbaUaDlB68&t=26s

This one shows the method of wetting the back of wc paper and keeping it flat on plexiglass like I showed in class.

how to keep paper flat without stretching

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJdmF8nyeDg

Sweet Potato Leaves and Valentine Hearts

 

Last week we made backgrounds. Mine was just with plastic wrap and some salt, using 3 colors: lemon yellow, magenta, and cobalt blue. When it was dry, I drew on the leaves from my reference photo above.

In the picture below, you can see on the right, where I have begun to paint negatively around the leaves that are my main focus. I am trying to keep my color clean and fresh at this point, and only enough of a value change that I can see my picture clearly, and my leaves come into focus. I generally wet an area, apply a color, in this case cobalt, and drop in other colors such as magenta or yellow. I am not trying for a flat, uniform color at this point.

(I did use masking fluid to mask out some of the flowers, since they were so small, I was afraid I'd lose them. I also used a pen nib to mask tiny lines to the leaves.)

After this first round, I drew in some other details--a few more leaves, some stems, etc.

You tend to lose some of the details as you paint, so I generally add them after each time I paint a value.

Below I'm beginning my second value, still wetting a section, then dropping in color, as long

as I can tell a value change. I also painted the purple centers of the flowers.

Here is the painting after my second round of negative painting.

Remember that negative painting is painting what is NOT the positive image.

So, in this painting, part of a leaf underneath a leaf could be part of the negative

space. So here you can see that I've painting shadows behind some of the leaves.

(I made it dark near the edge, then faded the color out)

(I usually save this step for the end, but I didn't want to forget to mention it)

With a very dark, I am painting behind the stems and also creating a hexagon pattern

that I hope will serve to unify the painting.

Valentine painting for a stained glass look. 

I've drawn this valentine pattern onto a paper that I've done a background texture on. (This particular texture was done by drizzling and spattering masking fluid, drying it, and then adding color wet into wet.

Since my pattern is quite busy and colorful, I chose a dark purple to fill in the spaces between the hearts.

Here is the finished version. If you want to create a negative space around

the outside of the heart, you can wet the area and drop in color. Or you can choose to simply outline it.

For those who want to do the trees, here is the tutorial from Louise DeMasi that I was talking about.

I hope that helps you. She's very good at explaining. I did mine long before she posted this, but it's pretty helpful.

https://www.louisedemasi.com/tips/2023/6/23/watercolour-negative-painting-tutorial?srsltid=AfmBOoq2gkzkTUpfkp1w6_JGJdxEFbZmNAvREwd_0KuUmRgKJ217JQWU

Negative Painting - Again

Negative painting in its simplest form:

To do a simple demonstration/exercise to understand negative painting, we drew some simple shapes on white paper, just a few. (The lower picture) Then we painted around those shapes with a light value. (White shapes were painted around with pink)(You can vary the colors, but the value is light here). When dry, we added a few more shapes, overlapping some of them. Then we painted around all the shapes with the second value. This top picture shows more pink shapes added, and then painted around with blue. 

More hearts were added, then everything was painted around with a darker value blue

.

Finally, more shapes added, then everything painted around with dark blue and purple.

There is a similar exercise in my blog of Nov 1, 2018

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8812132386157895665/2455209220739325711

We also made a background for next week's process, a negative painting over a background with texture.

You make that by wetting your paper, then randomly add color, keeping it fairly pale. You can cover it with plastic wrap, bubble wrap, wax paper, or other texture making materials.You can salt it, score it with the edge of a credit card or comb. Just make some texture on it. Leave any plastic wrap on it until it is dry completely. Save it for next week.

Here are some previous blogs on negative painting:

Trees:  https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8812132386157895665/8804002223729928397

Peaches--part negative/part positive: https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8812132386157895665/1859509093000056145

Lily: https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8812132386157895665/633548238412726277

Here is a good YouTube describing the process, by Elaine Rimmelin. I chose this one out of many because I wanted you to see how she used several colors, not just one color for each layer; that the emphasis is on increasing the VALUE of each layer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iynw_WaVdQs&list=PLi6GQwdqc7fqtIPe3H8Ovu-Ml1OK1Ed00&index=2