Finishing touches on Masa paper: Using pastels and watercolor pencils

 

PASTELS AND PENCIL to add details:

After you have painted as much as you can, and the painting has been mounted and dry, you can darken or lighten areas with paint, pastels, or watercolor pencil.

Here's a little show and tell from class. Each project was so unique and beautiful.

My petunias before enhanced with pastels and after:

            I used some watercolor pencils and inktense pencils to darken the flower centers and make some dark greens in negative spaces. I added a little pastel to some of the flowers, and dragged a dark pastel across the shadow of the pot. I added some light green pastel to some of the leaves that had gotten too dark. I also darkened some of the wood grain with some pastel.

Carol L.

Carol's cropped a bit to make it more interesting. I think she used some

pastels in some of the yellow and dark areas and some pencil between petals.

Meg: That table looks like it has the sun shining on it.

Lydia freehanded all of this. She has some pastel to enhance the flowers, I think. WC pencil in the darks to create some hard edges. 

Judy's woodpecker.

Jackie's panda. Used white pastel around the face to make it furry. Dark pencil for the eyes and mouth, with some white gel pen for highlight in the eyes. Some pastel black on some of the fur.

Barb: most of these vibrant colors are in watercolor with some ink outlining. Mostly used a bit of pastel to add some orange to the petals and to add white specks in the centers.

Sylvia's background blends so well with the foreground. It reminds me of antique parchment.

Cathi's has a bit of pen and ink added after it was mounted and dried.

Robby's lemon's are so fun, they pracically painted themselves. She didn't need

any more enhancement at all.

Sara negative painted some darks around the flowers and leaves to balance out the dark in the foreground. There is some blue pastel over the dark and brown areas. I like how the dark moves you through the picture now.

Pam's parrot only needed a few minor touches. She used some pastel to lighten the wood stump and give it texture. Black WC pencil on the beak, and a few dark touches to the legs and body. 

Carol S just got started, but it looks good already. I'll post the finished one when she finishes it.

I still need Francis' deer, Shirley's hummingbird, and Vicki's sunflowers, hopefully next week.

More Masa Paper

 MASA PAPER PETUNIAS

I have several blogs on Masa Paper.

You can start it two different ways. Whatever way you choose, mark the back of the paper - the shiny side - with a small ink X so you don't get confused when it is wet.

You can draw your picture onto the paper before you wrinkle it. The advantage to this is that it is much easier to use a light box on the flat paper. You can draw it with heavy pencil or micron pen.

OR

You can wrinkle the paper first. Then soak it in clear water for a few seconds. Lay the wet paper on an absorbent surface (I use a puppy pad). Then with a large brush, randomly add colors to your paper and let them run together. Then dry it completely. The advantage to this is that you come up with a random, unplanned design to begin your painting.

Some people like to glue the paper to a surface before painting. I prefer to do as much painting as I can before glueing, because I get more of the wrinkle effect. 

On this painting of PETUNIAS, I started with drawing the flowers first, then created a random design on the wet paper using yellows, magenta, and some blues (cerulean) all over. I dried it completely before going to the next step.

Here you can barely see the drawing.

Then I began to paint the large shapes around the flowers. First the pot, using a combination of French ultramarine and neutral tint. I used a size 12 round or 3/4" flat, painting a little dry so that the brush doesn't scrub the paper, and leaves texture. I dried the pot and painted in the basic color for the table, still using a large brush on dry paper to pick up the texture of the paper.

I painted in a mixture of greens (using French ultramarine, quin gold, and yellow.) outlining the flowers.

I will go in with darker green later to negative paint some leaves.

I've filled in the centers with purple and painted pink shadows in the flowers. Darkened the cracks in the wood, and added darker green shadows. Almost ready to adhere it to a backing.

Glueing onto a board gives me a little more control over the paint.

I use either YES paste or heavy mat gel for the glue. Apply it about 3" at a time to the paper or board, and start gluing the masa paper down. The glue can dry quickly, so you want to get the paper onto it before it dries. Put some wax paper on top. Use a roller to press it down. Some people like to leave some wrinkles, but if you want it flat, you'll need to roll it with a breyer. 

GRISAILLE/BRUNAILLE/VERDAILLE etc.

PAINTING A GRISAILLE

A grisaille is generally a term that means "gray." You are painting a gray...or brown or other color...underpainting, concentrating on the values first. This is most often associated with oil paintings. The gray underpainting is done first; when dry, a glaze of color is added. 

You can still do this process with watercolor, but you have to be careful about a few things. Watercolors tend to "move" when you glaze a color over them. So for the base colors, you have to choose a very

STAINING color. Notorious stainers are: Aureolin Yellow, Quin gold, (any quinacridones), Alizarin Crimson, Pthalo Blue and Pthalo Green, Indigo, and my new discovery Permanent Brown.

I enjoy doing pictures this way because I'm not worrying about what color to add. I'm just focused on getting the values right.

The first thing I did was get a reference from Reference Photos for Artists on Facebook.

I uploaded it into my Notanizer and changed it to 3 values so I could see the changes more clearly.

3 value version of reference

Reference photo: by Andrea Ludman 9/30/23

I started out with a sketch on cold press paper

I began "sculpting" the shading using Permanent Brown. First in light layers,

then increasing the values in layers.

When I was happy with the values, I dried it completely. This is essential if you don't want the layers to move. Then I began glazing other colors over the pots.I used quin gold and transparent pyrrol orange for the large pot; turquoise for the far pot; an alizarin crimson for the red pot. You may have to paint more than one glaze of color to get the effect you want.

Remember, you are painting over the entire pot, shading and all. 

In class we tried different colors for the base layers to see what different effects it has.

TRANSPARENT STAINING COLORS

STAINING colors get into the fibers of your paper and grab on. It's very hard to lift or loosen them, like getting a wine stain on a white tablecloth. 

These are applied in layers, though. The reason for this is: As you apply a layer you are giving the paint time to really stain the paper. A thick layer of any paint will reconstitute, just as it does in your palette.

If you do not use a STAINING color for the base, it can move and muddy any color you put on top.

Below is a YouTube about different ways to shade in watercolor. She uses wet into wet, but it's good to see how many ways you can accomplish the same thing.

youtube by Erika Lancaster on 4 ways to 'shade"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfkL6BmegQY

I've been looking for a YouTube about how to shade basic shapes. This is a drawing tutorial (about 9 min) but worth looking at if you are having trouble knowing where to shade a form. You can practice using your watercolors to create these simple gradations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMr6eimcolc

We also prepped paper for the masa paper project. There are quite a few demos of masa paper on my blog, but I think this one has good directions on it.

https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8812132386157895665/3528868140791947027

Practicing with Glazing

 

For class I created a handout.

It included the 4 Golden Rules of Glazing:

1. Bone Dry Base Layer.

       The underlying layer must be 100% dry. If it is warm or damp to the touch, any new paint will activate and bleed into the bottom layer, creating unwanted mud. Use a hair dryer if needed.

2. One Pass & a Light Touch

     Apply the glaze with a single, gentle stroke. Avoid scrubbing or going back over a wet area. Water and friction lift dried paint underneath, disrupting the smooth layer.

3. Use soft, high-capacity brushes

     Hard bristles scratch into the dry first glaze

4. Transparent pigments only. Glazing relies on transparency. Opaque or semi-opaque can leave a chalky film that hides underlying layers.

Short list of transparent colors:

Blues: Pthalo blue, Indanthrone, cobalt, Prussian

Yellows: Hansaw light, aureolin, Azo

Reds: quin rose, permanent rose, alizarin crimson

Greens/purples: pthalo green, swap, dioxazine violet

earth: quin gold, burnt sienna

Glazing Practice

The first practice was with a flat brush. Choose a warm and cool of each primary. (I used Hansa yellow and new gamboge, permanent rose and coral, cobalt and cerulean.) You can choose other colors in addition.

Make a watery mix of each color on your palette.

Use the flat brush to make a stripe of each color going vertically. (in first glazes, the paint is thin.) I try to label my colors.

Dry completely. This is very important. Not drying your layers will cause muddy colors and fuzzy edges.

Use the same colors in the same order for horizontal stripes. Voila! An instant visual color mixing chart.

You will notice a few things. 1. Glazing over the same colors increases its value. 2. Whether you glaze blue over red or red over blue makes a difference. In this chart I've circled the blue over yellow on the bottom and the yellow over the blue on the top. 3. The colors often look more vibrant and interesting than if you had just mixed it on your palette.

Here is a small glazing chart with secondary colors. I used transparent pyrrol orange, lime green, sap green, violet and yellow.

SECOND PRACTICE

Draw three 3-dimensional objects on a piece of watercolor paper. I chose apples because at the time I felt pretty unimaginative, and apples sounded about right.

Paint the far left object with an underpainting of yellow, leaving a white highlight where the light might hit. For the second one, paint only the shaded part of the object WITH THE COMPLEMENT OF THE FINISHED COLOR. In other words, if I want a green apple, paint the shadows red. If I want a blue apple, paint the shadows orange. If I want a yellow apple, paint the shadows purple.

*At this point, I need to point out that you don't want a hard edge on these shadows. The easiest way to have a soft edge is to wet the area first. Apply the paint where the shadow will be darkest, and then encourage the paint toward the lighter part of the shadow. You should end up with a soft edge on the light part of the shadow.

For the right apple, paint it with a light value of whatever you want it to end up. I want a red apple (see, not too imaginative), so my first layer will be very light red.

So here is my evil plan.

I want you to see the glow you can get from underpainting with the yellow.

I want you (On shape 2) to see that using an opposite creates great shading.

On shape 3, I want you to notice that some colors by themselves can't create enough value change to make an object appear 3D.

I want you to notice that without at least 3 value changes, object appear to be flat.

On shape 1, begin applying another color over the yellow. Each time, leave a little of the previous value showing, drying between each value change.

One shape 2, begin applying the main color. I used a red shadow, so I'm going to start applying green. My first layer will be light. I'll leave some of the light green, then use a slightly darker green. Finally, I will leave some of the green, and make a dark green. Each time paint over the shadow.

On shape 3, I will keep adding the same color, making the layers darker each time. It is important that you LEAVE the lighter values each time.

Here is a second layer. I increased the yellow with quin gold, leaving the lighter side of the apple with the original yellow showing. For the green apple, I put a light green over everything, leaving a lightlight. For the third apple, I left a section of the first layer of light red showing where it is lightest, making it slightly darker on the shadow side. BUT NOT VERY DARK YET> They are starting to show some volume, but need at least one more value.

NOTICE: My edges are SOFT and gradual.

A third layer. The one with the yellow undertone is looking pretty sunlit and vibrant.

the middle one has a darker layer of green and notice how the red shadow is looking more like a shadow. The one on the right is having its value increased, leaving some of the previous values, keeping the edges soft. Needs another value, I think. 

Here's where I can't get much darker with the red so I have to add blue or purple to increase the value on the third apple.

And a little on the bottom of the first apple....

And now for my magic transparent pyrrol orange trick:

I was OK with the dark purplish red, but wanted to show

what an overglaze can do.

Trouble shooting:

*Problem: The bottom layer melted or bled. Bottom layer was still damp, or brush stroke was too heavy.

*Problem: The color looks dull and chalky. An opaque or semi-opaque pitment was used for the overglaze.

*Problem: Hard edges formed around the glaze. Paint was applied too thick or dried unevenly. Soften edges quicky with damp, clean brush before the edge sets.

Waxing off Batik & Making Corrections

 REMOVING WAX FROM BATIK

You need to look at the blog from Nov. 21, 2024 to see instructions for removing the wax from your batik.

https://dearingcampbell.blogspot.com/2024/11/   

If the link doesn't work, just go to the blog sidebar, find November, 2024, and it should come up for you. In this blog, it recommends FREEZING after your final wax. We did not do that in class this time because the paper was a bit brittle, and I didn't want it to completely fall apart. But normally, I freeze it for 5 minutes to get some good crevices. 

After you get all the wax off, you can glue the picture to a piece of watercolor paper (don't need an expensive brand). You can use just Elmer's if you don't care if your piece is archival. I usually will use YES paste, matte medium gel, or something more permanent, since I either show or sell mine.

When it is completely dry, you can use other mediums to "fix" problems in the painting.

USING THE RICE PAPER

If there is a place that is too dark, you can tear pieces of the rice paper to patch it using some matte medium to glue it over the piece. I save scraps from the edges where I cut it down, and use them for patches. You can cut or tear out pieces of the white rice paper to form clouds or other shapes.

If your paper has torn, you can repair it by gluing similarly colored rice paper right over the hole.

On this picture of the light house, I tore out some white paper for clouds. Also, I tore a small piece of blue to lighten one of the edges at the top of the lighthouse, which had gotten darker than I wanted. 

On the picture of the koi, I cut out white fish shapes and added to the painting. 

WATERCOLORS

Once your painting is adhered to paper, it should take watercolor, and you should have some more control over the edges. Before trying adjustments with other media, try the watercolor first, especially if painting over a light area.

INKTENSE STICKS AND PENCILS

Inktense pencils (made by Derwent) are like watercolor pencils, but more intense. You can sometimes cover a dark area with them, even adding some white. The sticks allow you to cover a larger space quickly, while the pencils can be used on smaller spaces.

PASTELS

Since the paper has so much texture, you can often rub the side of pastel sticks over it to create texture, or to break up a dull area.  You can also try oil pastel sticks. I've never used them, but that doesn't mean you can't.

PEN & INK

For adding very dark fine lines, you can use brown or black ink using a dip pen, or the glass dip pens. You can also use fine permanent pens. 

POSCA PENS

I like to use these acrylic pens for trouble spots, especially if small, like putting in a mouth, or adding a white highlight to the eyes. Posca pens can be used light over a dark area. The drawback to these is that they have a very opaque look, and might alter the transparent look of the watercolor, so use sparinghly.

In this picture of the turtle, you can see I used acrylic pens around the eyes and mouth and cheeks. They are noticably more opaque. 

GOUACHE

I have also used gouache to add some needed color or white. Again, these are more opaque, so I used sparingly.

WHITE GEL PEN

These are for very fine white markings.

METALLIC PAINTS

These are fun for giving areas an extra pop. 

Watercolor Wax Batik-Beginning turtle

 Watercolor Wax Batik

Before starting any picture, make a "map" of when you will put wax on what space.

Just make a small copy of your drawing.  (about 5 inches) Use colored pencils or markers. I use white to indicate my first wax, which will end up as white. Yellow indicates what I will mask second, and will be my lightest value after white. Green might be my 3rd wax, and red a 4th wax, and so on. With this simple picture there are only 4.

Trace your full size picture with pencil onto the rice paper. No light box needed: the rice paper is pretty transparent. Make sure you can see your pencil marks. As you go along, you might need to redraw your pencil marks, as the water and paint disintegrate the pencil.

Prepare your wax. Melt it at about 140 degrees....you do not want a high temp.

Lay your rice paper drawing over the WAXY side of BUTCHER PAPER. This keeps the wax from sticking to your paper and protects your surface.

Wax off the parts you want WHITE.

Turn your wax paper to the PAPERY side. That is to absorb the paint. Now paint everything a light value. If you want a certain area a certain color, you can paint it that, but what matters is that any and all colors you paint are a very light value. (or up to the lightest value that you want to keep)

Dry. (I use a box fan) Don't lift the wet rice paper off the butcher paper until it is dry. I use the under paper to carry it to the box fan or place to dry. It is very fragile when wet. 

Turn your butcher paper to the waxy side. Next wax off everything you want to keep the lightest value. Here I waxed off the head, flippers, and part of the shell, leaving the eyes unwaxed and anything that will be darker. Flip to your paper side. Then I painted up to the second value. You can put in the colors you want but it's more fun to just paint values.

Now that the flippers are the value I want, I wax those and part of the that I want to stay that value. I also SPATTER some more) Then I paint everything the next values.

I wax off everything that I want to keep--the sections on the shell, and paint again, the next values up.

Now I have all my value. I wax over everything.

When the wax cools, I crackle it. Brush the excess crumbs away. Then with black paint (Or other dark color) I brush with a stiff brush into the cracks. You can pick and choose to cover a lot, a little or not at all.

I glued a white sheet of paper and carefully glued the picture to the white paper. Any rips in the rice paper can easily be covered over with scraps or can just become part of the picture.

(If I'm doing a picture for framing or selling, I use YES GLUE or mat gel. But just for fun, you can use Elmers. It's just not archival.)

Once the paper is dry, you can make repairs, corrections and changes because it is no longer so fragile. I try to use watercolor first to not alter the look. But you can use white gel pen, posca pen, inktense, watercolor pencils, etc.

See other blogs: 

May 27 & June 3 of 2021July 1, 2022

Nov 14& 21 of 2024