Masking Fluid
Water colorists depend on the white of the paper for any whites in the painting.
This is why I began this series of lessons with preserving the white of the paper.
Not all, but many artists rely on things like masking fluid to protect the whites. Masking fluid comes in several forms, but most are latex based. They are applied, dried, then painted and removed to reveal the saved whites.
I found this very good article that explains most of the points of applying masking:
https://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/how-to/watercolour/9-tips-for-working-with-masking-fluid/
Jackie Hernandez
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKgcnlRnqhA
Here is a wonderful printable guide from Jackie Hernandez.
Another method for preserving whites is wax. You can rub the side of a white crayon or wax over the surface of the paper, and it leaves a sparkle effect which some use to show light on the ocean.
One method which is not mentioned much is using gum Arabic for soft whites, such as a moon, sun, or clouds.( Gum Arabic is one of the main ingredients in your paint. It is usually the binder for watercolors. So you do not need a special designated brush to apply it) You paint the gum Arabic on the area you wish to save, dry it completely, then paint over it lightly. Over-painting or scrubbing will erase it. Once the paint is dry, you go over the area with water on your brush, then dab it off with a tissue.
Some people use contact paper to protect areas they want to keep white. But this article is mostly about mediums, so I will just include a link about using contact paper.
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8812132386157895665/317577037081853522
We began by taking small - 4x6 or 5x7 -- rectangles of paper and doing an example of each method. I keep a collection of these cards to remind myself what each medium will do. Left side is practicing with mask; right top is gum Arabic.
In a short project to practice these methods, we drew some mountains on a horizon. Cover the mountains with masking. Apply gum Arabic over clouds and sun, let it dry. You can rub some of the foreground with wax.
When masking was dry, I used my finger to rub some of it off to create a bit of texture.
After everything is dry, make a wash for the sky. (for a sunset, wet the sky, start at the top with cobalt blue, then magenta, then yellow, and allow them to blend)
When the sky is dry, use a damp brush to gently remove and blot the gum Arabic, leaving some soft clouds.
clouds before removing gum arabic
after removing gum arabic--note soft edges on clouds and sun
Final painting after painting in foreground grass and stream, and removing masking fluid.
You can remove masking with the sticky side of tape, your finger, or a rubber cement eraser made especially for this. Regular erasers are useless for this.
There are some way to retrieve any whites that have been lost, either through damaged paper or over painting. One of them is Bleed Proof White. It is a lot like gouache, but you can paint over it after it is dry. For larger areas, you can use watercolor ground, which can cover large mistakes. For tiny details, you can use a white gel pen, white ink, or Posca pens (which are acrylic ink.)
The purpose of this series of blogs is to try different mediums and see if they are useful. It is not to make people go out and purchase a lot of stuff they probably don't need, but to prevent that. To weed out what you will really use on your watercolor journey.
When it comes to masking fluid, though, I do use it often enough to suggest that people have some, but to use it intelligently. It's easy and cheap to keep a little wax or contact paper in my kit. As for gum Arabic, I have some, but I don't use it often because I don't really do a lot of cloudy skies, and there are other ways to create that effect if I choose. Gum Arabic is also used to reconstitute dried up paint, create special effects, or to make your own paint with dry pigment.
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