The Accessories
Here are some accessories that can be the key to a successful watercolor. Many artists appreciate them so much that they almost no longer use brushes... They allow you to create EFFECTS: textures, graphic elements, etc.
Masking Fluid
Long criticized, masking fluid, a mixture of latex and ammonia, is used to waterproof small areas of the paper. Protected by a thin film, at the end of the work, these areas will be uncovered by light rubbing and will reveal the white of the paper thus preserved. On cellulose papers like Le Rouge by Moulin du Coq®, it should not be overused. You can dilute it slightly with water before use by preparing it in a small container. Apply it only in fine lines or very small spots, or in splatters with a toothbrush.
"Masking fluid is applied to dry paper, with a silicone brush, a twig, the handle of a brush, or a plastic knife, never by dipping your watercolor brush into it; it would not come out unscathed! Let it dry. Paint. Let it dry again. Remove with an eraser or with your finger. The part protected by the latex will have remained white."
< Careful, do not leave the masking fluid on your watercolor for more than two or three days: the latex would become embedded in the fibers of the paper and you would no longer be able to remove it! >
Masking fluid, before and after.
The Toothbrush
It is also used to create splatters. It is very useful for projecting droplets of white or masking fluid and thus isolating small scattered white dots, especially for snowy effects. It can be used on both dry and wet surfaces. After loading the toothbrush with liquid color, you rub it with your finger to project droplets.
You get the same kind of result by tapping a brush on a pencil to project droplets. Or with a blowpipe.
The Sponge
Plunged in water, thoroughly wrung out, then dipped in colors, the sponge will make imprints on dry paper evoking rather everything that is plant-like. It should not be overused. Remember to turn it in all directions if you do not want to reproduce the same pattern a thousand times!
Some painters sometimes paint directly with a sponge, for example Anet Duncan or Jean-François Contremoulin.
The Magic Eraser
When wet, it allows you to soften the edges and tone down excessively harsh spots on dry paper. It also allows you to depigment certain areas of the paper. It is often used between two plastic masks forming a stencil to make the white sails of boats, for example.
Salt
Salt is deposited on fresh matte paper. Let the salt absorb the pigment, and remove it by sweeping it away with your hand only when everything has dried, but without waiting: otherwise it becomes embedded. This creates small stars (fine salt well dispersed) or small starry clusters (coarse salt or fine salt deposited in tighter grains).
Spray Bottles
Finding the right spray bottle is sometimes complicated. You can find them in supermarkets, in the gardening section. You can also reuse medicine or cosmetics sprays, thoroughly rinsed. Its jet must be as regular as possible, and its droplets, without being tiny, must be quite close together. Avoid spray bottles that make large, unpredictable drops.
To test it, try it on your windows! The spraying distance as well as the specific pressure you apply to the trigger will be the secrets to unlock before any use on watercolor paper.
Spraying on dry paper allows you to create water paths to imitate vegetation, trees, but also textures like fur, etc. Then, you deposit a wash of color in the network thus formed (see Titi the hedgehog).
When you spray on matte paper over a dark color, you obtain thin openings in the form of small paper-white dots, useful for a snowy effect for example, or for a background (a bit like salt).
On dry paper (and preferably over a first layer of dark color), spray and dab with a cloth: small white dots form where the water drops fell.
Crumpled Plastic Wrap
Like salt, it will be placed on your watercolor while it is still quite wet. Wait about fifteen minutes so that the marbling effects are fixed enough to remain visible even if you lift the plastic. Cling film (food wrap) is most commonly used. Let it dry naturally, if possible under a weight.
After drying, the marbling effects are fixed, you can gently lift the plastic.
Rollers, Stamps, Absorbent Paper...
Today's watercolorists are often very fond of effects and "tricks" of all kinds. In the past, using a fingernail to trace a boat's rigging was considered by the public as the height of audacity!
You can obtain imprint effects with rolled-up paper towels, with printing rollers used on wet surfaces, or by coating an ink stamp with watercolor to make all kinds of imprints on watercolor paper (some cats know this very well!).
Keep your old bank and loyalty cards; you can cleverly use them to draw lines and to scrape into the paste deposited on a wet surface. Card scrapings (dipped by the edge into the color wash) are used in particular to imitate bark patterns or rock textures. The painting knife can also provide various services (see Paste).
The Additives
They are mostly thinners and fluidifiers. They are added to washes (they will repel the colors) or mixed beforehand with the color (they will tone it down). Try turpentine and alcohol, or ox gall, as splatters or mixed with watercolor.
- Ultramarine Blue + Magenta + Phthalo Green + Turpentine
- Ultramarine Blue + Magenta + Phthalo Green + White Vinegar
- Ultramarine Blue + Magenta + Phthalo Green + Ox Gall
