Exercises: Writing "Aqua"
By writing the word "Aqua" with different brushes, and according to several methods, you will easily be able to see the effects obtained depending on the dosages. Change the sheet for each exercise.
Dry paper, medium wash brush, wash in the palette
Mix the pigment with the wet brush, well-soaked with Winsor blue: it becomes a WASH (jus). Remember to load your brush with enough water and pigment so you don't have to reload it along the way!
Dry paper, medium wash brush, wash in the palette, blending
This time, proceed letter by letter, blending them as you go, so that the first deposit is still wet: adjust the skirt with the wash brush, wring it out by pressing it three times, then place it at the edge of the blue. Thanks to the water contained in the brush, more or less blended scalloped effects are formed.
As the brush empties, rubbing effects appear. On the other hand, where there is a lot of water, a small halo is created. The halo always forms where the water meets the pigment that is starting to dry.
Damp paper, beveled synthetic brush, sticky cream in the palette
"Wet the entire sheet with the large wash brush. Empty the excess water by tilting the block. Lay the block flat again. Write 'Aqua'; the pigment spreads. You get blurred edges without the need to blend. To familiarize yourself with the beveled brush, try turning it to create thick and thin lines, that is to say, making it wider or finer depending on whether your hand goes up or down."
Wet paper, beveled synthetic brush, sticky cream in the palette
Perform the previous exercise, paint "Aqua," then tilt the block on which you are painting. The color slides gently into the moisture of the paper. You will decide when to straighten the paper in order to stop the phenomenon. Let it dry flat.
Careful, sometimes the glue surrounding the block forms a ridge that obstructs the flow of water. Do not hesitate to remove a little bit of it, so that the water can flow freely when you empty the excess.
Zoom on the ravines.
Wet paper, total blue wash, removed with a beveled synthetic brush, on dried paper
Moisten the paper everywhere with the large wash brush and cover it with a flat wash of Winsor blue—that is to say, smoothly and without nuances.
To uniformly moisten a paper stretched on a block, crisscross your brushstrokes. On the first pass, go horizontally; on the second pass, vertically; then, make diagonal passes starting from all four sides. If you notice that by tilting the paper, a drop forms at the bottom of the block, empty the excess water.
Wait until the paper has dried, or dry it with a heat gun or a hairdryer. Make the skirt with the beveled brush and pass the tip of the brush as often as necessary without rubbing to write "Aqua."
This way of removing pigment is called DEPIGMENTING. You must never rub! It is the water contained in the brush that pushes the pigment away—even dry—and successive passes absorb the color. The brush deposits water and, thus emptied, absorbs the color.
I often compare the belly of the brush to a vacuum cleaner bag: when it is full of water it cannot pump, but when the water has been deposited, there is room to pump up the pigment to be removed. If the brush is not primed with water, it does not work. You can depigment on dry paper or on damp matte paper. This operation is often more delicate on cotton paper.
Wet paper, total blue wash, removed with a beveled synthetic brush, on matte paper
Proceed as for the previous exercise, but this time do not wait for the paper to dry; let it become slightly less shiny, that is to say, matte.
If you cannot remove it, if the color closes back in, it is too early. Wait a little.
If the forming halos seem too wide to you, empty the brush between your fingers and pump up the excess water you deposited earlier. Removing from a wet surface must create openings, not tidal waves! Writing is a good way to set a limit to the size of the opening you need to obtain.
Also try with the wrung-out wash brush. You will see that it works too, and depending on the person, it is sometimes easier!
Zoom on the light scallops.
