Controlling Wet on Wet Watercolor
Wet on wet usage of watercolor is one of
the reasons many artists prefer not to use these medium. If not handled right
the edges will be lost or if allowed to dry will get hard edges not to mention
the backwashes. This is the way to control wet on wet and achieve nice diffused
edges that will still hold the silhouette of your image.
Step 1.
Wet the area thoroughly.
Step 2. Lay the paper flat and wait 5 minutes.
Step 3. Load your brush with pigment. With a
damp cloth, suck out the excess water where the bristles meet the metal part
of the brush.
Easy clean up
Oils have gotten a bad reputation for
being messy, actually it would be the artist who is messy, but there is an easy
way to clean up after your masterpiece. Use Kitchen wipes! They sell them in
plastic cylinders at any supermarket. You can remove all paint from your skin
and clothes. Better yet, they make a great oil painting eraser. You can erase
mistakes almost restoring the blank canvas with just a few wipes. The reason why
these work so well is because they contain chemicals that break down the cooking
fat. Likewise oil paints contain vegetable oils so they have the same result.
The best brand is Kirkland from Costco but the other brands works well too.
Visualize your
painting first
If you buy canvases at your local art
store chances are they already are wrapped in plastic. You can use a magic
marker and draw the main masses on that wrapping before doing it on the bare
canvas.
Quick easy way to
erase watercolor mistakes
The easiest and yet so obvious way to
erase unwanted mistakes in watercolor and yet it took me years to figure it out.
All you need to do is spray the area over a sink or tub with a hair spray bottle
filled with clear water and voila! You will have removed most of it. The residue
that remains is just a subtle color that when painted over it won't be noticed.
Creating impasto
textures in oil
I have always put down oil paintings that
are painted too thinly. They look like giclee prints. If you want your oil
paintings to have body you can either prepare your canvas first with acrylic
molding paste. The other way is to use quick drying white. This starts to become
quite thick as it sits on your palette. It is a great way to add texture to
rocks, trees, etc. You can combine both techniques into one for even more
texture.
Please submit any tips you may have
at:
mail@cyberartlearning.com
