http://www.painters-online.co.uk artistMarch 2020 65
PRACTICAL
fluid consistency of paint or ink. It is
also great for applying masking fluid
as it can be wiped clean; a good tip is
to dip roughly the top ¼in of the pen
in the liquid and, holding it with the
thumb and forefinger, turn the pen
on its side to draw so that the liquid
remains in continuous contact with the
paper. Other tools that I used in this
painting are a size 12 round brush with
a good point, a 2in flat brush and a strip
of plastic card. You could also blow it
with a straw, dribble it, draw or flick with
the end of a paintbrush, try applying it
with a stick, quill, palette knife, pipette
or spatter it with a toothbrush!
The secret of drawing freely with
masking fluid is that it needs to be fresh
and of a very runny consistency, similar
TIP It’s important that you dry each layer
of painting thoroughly, inishing of with
a hairdryer, before moving on!p STAGE TWO
I prepared washes of phthalo turquoise, phthalo turquoise mixed with
quinacridone magenta and quinacridone gold mixed with phthalo turquoise,
making them a thin, milky consistency, on a plate. I gave the distant ir trees
a light spray from a water sprayer and, while the droplets were on the surface
of the paper, dipped the long edge of a palette knife into the cool blue and
drew the ir-tree shapes, making vertical and then side-to-side movements at
downwards angles. I varied the colour, moving to purples as I worked across
the painting.
With a size 12 round watercolour brush and alternating with the water
sprayer, I used the tip of the brush to draw branches into the water droplets
and then bring the trunks straight down to the horizon line. With a 2in lat
brush I injected a semi-abstract feel with some broad loose brushstrokes,
softening some edges with a little water spray and added a sprinkle of table
salt, sparingly to some foreground areasp STAGE ONE
A square of Not watercolour paper was taped all round onto
a board with gummed paper tape. I sketched the outlines of
the foreground tree trunks together with a few main branches
using a soft pencil such as a B or 2B then indicated the horizon
line with a pencil mark on the paper tape at either side. Using
a strip of plastic card about 2-4in wide I applied masking luid
(blue) to the silver birch trunks with the short side, dragging
the edge of the strip lightly from side to side of the trunks,
aiming for a broken, textural line, making sure they read as
complete shapes – they had a good covering of masking luid,
but with irregular gaps. The areas left uncovered will create the
trees’ dark markings and the covered areas will be the white of
the birch trunks. I used the corner of the plastic card to draw
out some of the thin branches, others will be added later with
paint, then suggested some birch trunks in the background
with a similar broken line using the edge of the plastic.
Changing to a palette knife, I created some energetic lines in
the foreground together with some ine licks of masking luid
in the tree canopy
to ink. Some people report problems
removing masking fluid but I have
never had any. Do not apply it thickly
as it needs only a thin layer to resist
paint and also make sure that the paint
is bone dry – use a hairdryer before
carefully removing it – as otherwise it
may smear. However, always test it first
on your watercolour paper.
Any new technique needs practice, so
spend time playing, sketching and mark
making with masking fluid or paint,
using a variety of tools. Try printing
marks with, for example, scrunched
tissue, cling film, the vein sides of
leaves or from anything textured.Colours
Most of the colours used here arevibrant as well as transparent, chosen
to keep the white of the paper shining
through the washes. The exception,
lemon yellow, which is quite opaque,
was chosen as it creates a very spring-
like green and I like the opaque
effect of the splashes of foliage that
stand proud in front of the silver birch
trunks.
Greens are notoriously difficult in a
painting but it helps if you keep them
to a minimum; mix them rather than
use the ready mixed varieties and
complement them with a range of red
to blue purples and purple greys.
There is no better way to master new
techniques than to repeat the same
painting or a variation of the subject
while they are fresh in the mind.w
TA