42 Artists Magazine May 2019
The Water’s Fine!
Dive into watercolor with these easy tricks.
—MIKE ALLENBuild ART HACKS
READER HACK
“I squeeze my watercolors from the paint tubes into
the compartments of a plastic pill planner. The wells
are large enough to let me load my Nos. 12 and 16
brushes or even a ½ -inch flat with ease. And each
compartment has a flip top.”—jason rodriguezFor a chance to win a month of free access to
Artists Network TV, email your favorite art hack to
[email protected] with this subject line: “Art
Hacks.” Submissions may be edited for length and clarity.Soak It All In
Keep a kitchen sponge on your
palette to absorb water from your
brush after you rinse it. You can
also use the sponge to wipe off
your palette after you’ve finished
painting. Just make sure you rinse
the sponge periodically, as trace
amounts of paint are sure to
accumulate.Incredible Vanishing Lines
Want to avoid those graphite
sketch lines that sometimes show
through a finished painting? Draw
your compositional sketch in
watercolor pencil instead. It’s best
to have a good idea of your color
palette before you start, as your
line work will blend in once you
introduce watercolors.Break an Egg!
Channel your inner Botticelli and
try working with egg tempera, a
medium that was favored by artists
as far back as the fi rst century for
its fast-drying and long-lasting
nature. For a simplifi ed version,
pierce an egg yolk and retain the
inner liquid. Mix this thoroughly with
water, plus a drop of vinegar to act
as a preservative. Create colors by
mixing drops of the egg mixture with
tubed watercolors on your palette.
Experiment with proportions—as
the Old Masters did.Let Your Mask Slip
Masking fluid can quickly build up
on brush bristles, making them
less absorbent and changing the
way your brush handles. Avoid a
gummy buildup by dipping your
brush into soapy water before
dipping it into the masking fluid.
The soap creates a barrier between
the bristles and the mask.Flick, Drip and Sprinkle
● Add a stippling effect to your
watercolors by dipping your
brush in paint, pulling the
bristles back and letting them
flick forward toward your paper.
If you want to avoid touching the
bristles, hold your brush closer
to the paper and flick the handle
or ferrule with your forefinger.
● Drip rubbing alcohol onto
your painting before it dries.
The droplets will displace the
pigment in the water and create
unpredictable patterns.
● Sprinkle a little salt on your
painting while it’s still wet.
The grains will absorb the
watercolor, creating small,
bloomlike areas of visual
texture. Any salt grains that
don’t dissolve will also add a
physical texture.GLASS: ALICIA LLOP/GETTY IMAGES; EGG: YUJI KOTANI/GETTY IMAGES: PIPETTE: IPROGRESSMAN/GETTY IMAGESSoaking up pooled
watercolor from
your painting
with rags or
paper towels is
imprecise and can
result in smearing.
Try suctioning
away the excess
paint with an
eyedropper—also
called a “pipette.”
Alternatively, you
can dispense drops
of liquids with this
tool. Laboratory
pipettes come in
many sizes, and
some allow for
precise measure-
ments of liquid.“Watercolor
is the fi rst
and last
thing an
artist does.”
—willem
de kooning