Watercolor Artist - USA (2020-04)

14 Watercolor artist | APRIL 2020

CreativityWorkshop

Whiteborder.Notinterestedina

blackborder?Createa “white”border

instead.Preservethewhiteofyour

paperusingmaskingfluid.Forthis

technique,I recommendGrafix

IncredibleWhiteMask—averythick

drawinggum.Useanoldorinexpen-

sivebrush(maskingfluidwillruin

brushesveryquickly).Loadthebrush

withmaskandapplythefluidtothe

Try this at home

CREATE YOUR OWN

FAUX BORDER.

Send a JPEG (with a resolution of

72 ppi) of your finished painting to

[email protected]

with “Creativity Workshop”

inthe subject line—or follow

@ArtistsNetwork on Instagram

and share your painting there:

#everywatercolor_border. The

“editor’s choice” will receive a one-

year subscription to Watercolor Artist.

The entry deadline is April 15, 2020.

areas you want to preserve. Let it dry.

When the painting is fi nished, remove

the mask to unveil the preserved

white border.

Combination eff ect. Dry brush the

masking around the edges and let the

masking dry. Next, use a dry brush to

add sepia on all sides of the masking

fl uid. Continue painting and then

remove the mask when you’re fi nished.

Another eff ect that creates beauti-

ful inside/outside edges makes use of

2-inch masking tape. Tape around all

the edges of the paper and then cut

½-inch off the outside using a snap-

blade utility knife. Be careful not to

cut through the paper. Remove the

outside tape edge and create the black

border using paint.

You can also create a deckled edge

by tearing the tape in asymmetrical

strips, placing them on the paper and

applying black paint to the exterior

edges. After the paint is dry, remove

the tape.

Ryan Fox (rfoxphoto.com) is a signature

member of the American Watercolor

Society and fi ve regional societies.

His paintings have won awards in

the Adirondacks National Exhibition

of American Watercolors, Northeast

Watercolor Society and Georgia Water-

color Society, among others. He teaches

workshops on various watercolor

techniques and can be found in his

Raleigh, N.C., studio most days.

ABOVE

For Raleigh Skyline

(watercolor

on paper, 11x15),

I preserved the

white of the paper

with drybrushed

masking fl uid.

RIGHT

In Big Ben Kids

(watercolor

on paper, 15x11),

I created a photo

border using

masking fl uid and

sepia watercolor.