ArtistsNetwork.com 65and comes to a point. Th e Raphael
Kolinsky 8404 round brush is my
favorite, with great spring, control
and water-holding capacity.”
SURFACES
“A perfect surface should perform and
deliver regardless of techniques or
quantity of water used on it,” Tanabe
says. “It should support high-quality
pigments in a way that maximizes
their beauty. Personally, I don’t want
paper to give me too many surprises,
Don’t Forget
Drawing
Paint, brush and paper may be
ofparamount importance to a
watercolor painter, but other
materials also matter, none more
sothan pencils and other draw-
ing instruments.
“The pencil is critical,” says
Schaller. “I even love seeing a bit
ofthe loose pencil sketch through
the transparent watercolor. For
me, it’s all connected. I collect
pencils and have many different
types, from very precise mechani-
cal pencils to chunky aluminum
clutch pencils to more standard
types. If I had to choose just one,
itwould probably be the tradi-
tional wooden, soft-lead sketch
pencil that’s been around for
ages. It just feels right.”
The pencil is equally important
toTanabe. “It’s my favorite tool,”
she says. “I usually start with a
drawing as the first step of my
painting. I use my pencil marks
asguidelines—it’s essential to
have them so that I don’t get
totally lost in the subsequent
painting process.” She notes that
Cretacolor pencils can be useful
for prep work, some of them
being water-soluble.so predictability is key. I’d happily try
a sheet of paper that’s 100 percent
cotton, acid-free, archival and uni-
formly sized to allow a clean, even
wash, and yet sturdy enough to with-
stand scratching and scrubbing.”
As for Schaller, he says, “I prefer
very bright, rough textured papers
such as Fabriano Artistico, on which
the water/pigment solution fl oats
over the peaks and the sediment
settles in the valleys, allowing for an
enhanced sense of depth and a moreluminescent transparency. And the
transmission of light through the
washes is fantastic.”
He also notes that the right surface
depends on the sort of painting he
has in mind and the eff ects he hopes
to express. “If I wish to maintain more
crisp edges and animated drybrush
work, very textured paper with a good
amount of sizing is better,” he says.
“If I’m going for a more atmospheric
look—fog, rain, evening—I may prefer
a softer, less textured paper where theSchaller’s Footbridge—Fengjing,
China (watercolor on paper, 24x18)
won the Linda Doll Transparent
Watercolor Award at the 2018
San Diego Watercolor Society
International Exhibition.