The Artist - UK (2020-05)

50 artistMay 2020 http://www.painters-online.co.uk

INK

Planning, sequencing and

using negative spaces

Kim Whitby concludes her three-part series on

using ink to help develop your watercolour skills by

stressing the importance of planning

I

nk can be used tonally to develop

watercolour skills. In traditional

watercolour painting the paper is

the only source of white. This month

I want to show you how to use the white

of the paper to create light areas of

tone or colour, and why this means that

planning and sequencing are key stages

of a work on paper, before you even put

a brush on the page.

I need to both plan where the white

paper needs to be preserved and

where it will be helping with colour

or tone. A sequence of stages of

application needs to be part of this

plan of action. Some students tell me

that sequencing a wet work on paper

is something they take some time to

adjust to.

There are several ways to preserve

white areas of paper. I use the following

methods with both ink and water.

Leaving the area untouched.

Sometimes I draw a small pencil shape

to remind me where I need to keep

an area white whilst I apply the wet

medium. I rub out the shape once the

wash is dry.

Masking fluid. Some of these are

coloured, which helps you spot the

masking against the white paper, but I

have seen students get tainted paper

from a blue masking fluid. I rarely use

any masking fluid.

Masking tape can be a fast way to

mask an area and has the advantage

of being easily cut with a craft knife to

create sharp, straight lines and shapes.

Wax can be used as a resist. It can

be applied lightly or more heavily

and gives a natural uneven soft result.

Specialist wax pastels are available to

buy, all with different qualities, but I

prefer to chop up a white tealight candle

and use that, as I find some commercial

watercolour waxes accumulate on my

brushes and cause a cleaning issue.

For disasters and to recover a lighter

area, you can try scratching out, as

Turner did. Alternatively use body

colour (an opaque gouache water-based

paint) to regain highlighted (and white)

areas. If you aren’t sure whether or not

an area needs to stay white, leave it

out, as it is very simple to adjust overly

light areas at a later stage.

Do note that, when working with ink,

it is vital that any pure white areas are

preserved from the outset as ink cannot

be lifted. This helps to focus the mind

for watercolour working later on. Some

of the non-staining watercolours may

be lifted to regain a white area, but to

my mind it is never as successful as

keeping the area fresh – and it takes up

valuable painting time.

Kim Whitby

teaches for groups, societies,

organisations and individuals. She was

a finalist in Sky Arts Landscape Artist

of the Year as a wildcard, whilst using

ink, and has won Pintar Rapido. Kim is

tutoring workshops at Art Academy

London and St Barbe Museum and

Art Gallery, Lymington. Follow her

on Instagram@kimwhitbyart and

see  kimwhitby.com 

q Pomegranates on a White Sheet,

watercolour, 191/4 3 121/4in (49 3 31cm).

Here you can see my set-up alongside the

painting

TA05p50_53_Kim.indd 50TA05p50_53_Kim.indd 50 02/03/2020 07:1102/03/2020 07:11