64 Watercolor artist | JUNE 2020
My Toolkit
ASSORTED PAPER
I like to paint on a variety of papers and surfaces, including
white and toned paper, slick and rough paper, cheap and
expensive paper. Some of the papers I use aren’t even
intended for watermedia, so why do I use them? I’m forever
curious. Boredom is the kiss of death for creativity. When I
paint a subject I’ve previously painted and try it again on a
different surface, the experience is exciting. I enjoy respond-
ing to the new surface. It’s a bit like dancing with a new
partner. For a toned paper, I’ve had wonderful results with
Mi-Teintes pastel paper by Canson, in cream and gray tones.
The paper is easy to work on and responds very similarly
to 90-lb. watercolor paper. The paper is 98-lb. and has a
66 percent rag content, and is gelatin-sized, making it
sturdy. I use less water, so the paper won’t buckle very much.
The paper has two distinct surfaces: one side smooth, the
other textured. I prefer the textured side.
Transparent watercolor looks different on toned paper.
A creamy yellow paper, for example, can make blues look
greener, and reds more orange. I find that, overall, the
underlying tone of the paper creates harmony in the
surface colors. Keep in mind that the surface won’t have
the same absorbency as watercolor paper.WHITE PAINT, MARKERS AND PENS
When I paint on a toned paper, I use white marking pens or
paint if I need a lighter value or white. What’s the difference
between using gouache or a marker/pen? A white Pitt
artist’s pen by Faber-Castell has a chunky tip and covers
well. For fi ne lines, I use a water-based, extra-fi ne Sharpie ora Uni-ball Signo, which are waterproof when dry. I can glaze
over the white highlights without lifting. Gouache, on the
other hand, remains water-soluble, like watercolor. Painting
over an area with gouache will cause it to lift. I do keep
some white gouache (not Chinese white) in a small lip gloss
container with a screw-on lid separate from the other paints
on my palette. I mainly use it in the sky or in fi nal highlights.
I imagine some readers may be raising their eyebrows at
the idea of adding white to watercolor, which we’ve been
told is “cheating.” My opinion is that if white was good
enough for Sargent, Homer and Turner, it’s good enough for
me. The only time I worry about using it is if I’m entering a
transparent watercolor exhibition. In my sketchbook, it’s my
rules. Better yet, no rules!LEFT
For this sketch (9x4½), I worked in a 10x8-inch
Stillman & Birn Nova series sketchbook, in
beige. I like the warm beige tone of this
sketchbook paper—perfect for Siena—to show
through. I used a white Pitt artist’s pen for the
light on the building and a Sharpie for the
smaller highlights. I tried the Pitt pen in the sky
but realized the white lines were too harsh, so
I quickly wet the area with water and added
cobalt blue. This is the dance: Try something
new and learn to respond.OPPOSITE
For this 10x11-inch page of sketches, I used
Bockingford 140-lb. cold-pressed watercolor
paper and started both sketches with an
underpainting. For the sketch on the left side,
I used quinacridone burnt orange and French
ultramarine. Once dry, I drew the image using
a Stabilo water-soluble pen in brown. I like
how the ink dissolves when touched with a
damp brush. The sketch on the right shows
the beginning stage of an incomplete sketch.
I used three colors—raw sienna, cobalt blue
and quinacridone burnt orange—to create
this underpainting.