Tip of the month – April 2005

This month, I am concerned not only with the wetness of the paper but also the wetness of the brush.

The paper can be evenly moist and then a wash is applied and the wetness is changed. To put a shape onto the paper now, would guarantee a shape that melts into the ground and disappears.

Think about the water quantity as you paint. There is water on your brush: there is water on the paper; there is water on your palette.

To paint a wet-in-wet shape, some of the water has to be removed. That is the reason that I sponge my paper after I have applied water – to even out and remove some of the excess water. Look across the surface of the paper under a light to see how wet it is.

The paper should have a semi-gloss sheen. I work with natural hair brushes. They hold a lot of water. I will squeeze some of the excess water from my brush before picking up the paint.

This idea leads to how I prepare a mix for painting. I will mix the colors with a brush that is fully loaded with water. I clean the brush before I dip into a new color. I, then, rinse my brush and squeeze out the excess water. The reason I rinse the brush again is to remove any color that may be imbedded in the brush. This hidden color can make unexpected marks on the paper.

I load the brush with the prepared color and apply the color to the evenly moist paper. It is possible to work with thicker paint on wet paper.

The wetness of the ground will help to disperse the color and it will not appear heavy or opaque.

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