Watercolor Mediums Explained
It might seem sacrilege talking about mixing watercolor mediums and additives with watercolor paints.
It is, after all the purest of paint types, relying on its translucency to allow the whiteness of the watercolor paper to glow through.
However, there are several traditional mediums and additives which can make life easier for the watercolorist and add a new dimension to their painting.
Technological developments have also promoted some quite new mediums and undoubtedly, the rise in popularity of watercolor painting has had something to do with this as well!
Here's a brief description of the main watercolor mediums and how to best use them...
Oh, and you'll notice I freely mix the term 'watercolor mediums' and 'additives'. For the purpose of this article they mean the same thing.
Don't get confused by the term 'painting medium' which can also mean the type of paint you use, eg oil paints, acrylic paints,pastels and so on ...
Right, now for a description of each watercolor medium - er,
or additive...Art Masking Fluid
In one
sense, not really a watercolor medium since you don't mix it
with or add it to your paints. But a popular technique
nevertheless. A latex rubber solution for brushing or drawing
onto your paper. Once it dries thoroughly, in a few minutes,
you can paint over the masked area, which being latex, resists
the paint. You can get the same effect with a plain thin piece
of wax candle, but this is permanent and you can't
subsequently paint over the reserved area.
After the paint has dried, remove the masking fluid gently with a clean finger, a putty rubber or cotton bud. It'll roll up into little rubber balls. The white area can be left as a highlight or tinted as desired.
Various ways to apply the fluid are brush, color-shaper (a sort of paint brush with a pointed rubber tip instead of bristles), drafting bow-pen, cocktail stick, edge of a credit card, cotton bud, etc. If you intend using one of your watercolor brushes, or any other brush for that matter, make sure it's an old one and wash it out immediately.
Masking fluid starts drying quickly (and I mean in less than one minute) on the bristles of a brush. Never risk using a half decent brush with masking fluid. You will ruin it!
Ideal for reserving intricate shapes (window and door frames, middle distance animals, ships masts, tree trunks, thin grasses, etc.) so that painting straight across the masked area permits confident, decisive brush strokes. This is one of the most popular watercolor mediums. However, use it with discretion!
Gum Arabic
Most watercolors contain a
proportion of gum Arabic. A soluble gum (remember the old
bottles of light brown office gum?) which when used on its own
increases the gloss and transparency of a watercolor. Slows
down the drying time of paint.
Ox Gall Liquid
Increases the wetting
properties and flow of watercolors with a few drops to your
water pot. Useful for 'marbling' techniques on hot pressed
paper.
Granulation Paint Medium
Encourages
watercolors to granulate i.e. take on a mottled texture on the
paper surface when dry.
Lifting Paint Medium
Applied to the
paper and allowed to dry before applying paint, this enables
you to lift off colors for highlights etc. more easily.
Blending Medium
Slows the drying time
of colors. Ideal in very warm climates and can be used
undiluted with watercolors for maximum drying time. You can
get the same effect by adding a little alcohol to your water.
This also works in very cold outdoor situations, where mixing plain water with watercolor paint can actually freeze it on the paper. I think gin is one of the best watercolor mediums because it stops me freezing as well...
Iridescent Medium
Add to transparent
colors to give pearl or glitter effect.
Texture Paint Medium
Add to paper or
mix with colors for textured effects.
Watercolor Impasto Gel
The concept of
3D watercolor takes some getting used to! Can be mixed 50/50
with watercolors and applied to paper with knife or bristle
brush, especially in foreground areas.
So there we are. A brief overview of pwatercolor mediums. There are always more paint mediums becoming available, but the list above should keep you occupied for a while.
Happy painting!
Related Articles
A
review of watercolor paints and how to get the best from your
choice
What's so special about watercolor
paints and why are watercolors by far the most popular
medium...
Watercolor
brushes
There are a multitude of watercolor
brushes to choose from and it's easy to spend a lot of money
and not get what you want...
Watercolor
Paper
The Watercolor paper you use can make
or break your painting if you don't select it wisely...
Return
from this watercolor mediums page
to the main
watercolor techniques section
