Watercolor 2

**<Back** · · · Watercolor as a Medium -- 2
Lines of wax from wax paper acted as a resist for the whiskers. *This painting ©1998 Karen G. Jollie*	One type of resist is frisket, a substance similar to rubber cement. In place, it can be painted over. Once removed by a soft eraser, the exposed white area can then be left white, or washed over with color. Waxy substances also make good resists, but should only be used for a permanent white, as wax is difficult to remove, once applied. Birthday candles, wax paper pressed with a pencil point for fine lines, or white colored pencils of a waxy base can act as a permanent resist. Another technique using the transparent qualities of watercolor is glazing -- applying a thin layer of color, letting it dry, then applying another, for as many times as needed. It can be used for several purposes. One is to accumulate many layers of the same or similar color to intensify and darken it beyond the concentration normally seen with quick wash techniques. This increases the contrast between lighter and darker areas, making the lighter areas appear to be lit. If an image required an such an area of especially dark tone for contrast, glazing can be used to build up the darker area.

When watching artists using an opaque medium like oils, you will notice that they tend to start with the darkest parts of the composition, then paint in the lighter elements, until finally dabbing on the pure white highlights. By necessity, a watercolorist works the other way around, beginning by defining the white areas first (so as not to put any paint in them), then light dilute washes then add on layer after layer of darker colors until the desired intensity is reached. The dark background of 'Sun Conure' (right), makes the lit areas brighter and their colors more vivid. When done correctly, there is nothing like a good watercolor technique to suggest light in all its variations – the painting can positively glow.

Another way to use glazing is as an alternate way to mix colors, or to modify them. Too much mixing of color on the palette can result in a muddy hue without too much clarity. But glazing first one color, then another, keeps them bright and clear. When layering to mix two or more colors, the order or sequence of the layers is important -- whichever color is atop which determines dominence. Reversing the order will produce a slightly different hue.

'Turning Elephant-Ear with Sun Conure', 18 X 13 ¾ in., Watercolor on illustr. Board. ©1994 Karen G. Jollie

Future pages on watercolor technique are forthcoming.
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