Tippette #22 - Different Surfaces - Different Results

Tippette = Snippet of a Tip (in watercolor).  One per day...during April...right here!  Tell a friend!

Different Surfaces - Different Results

Do you feel stagnant?  Forgive my impertinence, but maybe you need to freshen up!  

If you're always painting on the same watercolor surface, why not challenge yourself to explore what's out there for us watercolor painters to use!?

Here are some of the materials I've painted on, along with examples of my work.

1)  Arches 300# rough paper (cold pressed).  This is my go-to paper.  

"Oak Majesty IV" (watercolor) by Helen K. Beacham - Sold.

2)  Ampersand Aquabord:  I enlarged a section below so you can see the texture you can achieve.  Aquabord is lovely because it's a hard board (you can buy it in various ways including cradled), with the surface treated for watercolor, and you can lift out color very easily with a damp brush.  If I use this surface, I spray it with varnish and frame it without glass.  It IS more expensive than traditional paper.

           
3) Watercolor Canvas - You can easily lift out color from this surface as well.  I spray varnish this canvas and frame it w/o glass.  The drawback is that it comes in standard sizes as for oil painters, which to me is restrictive.  I sometimes like to crop my paintings for extra strength in my composition.

Close Up of unfinished painting (on watercolor canvas) by Helen K Beacham
Can you see the canvas texture in this enlarged version?

4)  Yupo - This is a synthetic material so your paint cannot soak INTO the surface.  The water evaporates, leaving paint on top of the material.  You end up with lots of visible marks and harder edges.  I personally love it, but many artists shy away from it.

"At the End of the Day" (watercolor on Yupo) by Helen K Beacham - Sold.

 5) Rice Paper:  Depending on the type of rice paper, you can get various results.  I love that it always looks so drastically different from traditional papers.  

" Beach Grasses II" by Helen K. Beacham - Available.

Come with Helen K. Beacham and Kelly Medford to paint Venice this October...
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