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Masking fluid application
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Message
Posted
System 3 is good because it's liquid, and it flows - and it's readily available in your local art-shop, too.
I know there are people who say it's cheating if you zhoosh up a watercolour with acrylic, but where do they draw the line (there isn't a line, of course!). Many of us use Naples Yellow watercolour, which is mixed with a range of yellows and, gulp, horror, white; is that cheating too?
I'll be honest, sensing Syd's beady eye on me, and admit that actually I would very, very rarely touch up or alter a watercolour with any acrylic, even my favourite Chromacolour; but as I don't like masking fluid (in fact, I loathe it!) I will use opaque watercolour and a little gouache. But it's not a moral issue - it's just that I like to stick to one medium in a painting (on the whole) just as I'd rather paint the groundworks of an oil in thinned oil than in acrylic. But it's the end result that matters - only the purist, perhaps the art-restorer, and the pedantic are going to worry about how you got to your finished result - the steps you went through, the struggles you endured, the patching up you artfully contrived, are of interest to academics perhaps but not to the people who just love paintings. So don't worry about it, and do what you need to do. But do be aware of the limitations of your materials - especially the surface on which you're painting: and especially with masking fluid, which will rip up any paper flimsier than watercolour paper. We all need to do that - it's a learning process well-worth mastering, because it saves so much time in practice.
Posted
I have been using Winsor and Newton Masking Fluid for years with no problems. As an art teacher I have confidently recommended it to my learners. BUT some have recently bought the most recent version - which has a grey tinge even after being thoroughly shaken - and have found it does not rub off properly once dry. On their behalf I have sent a query to W&N who reqested an image of the bar code. I am now waiting for their reply.
Posted
Who makes the rules in art? Like most things saleable, it's owned by the suppliers and investors rather than the artists (unless you're deceased of course). All about supply and demand rather than creativity. Masking fluid is a commodity, not a work of art
aid and probably most people making it couldn't paint a fence. Dick Turpin wore a mask. (-:
Posted
I have only recently been told that masking fluid has a short shelf life, so maybe your students picked up some old stock. The other thing I’ve found is that masking fluid and cheap watercolour paper don’t mix, I’ve had problems where the surface has been lifted by the masking fluid.
I have successfully used it on a few paintings, but really don’t like it.
Posted
It does go off, I believe. I very rarely used it, and don't use it at all now - it doesn't work at all well on some papers, and not necessarily just the cheaper ones: I believe people have had trouble with it on Bockingford Rough, AND on Arches - on which it's just torn the paper: very annoying for an expensive sheet of full Imperial....