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Message
Posted
There's a painting by Diana Boanas on the Gallery, in which she tells of being informed that pure watercolour abjures the use of white paint. And she's shown a painting in which she did use white paint, so yah! (Not quite what she said, to be honest; it's more what I would have said.)
Just about all the 18th and 19th century watercolourists - I'm sure someone can find exceptions - DID use body colour, a little Chinese White, in their paintings. I love to see watercolours in which the white of paper is reserved: they're so clever, and so often so beautiful. I am less entranced by paintings in which masking fluid has been applied and painted over, then painstakingly removed. I so often think- instead of applying rubber to your paper, why not just use a bit of white? (I'm prejudiced against masking fluid, having ruined a perfectly decent pair of corduroy trousers by spilling the foul stuff on them).
Now, I do relatively few watercolours, and you'd be perfectly justified in telling me to talk about things I know something about; when I do paint in watercolour, I very, very rarely use white: but I do use opaque colours like Naples Yellow, Light Red, Yellow Ochre, which I know contain white: maybe so do most other watercolour painters? If you do, you're not really very well placed to throw brickbats my way, because, well, sorry, but you DO use white. And if you don't - you have my respect. But it was Hesketh Hubbard (what a great name!) who pointed out that the judicious addition of Chinese White to, eg, a yellow, could add to a watercolour's subtlety without actually turning your work into full-throated gouache: and good enough for Hesketh, certainly good enough for me.
Don't be intimidated by rules: especially essentially snobbish ones, in short.
Posted
When I first started watercolour painting I did use masking fluid occasionally, it never really west where and how I wanted it to and occasionally tore the paper. It’s not cheap and often it set in the bottom of the bottle before it was used up, sometimes bits of dried rubber were in the mix and causing problems. No I leave white paper where I can and need to, I have very rarely used white watercolour paint and recently I can’t recall using it at all . I have used white acrylic to correct a spill ,and generally try not to use it at all.
Posted
Interesting. As someone who uses water based colours (not acrylic), the question of what to do about whites always crops up. Having little or no art instruction I've tended to use things I've picked up here and there from books etc, but I have little use for 'rules'. Normally I tend to leave areas of white paper, but often 'lose' some or all of these as I work on the picture. My fall back saviour is normally W & N permanent white gouache, it can shriek a little so I have to spend time softening its effect with various degrees of success. I've always used Chinese white to add body, having read that an illustrator I admired used it. It's good and I wouldn't be without it, currently I'm using Jackson's own version of Chinese white.
For white, bare paper is best, I tried masking fluid, hated it, and so use gouache...there's always somewhere in the picture where I should have left white paper but didn't. In most of my pics there's some white paper, some gouache and some Chinese white.
Here's an old picture, the whites on the woman's skin are plain paper, but there's gouache on the birds in the foreground.
A rare landscape...Whitecliff Bay, IofW...the white on the cliff and some of the water are plain paper, the ripples are gouache, and the clouds Chinese White used fairly thickly while the blue of the sky was still damp.
Here's a small 6 x 4 pic, a copy of an oil painting by Gino Strini. I couldn't manage to save the whites I'd left on such a small pic (fidgety hands), so all the white here is gouache.
But I don't see myself as a watercolourist, it will be interesting to read what they think.
A rare landscape...Whitecliff Bay, IofW...the white on the cliff and some of the water are plain paper, the ripples are gouache, and the clouds Chinese White used fairly thickly while the blue of the sky was still damp.
Here's a small 6 x 4 pic, a copy of an oil painting by Gino Strini. I couldn't manage to save the whites I'd left on such a small pic (fidgety hands), so all the white here is gouache.
But I don't see myself as a watercolourist, it will be interesting to read what they think.Edited
by Lewis Cooper
Posted
I have used masking fluid in the the past but tend not to use it now. I wouldn't have a problem using it again. What I have found for myself is that it is much better to leave the paper white. In my pigeon painting for the highlights, on the beaks and bodies, I left the paper white, then with clear water, washed a very fine blend of surrounding colour into the White, so it still looks white but not quite as white as the surrounding, untouched white paper. Also taking pigment off before it dries to create highlights. I prefer these methods now.
Edited
by Denise Cat
Posted
I use only watercolour and don’t se why you shouldn’t use white if you wanted or needed too. Having said that I can’t remember the last time I used it , the papers white so why cover it with white paint. As Denise has pointed out there are other ways of showing a white area, lifting out the could , I’d s technique often used for highlighting, reflecting light etc.
When something has gone wrong and I’ve accidentally covered a area I wanted to remain white , I have used white gouache in preference to watercolour white as the surrounding colour can leach into the watercolour white more.
My dislike of masking fluid is mainly the smell, and the mess it can make , it also leave a hard line that then needs blend in.
But if I need or wanted to I would use white it’s just another colour and who actually made the rule if there is one more likely it’s just become one of the many thou shalt nots in the lovely hobby , profession .
Posted
Robert...something has gone wrong....I seem to have hi jacked your post. Hopefully it has righted itself.
I hate masking fluid, being the ham fisted person I am I usually end up decimating the paper...usually into holes. Being me I am also not very good at planning white spaces ,they either happen or not, .So that's what Chinese white is for ! I always thought it was a con trick.
Bring on gouache or even white Posca pen. I'm making a picture for me not to abide by a set of rules.
Edited
by Sylvia Evans
Posted
Quick come back - of course you can use white gouache or Chinese White to reinstate areas, but the point is as Lew has illustrated: not necessarily to correct errors, but to enhance the subtlety of colours, and you can see that in his bird painting, as well as the Whitecliff Bay painting - so not just for mistakes; it can be part of the process: needs judicious handling, but then, what doesn't...?
Posted
Never using anything but the white of the paper is the stuff of the traditional watercolour purists, and there are plenty of them! I’ve no problem with that but it’s not for me!
Chinese white, gouache, generally referred to as body colour etc is what JMW Turner used, he broke from tradition… that’s good enough for me…
Posted
I was also taught that you should rely on the white of the paper, which is fine if it’s still there at the end of the painting - these areas can easily get lost as you go along. I was also taught that you should never go back into a sky wash once it’s dry - but you can, provided you wet the whole of the sky area before making any changes to avoid hard edges. Sticking to the taught rules is usually a sure way of becoming anxious about using watercolour! I used to be, until I realised that there really are no rules - just do what you need to to get the result that pleases you. I couldn’t live without my white gouache and, although I don’t paint many landscapes, am never happy with my first attempt at the sky. I made numerous changes to this sunset sky to get the result I wanted, including, I think the addition of some white gouache. I do also have Chinese white, but never use it.
Edited
by Jenny Harris
Posted
Definitely agree with the no rules bit , use what you need how you need when you need it’s what the painting looks like in the end that really matters. I don’t use white because I thing it’s wrong and I’m certainly not a purist but do like to try to use the white paper where and when possible.
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