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Watercolour sketching - adding white details
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Message
Posted
I do a lot of sketch-book work - drawing with pen then adding washes and colour details.
One perennial challenge is to do white window-frames around a dark window, particularly with white cross and vertical bars over the window..
I've tried masking them out but its a bit fiddly. Can anyone recommend a white pen that would do opaque white lines over a dark washed window?
Thanks in anticipation. Tom
Posted
Tom, I would say to you to paint in the darks of the windows and leave the white of the paper . That is the magic of watercolour that you dont need white it just appearsalong with the darks. Masking out the frames is tiresome and a white pen would not look right in my opinion.The frames may look rough if you leave the white but its a painting you are doing not a technical illustration.Happy painting and keep it loose.....Syd
Posted
Tom, I have a white ink Signo Uni-ball which I use very occasionally to highlight something. Not that succesfull to be honest and, like Syd says, keeping your paintings loose and not trying to paint evry brick and window pane helps. If you need fine white lines, I use white acrylic straight from the tube and a fine rigger brush. Works okay for me and, again, as Sid says, you can use the negative space of the paper left unpainted..
Edited
by Wanderer69
Posted
Thanks Syd and Wanderer69. I agree about leaving the white of the paper, but this is more urban sketching than finished watercolour paintings and its not always possible with the very fine lines I sometimes have to do. There is an article in this month's Leisure Painter in which Tony Underhill says, "to finish I added a few highlights with a white gel pen". That's the sort of pen I'm looking for I think, but wondered if Liquitex Acrcylic paint marker would do the job? They do one in Titanium White and I've just found it on ebay for £4.90 with delivery. Worth a go perhaps.
Posted
I have a small chisel ended brush and black , also you can wet fine lines with water and blot .. sails in the distant you can wet and blot ,I find students paints lift easy.
....use your mall stick as a straight edge for lines ,,,fill an empty pill bottle with black acrylic and little water shake well and use for ink work ,
Posted
Tom - got to say: I'm not keen on the method you've used here either.... which isn't to say I have any better suggestions than those offered: I should go with either Syd or Sylvia I think. The trouble with the gouache is that you can't get fine enough lines: the white tends to feather outwards and invade the black, and what you then get is a murky grey. Acrylic paint - agree with Splosh, unless you can get the paint very, very fluid, and apply with an extremely fine brush, it's just going to be too thick. Last time I tried this, I used masking fluid: what a ***** mess - I just didn't have anything fine enough to apply it with; the masque-pen adaptor is hopeless: too thick, gets quickly clogged.... and then I dropped the damn' bottle and ruined a pair of corduroy trousers; not a happy experience.. You can tell this is awakening bad memories...
Unless your watercolour needs to be super-realistic, sharp and accurate in every detail, I would let the paper do the work on the white lines; it doesn't matter if you overlap it in places. And if it does - Sylvia's pen would seem to be the answer.
Posted
You have displayed two little corkers here, Sylvia - I'll have a try again with white gouache: it certainly couldn't make as much mess as my fight with the bottle of masking fluid. And anyway, gouache would have washed out of my trousers....
This is gouache on gouache, I take it? (Don't bother answering if the answer is "yes, obviously!".)
Fine brushes - might make a difference how you define "fine". I do find those very small, 001 brushes, pretty useless and get a finer point with a rigger - especially a non-synthetic one; also generally favouring rough watercolour paper rather than NOT or Bristol board, I might have been giving myself too hard a job to start with.
I saw an interesting brush in action on one of Alan Owen's most recent video demonstrations: it has a full belly, able to hold plenty of water and paint, but a fine, sharp point - and that's probably the key to this, the pointing ability of the brush; doesn't matter how small it is if it has a blunt tip which is going to catch and splutter. If you look at the painting to which Tom linked, you'll see a failure to get the crisp white lines that are evident in your two paintings - or so it seemed to me; hence the suggestion he try a more precise tool on whichever paper was being used.
Posted
Whether it's gouache, acrylic, ink, oils or my favourite Plaka I have never had any issues whatsoever producing fine lines. I use a Proarte 103 synthetic rigger (I have most sizes) and can achieve a line as thin as a hair but any good make of brush will do the trick and as Robert has mentioned, I also prefer the synthetic range as they are stronger and hold their shape.
If I get time later today I will knock-out my version of a lead-light window which may help the original poster who's name I have forgotten.
Posted
http://www.rosemaryandco.com/watercolour-brushes/pure-red-sable/extended-point
This is the brush I've seen Alan Owen use - whether it's this exact make or another I don't know, but I know he uses Rosemary & Co brushes. He seems happy with it and it's certainly working for him. It's a red sable not a synthetic, but looks to be quite robust.
The sword brush mentioned by Syd is available from different makers in different hair - I'm going to get one shortly, and I think I'll invest in one of the red sables as well. I need all the help I can get with fine lines - until recently I couldn't see them: or I could see two or three of them where there should only have been one, and I've lost a bit of confidence, maybe, in tackling them: I certainly made a right royal mess of trying to paint a mast the other day.... it curved....!
Edited
by RobertJones
Posted
the faber castle pit pens sells a four pack . a fine fine ended nylon brush felt ends one of them ,,
a water brush has a very fine point that could be filled with a graphics ink or watercolour , any one tried them
oh the brush I use is reservoir brush it is a thin kolinsky centre with squirrel hair surrounding it
Edited
by alanowen
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