Liz Chaderton recommends the perfect gift for adventurous watercolour painters.
A jar of watercolour ground might sound unappealing, but it opens up so many possibilities for the adventurous watercolourist – to paraphrase – watercolour ground is not just for Christmas, it is for life.
What the product actually achieves for an artist is incredible. We all know that watercolour can be an unforgiving medium and hard to correct, so the ground can simply be used as a correction fluid, should any of your painting need adjusting.
More excitingly it can be used on virtually any surface, allowing it to behave akin to a fine art paper. By making the surface slightly absorbent you can achieve the wet in wet and flows of watercolour which so many artists adore.
Applied to stretched canvas or wooden art panel, you can now work unrestricted by size and without the need to protect under glass. Watercolourists are no longer restricted to paper. You can even apply it to metal and glass (though it is sensible to abrade the surface first with sandpaper).
Christmas gift ideas
Give a pot to the watercolourist in your life this Christmas or buy some for yourself and decorate a special bottle of homemade liqueur by applying watercolour ground to the bottle (use masking tape to get straight edges) and, once dry, painting with sprigs of festive foliage, see image above. Don’t forget to seal the painting before gifting it.
The ground comes in titanium white, buff, pearlescent white, iridescent gold, transparent and Mars black and can be purchased for just £9.35 a pot from Art Supplies with Painters Online by
PICK YOUR COLOUR AND ORDER HERE!
Top tips for using watercolour ground:
- Three thin coats of watercolour ground gives a nice balance between optical coverage and absorption.
- Each layer needs to be touch dry before the next is applied.
- If you want to level the surface, add up to 10% water.
- Once prepared, allow the ground to cure for about 24 hours – don’t use straight away as it may lift.
- If you prefer a smoother surface, gently sand between layers.
- Do not be surprised if the surface doesn’t behave exactly like paper. It takes getting used to. Layers lift readily, so change you painting technique to be more direct. If you do need to glaze use a gentle hand, soft brush and minimise the amount of water used.
- Your work needs to be sealed using either a spray varnish or cold wax medium. It lifts so easily it could be washed away with an accidental spill.
- Wash brushes immediately, as this ground is designed to stick!
For more tips on painting watercolour on canvas, and another great gift idea, see Liz’s book Painting Watercolour on Canvas.
About Liz Chaderton
Liz writes regularly for Leisure Painter and is a professional artist based in Berkshire. She runs online and in-person workshops.
Find out more on her website, www.lizchaderton.co.uk.