Watercolor and washi tape are the perfect pair. Use both to create an abstract, vibrant waterscape.
Supplies
- Watercolor paint
- Watercolor paper
- Watercolor paint brush
- Paint palette
- Cup of water
- Washi tape, painter’s tape, or masking tape
STEP 1
Begin with setting up your supplies. Because you will be painting the entire piece of paper, it’s a good idea to tape your paper down along the edges. Not only will this create a crisp border for your painting, but it will keep your paper from warping, which can happen when paper gets wet. You can use painter’s tape, masking tape, or washi tape for this. One issue you can run across when using tape is it can tear the paper when you pull it off. To avoid this problem, stick your tape to a piece of cloth first to remove some of the stickiness. You can use a towel, your jeans, your shirt, almost any cloth will work.
When you’re ready to paint, you’ll also need to wet your brush and paint. If you have tubes of paint, squeeze your paint onto a paint palette, then use your paint brush to add water to your paint. If you have a pan set of watercolors, simply drop water into the pans of colors. Remember, the more water you add to your paint, the more diluted the color will be.
STEP 2
Section off your paper by adding strips of tape to it. Remember, just like your border, be sure to stick these to a piece of cloth beforehand. Start by breaking up your paper into larger sections. Decide whether or not you want your tape to break up your page into the same shaped sections, or if you want the sections to be made up of various shapes. For instance, I chose to section my entire page into triangles. You could, however, decide to section it off in squares, diamonds, rectangles, etc.
Once you’ve created some larger sections, add additional strips of tape inside these to create smaller areas. Consider having a variety of smaller and larger sections.
After all your tape is down, press down to make sure it is down firmly, otherwise watercolor may leak underneath it.
STEP 3
Now it’s time to paint. Paint your sections using different watercolor techniques. Now is a great time to practice flat washes, wet-on-wet washes, wet-on-dry washes, glazes, and blooms. As you paint each section, see how different brush strokes impact your blooms and washes. If you put down too much paint along the way, try lifting the excess paint off with either your paint brush or a paper towel.
STEP 4
Wait for your painting to fully dry. Then, carefully remove the strips of tape. If you take these off before your painting dries, the sections may mix together and you will no longer have crisp, seperating lines.
Your waterscape is now complete!
Music Credit:
Music by Jahzzar