Garden Gate

The above painting is one of my favorites and is the painting I am using in my beginner watercolor class this month. This one painting teaches several watercolor skills and techniques including laying down a wash, masking, sponging, spattering, etc.

Watercolor Tip:
The gate is masked to allow the background to be painted between the slats of the gate and post without fear of getting paint on the white areas. Masking is the only safe way to apply background paint without getting paint on specific areas of a painting and are applied before washes are laid down. This preserves white areas and highlights.

Areas can be masked using one of the following:

1. Artist tape
2. Liquid masking fluid (liquid frisket)

Artist tape is used when one needs to make straight lines and is much faster to apply.

Masking fluid is used for reserving areas and highlights that can't easily be painted around and which contain curved lines, dots, or are an uneven size. Always use an old brush to apply the masking fluid and rinse it immediately. Masking fluid is "painted" onto an area before the paint is applied.

In this painting I used artist tape. This tape is similar to masking tape; however, it has a special adhesive that will not tear the watercolor paper when removed. Since my garden gate was all straight lines, artist tape was the logical choice.

If you have never tried artist tape, give it a try. It will make it much easier to apply paint in small areas and to keep white areas white and paint free.