Best Salt for Watercolors? Testing 8 Different Salts

[@CinSpain]

Thank you. It was a fun experiment. I unscrew the himalayan glass and use the big crystals at times, which gives big 'flowers'. They're very easy to control, as they're so big 😊

[@katpaints]

Fascinating. I've used salt for texture once in a while but not for some time. I know that timing is everything and different types of paints make a huge difference. There's almost no reaction if there is too much moisture or I just ended up with dark spots. Too dry and, of course, nothing happens. I found that the moisture needs to be just when the paper loses it's shine. Too dense of paint and there is less reaction. The best reactions for me are from non-staining paints because they are more likely to show the white of the paper again. I was surprised at how little reaction your samples had but I think most if not all the paints you used were staining, which, when the timing isn't quite right, explains that. And, paper can make a difference. So many variables! The one that appeared to be damp, reminded me of using coarse salt before the paper was ready. The paint pooled around the granules and dried shiny and dark. When there is less moisture and less dense, non staining paint, the salt will absorb it and brilliant sparkle appears.

[@halfpiint]

Thank you for adding a more detailed response. At the risk of sounding ditzy, which paints are non staining?

[@katpaints]

@@halfpiint That's what makes watercolors a challenge! You can check manufacturers' charts - S usually means staining. For me, in general, the most lifting are those made from the earth. Staining all goes downhill from there. The most brilliant colors are most often the most staining. I started out in the mid 90s, with mostly liftable paints. They were what the teacher had on the list. Those that lift let you do things like use salt for texture. It allows for some correction and to bring out highlights. I think it is worth finding what you like to use by playing with it on decent paper. The best investment isn't paint and brushes but good paper. It is amazing how good you get. I do say that after all the years I've been messing with it, I can paint on almost any paper and like what I do. That doesn't make me go "Ahhhh...." though. :D

[@richardwendt1931]

Thanks for running this test. Very time saving for the rest of us!

[@estherwestcott9085]

Thank you for doing this experiment. I have used table salt but often see others recommending different types of salt. I can see for myself now that table salt works just fine. I am starting a swatch book for all my colours, an idea I got from watching Michele Webber, and I will include a test square to show that colour’s response to salt too. Steve Mitchell also has mentioned you and recently showed his viewers your colour database. You put in a great deal of effort that of great benefit to all people working, or in my case, learning to work with watercolours.

[@goelnarendragoel1057]

wow. so much of a commitment for the sake of watercolor evolution as a science. kudos to you.

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

Here I am rewatching special shows to talk about with someone who wants to learn watercolor. I am now disabled and can no longer paint. Anyway I can talk her thru many things but I want to have a Playlist of the best youtubes for different techniques. I am sure she will get alot from you . Thank you .

[@colleenmcchesney1482]

I really appreciate your sharing & testing these different types/grains of salt. I use both table salt & kosher salt for my textures for water/waves, winter ❄️ snow/icy sparkles, & spotted textures in general. Thanks for sharing this wonderful informational video with us!

[@EveBolt]

Sooooo interesting!!! I'm so happy to see Opera here, haha! :D It's great that fine sea salt works super well, it's everywhere and inexpensive!

[@OtoKano]

ha ha I thought you'd like the opera!

[@kaleleaf1697]

The amount of work you put into your channel is amazing. Thank you so much!!!

[@Achatfell]

I usually have a bowl of salt next to my desk but I got dust in there and it showed up in the paint! Always store your salt in a container!

[@OtoKano]

good tip! Thanks for sharing it with us :D

[@jittersaunt]

I absolutely love the scientific approach you use when sharing your experiments and other comparisons. This was extremely helpful as I can just use the salt I already have as I too love the table salt feathering.

[@aimannaa1888]

This is such an enlightening video! Thank you so much Oto for taking the time to do this experiment. Your efforts are very appreciated! This really makes me wanna play more with other materials in my paints. Again, thanks!

[@OtoKano]

Soooo glad it motivates you to play with your paints! That's the best feeling :D

[@geckonia]

Yay Oto I love this rabbit hole you’ve gone down. 😊 I’m finding with my gradation washes the washed out side shows more widespread patterns. The heavily pigmented side is smaller by far. So that was interesting... I have been using table salt for backgrounds as you know and yesterday it created a winter scene that was quite complex. So much fun... and so unpredictable. Thanks again a million for posting these epic salt experiments!

[@OtoKano]

I love seeing your experiments into this as well! Your paintings are so lovely!

[@alisonhendry2928]

Brilliant! As always! This answered many of my own questions. Many thanks. Fine table salt here I come!

[@CyaneInkArt]

Super interesting! There seems to be quite many variables. I really like when you do these scientefic testing for watercolors. This is really valuable information!

[@OtoKano]

Thank you so much for watching the video :D It's an honour to me that you like these tests :D

[@dianethoroughman9541]

This was really interesting and very thorough. Thank you for your time and effort to make this scientific salt and paint chart.

[@OtoKano]

You are so welcome, thanks for watching Diane!

[@robincooper9323]

Your results were very interesting. Thank you for doing this in-depth testing. I have learned a lot about using salt in watercolor.

[@ianjackson5834]

what i would do is have a mix of thin grain and big flakes in one mix, when i use salt its mostly for textural variety on things like closeup walls to add a bit of natural feel to the texture, tfs

[@OtoKano]

great idea, thanks for sharing it with us Ian :)

[@Undankbar]

that was super interesting! tbh I never even thought there were so many salt-options out there and yet it makes a huuuuuge difference. thanks for being so thorough! :)

[@OtoKano]

so glad it was useful :D

[@LanaGoesArt]

Thanks for the video. The results you had using all those different kind of salts are actually unexpected for me. Crazy how different kind of salts can make different textures.

[@OtoKano]

You are so welcome. Thank you so much for watching the video!

[@LanaGoesArt]

Of course I did, I said I would, but I wanted to take time to watchi this one. Your videos are always a learning moment for me. :)

[@artKarolina]

I definitely found that fine salt is better, but there's such a thing as too fine. Big salt doesn't take in enough water before the paint dries. Interesting about the colors affecting the effect! I prefer table salt and I use it for grass and tree leaf texture in tree canopies often.

[@melissabailey2209]

Thanks for such a great, in-depth study of how salt reacts with watercolor! Great video, as always! I don't use salt much in my work, but sometimes it does come in handy when I'm looking for a certain texture. Primarily, I illustrate children's books, so most illustrations don't call for texture. But there was one book I did of a kitten who had an adventure in space and I used plain old table salt with indigo to hint at faraway stars and galaxies in the background (forget which brand, I think it was Soho, very cheap but vibrant watercolor--it was a while ago). My client really liked how it looked. For illustrations that will be scanned and delivered digitally to my client, I'm more inclined to use salt. In instances where a client will receive original artwork, I'm hesitant to use salt and for texture use heavily granulating colors instead, as I've read that salt can have a detrimental effect on how archival an artwork is and I want to make sure that any artwork I produce will last as long as possible for my clients. Do you have any experience or have done any experiments about this? Does anyone know if salt dramatically reduces the longevity of a watercolor piece?

[@OtoKano]

I've not come across much in terms of whether salt does damage the archival quality of watercolor paintings or not. Think your approach is very good though, it's very sensible :)

[@EtherealOde]

This was very informative! Thank you for your efforts. As to your question, I like the table salt look best of all the types you tried. There was one particular salt that made a pattern that reminded me of cells on a slide (for a microscope), or drops of water.

[@OtoKano]

Agree with you. The table salt seems to act the best for what I like too :)

[@RobinT346]

this is great. the only time I've used salt it was coarse sea salt and it was nice but not an amazing success. I'm keen to try good old table salt next time.

[@OtoKano]

yeah I really like the table salt, they react so well with the paints.

[@suel4269]

Very interesting. I have no luck with Maldon salt flakes.

[@MalamikArt]

I have kosher and Himalayan salts lol. This is fascinating :)

[@TicTocRobotSnot]

My favourite thing about your videos is the concise and thorough scientific presentation. After watching your Holbein videos I regret not picking up the 24 colour Holbein set from the Studio Ghibli Museum.

[@OtoKano]

oh wow that set looks so amazing. Thank you very much for appreciating my approach to things. That really means a lot 😃

[@stalean0301]

I normally use just table or kosher salt, but recently I used the Dead Sea Mineral salt and had the same results as you with it never drying. I couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t dry. It’s good to know I can use up a large amount of table salt that I don’t use to cook with anymore.

[@Donna_G]

I have table salt, canning salt and epsom salt. The epsom salt's used mostly to soak my aching feet. I have used table salt for some special effects in painting; but, it's not something I use routinely. It creates interesting textures in rocks and sand. The canning salt is basically the same as table salt except it is ground much finer. I have yet to try to get paint effects with it.

[@OtoKano]

It would be amazing to see what the canning salt will do!

[@TurboBinch]

Not sure if anyone else commented this, but the fine sea salt actually uses the same anti-caking agent as the kosher salt (sodium ferrocyanide is yellow prussiate of soda) :)

[@OtoKano]

Great to know, thank you!

[@reneaclark7689]

I use a pink Himalayan salt that is ground more like table salt and have great blooms and texture.

[@noodlebell]

So, what if you mixed dead sea salt in your water cup? Would it slow down the speed of paints drying for larger washes maybe...

[@WheelieToasted]

If you ever have chemistry questions, Myles Power here on KZbin and in the UK might be someone to collaborate with on projects like this!

[@threesixfiveart563]

Thank you for testing this!! I've been using three types myself, and wondering which is best, and whether they are best across the board or dependent upon each paint.

[@OtoKano]

You are so welcome, thank you so much for watching the video!

[@DSmith-pc9jn]

Thanks. Now I don't have to spend money on other types of salt. All I have now is Kosher Coarse salt but I think I will get some table salt as I don't have any on hand. I don't cook with salt at all.

[@threesixfiveart563]

I have found similar things with the table salt and himalayan pink salt... I like both of these, IF I crush the pink salt... it is too large otherwise and I get little effect. Also when I've tried with my QoR paints I felt like they reacted less than Daniel Smiths.

[@OtoKano]

Very interesting! I haven't tried it with QoR yet, as I only have a very small collection of QoR. Glad you've had the same experience with the himalayan salts.

[@PinkWytchBytch]

Here me out: Does pink Himalayan salt leave a pink stain in the little salt-bursts??? It’s kinda pricey for salt so I’ve hesitated to get it and try

[@susanvdm8611]

Very useful test, thank you Oto. Have you ever tried Epson Salt? You get more of vine texture. It is subtle, useful for painting leaves. You might also like Cindy Lane, she paints with seawater. (instagram: Cindylaneart) she makes the paint flow so magically.

[@OtoKano]

woooo thank you so much for those tips, I am going to have to go in search for some Epson salt!

[@susanvdm8611]

Try the pharmacy, both in Scotland and Ireland thats where I found the Epson salt

[@Roslyngal]

I think you guys mean Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) yeah? Can’t wait to see some experiments with that! And if you’re on the hunt for exotic salts, look up ‘silk salt’ too. Not edible, but interesting effects.

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

How about same salt ,same color on different papers?

[@OtoKano]

Great suggestion Marjorie! I will keep that in mind for next time. Thank you.

[@eternal8song]

Do you think that the iodine in table salt could be a factor in how it reacts to some of the colors?

[@jillc2700]

I had no idea there was a low sodium salt. Very interesting to know (my dad's on dialysis, so we have had to cut back on salt A LOT.) Also, I've seen people use rice like salt for a very different sort of pattern. Wonder what sort of other grains/dried legumes/dried pasta you could use to get texture into watercolor? My trouble is I HATE waiting for things to dry. Thanks for sharing your findings!

[@OtoKano]

Yes! It's very good for people with high blood pressure etc. You can get it quite easily in the supermarkets in the UK so I hope you'll find it where you are easily too. lmao yeah waiting for things to dry is really hard. Best thing is to have a few paintings on the go so you can work on the other paintings.

[@creatornat]

"Let the Flavour FloW"

[@jazzmoos5382]

Wait. There’s a low sodium salt??

[@blueviolets2022]

"Low sodium" ionized? How is that even possible, or is it an advertising gimmick? Lol Is there a difference in iodized salt vs non iodized?