Why is my paper drying so fast? Wet on wet tips.

[@cdianepatterson3503]

I use Winsor Newton Gum Arabic to reshape stubborn flyaway bristles on my paint brushes. Wetting the brushes with the gum Arabic, shaping and letting dry restores them to a more pristine shape. Have been trying QOR Synthetic Ox Gall to extend drying times without seeing much improvement. Good to see it’s not just me. Thanks, Louise for your very informative videos.

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Great tip! Thank you very much Diane.

[@marionbik2022]

I think double wetting paper is brilliant idea. My problem is the amount of water in the brush and getting the paint consistency right when painting wet on wet. I also have problems with working in sections as sometimes the edges where the sections meet don’t blend seamlessly. More practice and rewetting paint to right consistency will hopefully fix this. Thank you for sharing. 🙏🏼 ✨🎨

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Thank you Marion. It requires a lot of practice. Knowing what you are doing wrong is the key to correcting it. Keep at it. ❤️

[@B1ackDahlia767]

You could try blotting the belly of your brush on some paper towel to take some of the water out of the brush, (while retaining the pigment,) before applying your brush to your wet paper. It has helped me immensely!

[@ginnyduerst868]

Thank you for saving me the purchase of yet another watercolor supply, and for sharing your struggles. I wish you all the best.

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Thank you Ginny. You too. ❤️

[@user-tg8wh7uz3j]

Louise shares so much of her ups and downs and quests .... all of which are appreciated. And, as noted, watching Louise draw and plaint with watercolor, and listening to her voiceovers means a great deal on numerous realms. Thank you, Louise.

[@arsinoe8336]

Hello Louise, first I wanted to say I really love you're calm art it's so relaxing 💜 To the video: I live in a very old (few hundred years old) half timbered house. Our walls are made of clay, I know what has that to do with watercolors? The clay absorbs every humidity so our room climate is very dry and that is a big problem with working with watercolor. I can literally put big puddles of water on my paper and never will be able to work fast enough for it to dry before I'm done. That drove me mad for a very long time, because I always had nasty drying lines on bigger areas. Even my mixed colors on my palette dry unnaturally fast. A while ago I started using liquid ox gall in my water and mixing it with my watercolors as well as using the mixture for wetting my paper. And it's a total game changer. For the first time since we moved into the house my paper stays wet long enough. It's a life saver. So I think if liquid ox gall is needed or if wetting twice is already enough depends on the climate where you're living at (nature as well as house climate). That is something which should be also considered, because it really has a huge impact. Wish you a wonderful weekend, Ari.

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Thank you so much for sharing Ari. I'm glad you found a solution. You have a wonderful weekend too.

[@marceybadillo1618]

Thank you for sharing this with us

[@renee1292]

This was so helpful. I live in a dry climate and when painting wet in wet I apply water continuously for at least 2 minutes. As Maria Ryjynska says "massage the water into the papee. It takes patience but it helps.

[@GKganesan]

Thank you Louise. Your advice helps a great deal!

[@MsMoniqueWilson]

Fantastic video as always. Love wetting the back of my paper if I’m painting intuitively. Working in sections is a method I’ve learned from you 😊

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Thank you Monique. ❤️

[@toshabeans]

After this demonstration, i can totally tell that i have one brand of paint that must have a lot of gum arabic in it, the colors lift way too easily for my liking, and they are glossy after drying 😮 Thank you for this demo ❤ Sometimes these additives can be expensive, and therefore hard for a beginner like me to test myself 😊 I wonder if these additives are more important as ingredients for those crafting their own paints

[@walkinginwatercolourswithmicah]

I too, have wondered if these mediums would be helpful in any way. My personal decision would be a no. I already get pretty heavy in the wetting of my papers , so this would really not give me any more time to work. Thnx Louise, I really enjoyed this video. Your camera does a great job of getting an excellent view of the papers drying.

[@deborahrabine9956]

I love the bloopers at the end!

[@appleknocker56]

Thank you for showing we don’t need more things to keep our paper wet longer as no difference! As a beginner often keeping that paper wet is a challenge & not having to much water on your brush! Your bloopers are great!

[@warpedweft9004]

The WN products are quite expensive in Australia, as you'd be aware. I've found a few drops of acrylic paint extender added to the water you are using works to extend enough to manipulate the paint. I use 3 drops in a baby food sized jar and 5 or six in a jam jar. I've heard of using a couple of drops of glycerin, which is often used in watercolour paint production, but I haven't yet tried it.

[@colleenmcchesney1482]

I was just wondering if W&N Blending medium would be any better before you mentioned it. I have found that it helps more with keeping my watercolor paint wetter since I hadn’t thought of using it for wetting the paper. As an intermediate painter I have found that I have not been wetting my papers enough for the wet on wet technique. Thanks for the wonderful tips for this issue. Living in the deep hot 🥵 & humid South of the USA makes for an interesting challenge during the Spring through Summer using the wet on wet technique. I might have to give the double wetting of an area of wetting both sides of the paper a try. I might even try using the thicker 300lb (640gsm) paper. Thanks again for sharing this valuable information. Hope you have a wonderful day & weekend!

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Thank you Colleen. I'm glad the blending medium helps you. You have a fabulous weekend too. 🥰

[@dougg1075]

Beautiful work. Very inspiring. Oh , and yes he’s very cute:)

[@vickiestewart7394]

Glad it's not just me giving OxGall a thumbs down -_- Being in the Deep South (hot as the Devil's Blow Dryer on High) it is constantly dry during summer, fall and winter, and spring ain't so hot, and I've tried nearly everything, including a humidifier, which helps but makes ME sticky! LOVE the tip about wetting the paper twice and I will get right on that one! BTW, I am SO ON BOARD with your Schmincke paints and delighted you've started using them; I "accidentally" ordered a few -- okay, pretty much 30 or so necessary colors about six months ago after trying a small starter set and I have to say I rarely use any others since; just something about those strong pigments! Scotland and Ireland were beautiful, I could have stayed and lived there - James says I'm welcome to if I buy any more paints.... he's so funny. BTW, my tip for artistic burnout: watch Louise DeMasi videos; she always inspires me with her talent. 🥰🥰🥰 Hope that helps!

[@LouiseDeMasi]

😆 Thank you Vickie. I'm glad you had a wonderful time! One day I hope to get there too. 🥰

[@connied8507]

I've used glycerin to extend drying. Not sure on how much. Too much makes the paint dry a bit sticky. I use about half a pipette. I also just submerge the paper in water and stick it to my board. I have to be careful to not dent the paper or remove to much water, just wipe around the edges. I tape it down after the first wash dries. I will probably switch to your method of stretching when my painting improves. ❤

[@shellyparker8960]

Many very helpful tips. Thank for this video.

[@jennw6809]

Great video! My favorite way is to use 300 lb paper and straight up soak it -- 5 min to 30 min or even more. Then you can slap it down on a board or your table and it'll just stick by itself and be very wet for ages. Of course it'll take overnight to fully dry after that, so as long as that's ok with you, it's a great method!

[@donnalowe5370]

Always useful tips!

[@user-sd2jb1gg4w]

Really wonderful information. I have used wetting both sides of the paper and it works well for scenes especially if the scene is loose. I have also used working in sections and that works well in more detail pictures. I have stayed away from additives because I used additives years ago when doing acrylic painting and I felt they affected my colors way to much. I have seen others used a fine mister to keep the paper wet while doing large pictures but I don’t have the right touch and I either wet to much or it has very little affect. I guess it is what you get used to. Thank you for your investigation and sharing the results!

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Thank you! 💝

[@kle1701]

This was incredibly informative. I live in Florida. Hot and humid. Rapidly drying paper has been one of my biggest obstacles. I had considered testing the two products you used in this video. But now, I think I will reevaluate. Perhaps a double wetting and a thicker cotton paper will work better. Just got to say, that one of my biggest obstacles has been hard lines (water edges) where I don’t want them . I now think that is actually the paper (Arches 140 Cold Press). I used a cheaper cotton paper (Meeden ) and have not had the same hard edge problem. So, go figure…. My second most common obstacle is how quickly my paint dries on the palette. What I experience in real life is always so much faster than what happens on video tutorials. So, maybe an additive there might help? I tried glycerin and it was kind of wonky. It totally changed the final sheen of the paint. It made the paint very dull. I have not tried any other additives (ox gall or gum Arabic) or tried honey. So maybe that will be next in my painting experiments. Thanks so much for your review of these products, and the tip for a 2x wetting.

[@jessicastewart9676]

QOR and WN sell watercolor medium that extends drying time and it’s the actual purpose of it unlike these products. I have an use QOR here in FL, highly recommend! Anna Bucchiareli has a video demonstration on here like this.

[@barryedgington6812]

Hi Louise,what a great tutorial as always! You are so generous with sharing all these great tips. Thank you so much ❤ Helene

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Thank you Helene. Have a fabulous weekend.

[@mbtvalli]

Such excellent instruction! Thanks, Louise!

[@jessh6031]

Very helpful..thank you so much💐😊 kookaburra is so cute😍

[@adriennesaracen6525]

Thanks Louise. I’ve tried both mediums without success. I’ve also tried W&N granulation medium, which is also a waste of money.

[@astridschrauwen9807]

Thanks Louise. A little while ago I asked you this question on patreon. Your answer there was already helpfull, but this video was very informative! Your video’s awoke my creativity and I’m very thankfull for that!

[@joycekowbelharvey4816]

Hi Louise. Thank you so much for taking the time to do and also to show us these experiments that you did . These are so helpful. I have trouble with this where I live in Canada. The air is so dry here. I have found that if I use a bockingford 250 water colour paper I can get away with using more water. But still drys very fast even in small areas. So I’m really looking forward to trying your method out of double wetting the paper. Oh yes your little bird is so cute! I think you crab is very cute to. Love all your helpful videos. Thank you so much

[@hrt2art]

Very helpful since I live in desert climate

[@nkguenther1]

I haven’t tried any mediums but might try the ox gall and see if it makes a difference in our dry California climate. I do wet my paper twice and that has really made a big difference for my wet in wet work. Thank you, Louise. 💚 p.s. That kookaburra photo is so adorable as is your painting!

[@jokefehling-kooijman8943]

Louise thanks for the clear explanation in this video about the use of mediums. I always love your video’s and work. My question is, I also see mediums like watercolor gloss and watercolor varnish. Maybe you can tell us something about these too?

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Thank you and thank you for the suggestion.

[@karenpulver3004]

I use the method from Susan Harrison Tustain and have great success with it.

[@Plookiss]

fantastic thank you

[@kathryncarbine7140]

Thank you

[@nickmuir3500]

Some great tips from a great artist. Thanks Louise.

[@1msfit]

Where I live the summers are long, hot and dry so I had a big problem with my paper drying too quickly. It finally dawned on me that if I was stretching my paper there was no reason to let it dry before painting once it was fastened down to my board. This method gives the same advantage as wetting the back of the paper but prevents the paper from warping since it is not laying loose on my board.

[@deborahamaral8470]

Lovely, Louise!! 😊❤

[@elkepaull-keller9039]

Thanks so much Louise. You're like a scientist, ready to experiment. 😊 I really appreciate your teaching style ♥️

[@miller13ico]

Great tutorials, always a pleasure!

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Thank you very much.

[@isabelreyes8772]

Es definitivamente usted señora, un angel de amor, gracias mil, en cuanto pueda me suscribo a sus clases, Gracias de nuevo. Bendiciones ❤

[@joykruczay]

Like you, I paint in stages. It started out as a time issues, but has now led to overworking. Another Australian artist, Joe Cartwright, also espouses wetting the back. He also suggests if the front starts to dry and you do not want to spray it for fear of blooms, then wet the back instead. Karen Rice from the UK also suggests this. The demo you did with the mediums is greatly appreciated. As far as mediums, W & N makes a permanent masking fluid which one has to apply rather liberally to have an effect, and leaves a shiny residue. I also have a lifting prep from them that I should remember to use more to paint areas that you may want to lift. It has to dry completely before you paint over it. Since it makes the paint easier to lift, it is not suitable for glazing, and the layers are too easily disturbed.

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Thank you for the information Joy. ❤️

[@warpedweft9004]

I think the paper itself has a lot to do with it. I'm still experimenting, but out of all the papers I've tried, cheap and expensive, so far I'm leaning to the "improved" Fabriano Artistico, and would you believe it, Riot's Eraldo di Paolo 100% cotton paper as the best for manipulation. You need to be a bit cautious with Eraldo though as it can seep beyond your area boundaries a little bit if you aren't super careful and if you really over wet it, I have seen a video where the colour seeped through to the back. I haven't experienced this though and I've used it quite a bit. But then I'm not a loose, atmospheric type painter. I've had good success with Bao Hong, but the paper I have is medium (cold press) that I bought for landscapes and I need to manipulate mostly in floral painting. When I've used up my paper, I intend to try some Bao Hong smooth as he colours seem to keep their vividness with Bao Hong. What I won't be buying is more Saunders Waterford. It's lovely paper, but dries way too quickly for my liking and the colour is very muted. It's difficult to lift out more than two or three lines so you have to work in sections. I also don't like Arches at all. I find it difficult to control. Ohuhu is good if you aren't layering much as layering tends to look a bit muddy. I've been using it for learning and landscapes as it is the first paper I tried. It is celulose based though. The down side is it only comes in one size. Don't bother with all of the other cheap brands. They don't give very good results and often only come in the one surface type.

[@warpedweft9004]

@@lizadivine3785 it is a problem we're all struggling with these days. Eraldo is what could be termed a cheap paper. It normally retails at $37 for ten A3 sheets but I got mine on special for $10. It is almost never full price and buying it full price actually brings it close to a more expensive paper, so I wouldn't bother if it wasn't on special. I never buy any art materials full price. I just can't afford it either. Most of my more expensive papers have been gifts from my family who know it's always very greatly appreciated.

[@SarahNewburyArt]

Hi Louise! This video was really helpful, thank you! I've not had any luck with these mediums either and thought I must be doing something wrong so its good to know you had a similar experience! Have a lovely weekend 😊 x

[@dijosephine9556]

Sooo helpful Louise. Thank you.👍

[@connied8507]

So glad to hear you're feeling better. When you're good at so many things we tend to take on too much. Fabulous painter/teacher and U-tube personality are 2 full time jobs. How many more roles were you carrying? (It's the down side of work promotions) Thank you for being ✨you✨

[@green-eyed_girl88]

Love your videos and all the great tips. You seem so calm and exacting in the videos that the bloopers really crack me up! ❤🙏🏻

[@fatimasa9260]

Estava pensando em comprar o Ox ... mas depois de assistir esse tutorial, desisti da ideia... Obrigada Louise por esse tutorial tão útil.... 🌷 🇧🇷

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Meu prazer, Fátima. Obrigado! 💚

[@beverlydevriesburrows3097]

Your hair is pretty.

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Thank you Beverly.

[@aprildegele1510]

That Gum Arabic is non-staining is great. I work a lot on Yupo with watercolor as well as alcohol ink. Blues and yellow-greens stain the most. I work with Yupo because if you don't like the painting, you can simply wash it off ... except for the staining colors. That would be the only need I would have for the Gum Arabic. I wouldn't have any use for the other. What I'm getting from you is that you don't need to pay for the expensive additives if you can learn to control your water?

[@jessicastewart9676]

QOR and WN sell watercolor medium that extends drying time and it’s the actual purpose of it unlike these products. I have and use QOR’s version here in FL, highly recommend!

[@amandastratton8242]

Thank you for a great tutorial Louise, it was very informative for me. I shall try wetting the paper both sides to see if it helps me at all before moving on to other ideas, looks like I will be busy for a while xx

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Glad it was helpful. Thank you Amanda......busy is good! 💚

[@laurenhamelin6329]

I tried the WN ox gall and don't see much of a difference to be honest. I live in a desert area and it will start to get hotter and drier soon (until monsoon season brings some humidity). I will see if it changes the drying time then. I will try the wet/dry/wet again method to see if that helps. Thank you for the information!

[@treesapgrl]

This is such a fantabulous video ~ *THANK* *YOU* so much!

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you!

[@UraniaOfTheGalaxy]

Thank you, funny lady! Very useful information, as usual.

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Glad it was helpful. Thank you.

[@sanctityjohnson289]

Qor makes a synthetic ox gall solution that I add to my water. It can be very dry and hot where I am, and I've found that it does help buy me some time for wet on wet sections. (I'm a big fan of Qor. I highly recommend it their paints and mediums.)

[@kathryncarbine7140]

I used to soak the whole sheet for a few seconds, then wait for the sheen to lessen. I dont tape it down either, as this way the paper wrinkles less

[@saraht4973]

Thanks terrific

[@p.e.zaccardo5578]

I just love all your videos! Thank you.

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Glad you like them. Thank you.

[@edgorochowski9709]

Very Informative, as always. Thank you.

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Thanks for watching Edgor.

[@joanbarconstomas9637]

Genial como siempre Louise. Gràcias!

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Gracias.

[@TheEmpan85]

Love the video! Whats your take on those artists who use those embossing tools for drying their paints instead of waiting or a hairdrier ? Keep up the great work! You'll always be my biggest watercolour hero ♥

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Thank you. I don't know anything about the embossing tools. I'd have to do a google search to find out. I use a hair dryer between layers. Thank you! 💝

[@warpedweft9004]

@@LouiseDeMasi I think this person means the heat gun you use for embossing. It works like a hairdryer but doesn't blow anywhere near as much air so doesn't blow the paint around. I don't use mine until the paint has settled. I also find it curls the paper, so I try not to use it at all if I can help it.

[@suel4269]

What a coincidence. It was cursing at Cobalt Violet yesterday because it doesn’t blend . So I tried Synthetic OX gall mixed in with the paint. It made a difference.

[@uuugyes]

Hi Louise, I haven't tried using either ox gall or um arabic in the wash water but I have tried using it to 'revive' dried paint as I felt that the glycerin added by the manufacturer had leeched away. I found that adding gum arabic made a great difference - too great a difference! using a no 12 with just the tip dipped in gum arabic made the painf too viscous and almost sticky: the first few tries made it unusable. It clearly needs to be diluted before attempting this. I will continue to experiment. Perhaps using glycerin is the way forward?

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

Thanks a lot. I tried those mediums and now just wet the paper both sides mostly. Louise, could you please do a video on doing large paintings i mean above A4 or A3 size... for intermediate or begniner artists please 🙏🙏

[@kathryncarbine7140]

What about using glycern the same way? A drop in your paints keeps them from drying out

[@j.b.abraham4175]

Organized? That is a life struggle. I can't seem to conquer that one. It's so aggravating 🙄 Even my brain is in disarray and unorganized. But the tips were really helpful. I wish I had some to share 😕 Thank you for sharing about those mediums.

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Lol......thank you Jb. ❤️

[@smdstr]

I saw some artsists used a water spray to keep paper wet.

[@warpedweft9004]

that would work if you're painting a large, loose area, but I'd be a bit wary of using that if you were doing something tighter where you don't want the paint escaping over the boundary of the area you are painting.

[@lydiabond5393]

Louise, did you shake the ox gall? My brand from Japan says to shake with every use. This works for me very well

[@richardbaker112]

I have a small humidifier. I was thinking that might help to keep the paper wetter for longer.

[@user-er9ts6ut1z]

❤❤❤

[@shirleyandrews1152]

Do You sell DVDs of your lessons?

[@viktoriya_z]

💜💚

[@sarahwbs]

Please do some research into the questionable practices of Better Help 🙏🏻

[@justinisenberg9425]

My issue is that my paper becomes wavy/warped after it's wet. Any fix for this?

[@LouiseDeMasi]

Hi Justin. You need to stretch the paper first to stop that from happening. This is how I do it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3jManuhes6dqrc Thanks.

[@suniljangam1056]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@theartistlove8113]

👍🏼 👍🏼

[@fuzzydragons]

i wish dry paper was as problem for me lol😝

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

May I ask you with due respect.... did you ever feel to paint watercolours like traditionally...from top to bottom , like 1st wash ...then middle valued 2nd wash again top to bottom ...finally layer.... you paint in sections mostly wet on wet. Although I devoted to your style i feel somewhere maybe traditional way is the actual way as 99% watercolorists paint that way. could you please answer or do a video on your style...how you developed and how you believed in your style. To me your technique is best...it suits me...however... i am criticised in forums that my watercolours are too realistic not traditional way with few details .... please comment🙏

[@user-ni4dl5vl7f]

💗💗💗💗💗