Watercolor Masking Techniques ~ Fluid, Tape, etc.

Confused, intimidated or just plain new to masking in watercolors? You've come to the right place! :) Join Meredith from the Witty Gritty Paper Co. as she demonstrates the different things you can use to preserve the white of your paper and create beautiful transparent watercolor paintings!
Got questions? Leave them in the comment section! We're happy to help. :)
Original music composed for this video and used with permission by: Christopher McCallister
Supplies Used:
Paper: Canson, 140lb. cold-press watercolor paper
Brushes: Princeton Art, Neptune Series. #8 round, #0 round
Paints:
Winsor and Newton: Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Turquoise, Hooker's Green, Sap Green, Payne's Grey
Daniel Smith: Green Gold, Deep Sap Green
Rublev: Raw Green Umber
Masking Fluid: Winsor and Newton
Shop the collection:
www.thewittygrittypaperco.com
Instagram:
@TheWittyGrittyPaperCo
Get In Touch:
[e-mail]

[@itskarenn6697]

When you said it was just some basic practice nothing big I thought " woah she's a goddess then..." you are so good😫Anyways, I was wondering what happens with the watercolor paint that you don't use? I am a beginner and I have watercolor tubes and of course I don't want to waste it. Again, you are so good!

[@mikeyfinger8026]

I am watching this in September 2018. I’ve spent the last four hours watching your videos and taking notes in my bullet journal thank you for making the whole series of the beginning watercolor basics that kept going and going until I got here. I even watch the Q&A. I just wanted to let you know that the videos you made are still reaching people and informing them and helping them because I am a beginning watercolorist and I feel like I grew leaps and bounds just by learning theory today. I can study from my notes and use them to help me do drills and exercises. Again thank you so much!

[@ArminaFrederick]

"then you will be sad" hahah I don't know why that made me laugh so much

[@Gundesalf]

The high price=tag on masking fluid is mostly from the fancy bottle, an smell-control agent and the brand name. You can actually buy it way cheaper in its generic form as "pure latex". It will not have a smell-control agent, so the ammonia smell will be much worse.

[@suiseseki]

Masking tape rips off my paper. I ended up getting watercolor tape... but, I'd like to know why that was happening, I made a good painting, but then the tape ripped the paper... so it's a loss. (I might just scan and sell it as a print)

[@neonheadmutt]

Su Leonard some masking tape has really strong glue that doesn't do too well with cheaper paper.

[@artilover8266]

That's amazingly beautiful 🌸

[@YuNis72]

Can you do a beginner guide on how to paint watercolor into a canvas :)

[@itskarenn6697]

JuLies Fischer YESSS

[@bettybellomy1591]

Very good! Learned how to more effectively using the masking fluid. Mi am just getting back into art after retiring. When I did art long ago, I did oils. I always wanted to do water color so am mostly learning from you on KZbin.

[@evelyneself4938]

Lovely, I liked the masking tape technique.

[@kealanisimpson8843]

How do you clean your brush after masking?

[@TheWittyGrittyPaperCo]

Hi there! I'm so sorry for the extreme delay in my response! If you've properly coated your brush in soap before dipping it in the masking fluid then it should be as easy as running your brush thoroughly under water and using your fingers to get out all of the masking fluid and the soap. As with most rules with making fluid, the longer you wait to clean your brush the harder it will be to remove. Hope this helps and thank you so much for watching! I hope you have a lovely day! :) Best, Meredith

[@amberxie4370]

You brushes all look well. What series and size of the green penholder one and the grey one? They have nice appearance. Is it worthy to buy?

[@TheWittyGrittyPaperCo]

Hi there! The small green one is a number 0 round brush made by princeton art & brush co. and the grey one is a number 6 round brush made by Dynasty. I really enjoy both of them but if you are looking for some nice, affordable brushes, I'd recommend the Princeton Neptune line of watercolor brushes. Comparatively, they aren't very expensive and they're meant to imitate squirrel hair brushes, so they perform very nicely. Hope that helps and thank you so much for watching! I hope you have a lovely day! :) Best, Meredith

[@texan4ever62]

Thank you so much. This was very helpful.

[@qamar7719]

Nice video, it was very helpful! :)

[@gailgassen8670]

Great informative video! Thank you!!

[@pamelagreen2704]

Great video thank you I learned a lot!

[@nazila1915]

Hi what kind of paper are you using?

[@TheWittyGrittyPaperCo]

Hi there! I'm so sorry for the extreme delay in my response! In this video I used a small piece of Canson 140lb cold-press watercolor paper. Here is a link to it: www.dickblick.com/products/canson-xl-watercolor-pads/ Hope this helps and thank you so much for watching! I hope you have a lovely day! :) Best, Meredith

[@GINACENTRAL]

Is there an easy way to mask off an oval shape?

[@TheWittyGrittyPaperCo]

Hi there! I'm so sorry for the extreme delay in my response! My suggestion would be to just fold a piece of regular paper in half and cut a semi-circle out from the fold to get a symmetrical oval in the size of your choosing. I would then trace this onto my watercolor paper lightly in pencil and paint it in with masking fluid. You could also just paint the edge of the traced oval instead of filling in the whole thing, which would save both time & masking fluid. Hope this helps and thank you so much for watching! I hope you have a lovely day! :) Best, Meredith