DRAW IN WATER

How wet is wet? Very.

On the page WATER SOLUBLE PENCILS 2, we introduced the concept of drawing on a wet piece of paper. And I am finding that the wetter the paper, the greater the range of expression of line that you get when you draw in water.

The image above was taken with my phone, and hopefully it demonstrates that you can’t have too much water. I really like the feel that you get when the tip of your pencil is under the water. As said previously, when you draw like this, it feels like you are drawing into the paper, not on the paper.

I applied the water with the small sponge that came with my watercolors. I rarely if ever use the sponge. With the sponge, you can apply an even coat of water in about 15 seconds. And then you immediately start to draw.

As you can see, even though I have put down most of my lines, the paper is still very wet in most places.  So you really have a reasonable amount of time to get your lines on the paper before things go back to dry.  Another way to say this is, while there may be a tendency to rush when drawing on wet paper, don’t.

And then after the paper is visually dry (it will still be damp to the touch), proceed normally by applying the washes.  While the lines will still dissolve somewhat, the first wet / dry sequence fixes the line to the paper to some extent.

Or of course the water can be applied with your brush. I also saw on the Dick Blick website a small spray water bottle which you use to spray water on your drawing. So I’m sure something like that would work also. For that matter, an empty Windex bottle filled with water (or maybe even Windex?….hummm) could be used to get a reasonably even coat of water on the paper.

Draw on the water.  Carry the Water.  Once in a lifetime.  Water flowing underground.