Planning your painting before laying a brush to paper is essential when it comes to watercolor. You have to know where you will use which technique, where you would like the white of the paper to remain, how you will build your painting from light to dark, etc. The reason why this is so important is because we know all too well how unforgiving watercolor as a medium can be. Sometimes making a small mistake that cannot be fixed will ruin your entire work. Mistakes like using a staining pigment in your final layer with the intention to lift out some highlights later; or starting out with a value that is too dark, can all have a disappointing affect in the end result. So often you only realize that you have made a mistake after that part of your painting has completely dried.
Thankfully today there are so many new tools or mediums on the market that are there either used as additives or applied directly to the substrate, which help us plan and execute to create that perfect watercolor painting.
One of these mediums is a product that will assist you in lifting pigment from your painting. Although there are several brands on the market,I have been using QoR’s Lift Aid for almost two years, and for me it is most definitely a tool that has made a difference in many of my works.
Lift Aid is a liquid transparent substance that you apply to your paper before you start painting, or before the final layer, it all depends on what you want to achieve. It is manufactured by Golden and is specifically designed for watercolor. In essence it forms an invisible layer that protects the surface underneath, whether it’s the white of your paper or a wash that you would like to preserve. Thus it creates a barrier between the surface beneath and the following layer of watercolor, making it easier to lift pigment from the previous layer or the white surface of the paper. Ideally it is not economical to paint over the whole of the paper but rather just where you have the intention to lift out.
To demonstrate this I painted these four blocks. As you can see in the first photo, I added a light wash of Phthalo Blue to blocks B and D. I chose this hue because I know it to be extremely staining. After this wash has completely dried, I continued by painting blocks C and D with Lift Aid (of course this is not visible in the photo). Block A is just plain paper.
After the Lift Aid has completely dried, I added a dark wash of Phthalo Blue over all four blocks (second photo) and also left it to dry. Then I dampened the center with my brush without scrubbing, and lifted the paint by pressing a paper towel onto the surface.
The difference is noticeable. Even 24 hours later I could not lift out on the surface without the Lift Aid,[ third photo] in comparison to the area that has been prepared with Lift Aid, [fourth photo].
The following is important to keep in mind though:
- Lift Aid is not permanent and will dissolve when you rewet the surface. Therefore you should take care not to scrub the surface with your brush. Just apply paint gently on top of it. And, when ready to lift, dampen gently with a brush before lifting the paint with a paper towel or tissue.
- Because Lift Aid is watery, it will act like water on top of a wash. So be careful not to disturb the pigment underneath by applying the medium with too much force.
- Plan in advance when to apply Lift Aid. Because it dissolves it is not recommended that you try and add multiple layers on top. It is most suitable before painting your final layer, or in areas where you are only going to apply a single wash.
- Lift Aid is, like everything else in watercolor, something you should experiment with. When playing around with it you will find many different applications.
Finally, the painting with the butterfly was my first attempt at using this medium in a painting. I painted the wings with a light brownish wash, waited for it to dry, applied Lift Aid and waited until that layer has also dried completely before applying the final darker brown wash. After everything was dry, I lifted the veins on the wings to expose the lighter wash underneath. It is without a doubt a great tool to add to your toolbox!
By Ewald Calitz, WASA artist.
Email:- ewaldcalitz@gmail.com
Tel:- 0767838265
https://web.facebook.com/ewaldcalitzart
Ewald runs workshops and classes.