Watercolor and Alcohol Resist

Watercolor Technique1 Alcohol and Watercolor

MATERIALS

 

  Arches watercolor paper
1½" wash brush 

Q-tips
 91% Alcohol.

Tube Watercolor  

COLORS USED: Dioxazine Purple, Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue.

 Mix a large amount of Dioxazine Purple and block in a large wash on the paper.

 continue painting in the rest of the loose wash with a Cobalt Blue and lay in some Ultramarine Blue in the upper left corner.
Drip.

 

Splatter with brush

 

drip with eye dropper

 

Dab with Q tips

 

Dipping a Q-tip into the alcohol proceed to tap and drip alcohol directly into the washes.

As the alcohol hit the wash it resists the paint, pushing it away while leaving a lighter tint of the wash and organic shapes .

.

As the watercolor washes continue to dry I try smaller splatters of alcohol throughout the area.
During evaporation is a peak time for the effect to work best

You will notice a fish eye  and  blooms in the  lighter surface of most the lighter  where the color slightly darkens.

Experiment and play until you like the effect and set aside to dry keep going with technique in other color scheme. Be careful  not to mix complementary because the mixture will create a muddy color but in some cases that may be exactly what you want if you are doing earth tones and landscape themes. 

blue a and orange
yellow and violet

red and green 



Alcohol and watercolor resist and create a spontaneous ,organic piece of artwork that can not be created with any other technique.


Use it with total creative abandonment and have fun!

 

 

Watercolor Technique1

Alcohol and Watercolor