Problem Solving Watercolor Mistakes
I love using gouache and acrylic paints in my paintings! Why? Because they are my “mistake erasers.” These paints are great for hiding mistakes and covering up unwanted flaws.
If you’ve been painting with watercolor for some time now – you’ve probably run into a mistake or two that was unmanageable, especially once your paint has dried. At this point you have 3 choices – well, really 4.
- Option #1: You can lift the mistake or slowly dab the color up with a wet paper towel. But this has the potential to damage your paper, and let’s not even mention those stubborn staining colors that refuse to budge no matter how hard you try to remove them.
- Option #2: Next, you could glaze over the mistake, making it darker in color appearance. But sometimes this too is impossible – especially if you flubbed a highlight or light area of your painting. Another problem with this is that watercolor is transparent, meaning whatever you layer on top has the potential to show any strange paint strokes or textures below. Think of it like trying to cover up a mistake stroke with a piece of glass.
- Option #3: This is the scariest option of all, but sometimes the only one available – re-adjusting your overall vision for the painting. This means changing a color scheme or removing a section altogether.
- Option #4: And then there’s the last option – giving up entirely and starting over.
Hitting Rock Bottom
If you get to the last option – chances are you’ve hit rock bottom. But before completely giving up, re-think your painting and open your mind to new possibilities – the possibility of using acrylic, ink, and gouache to cover up those dastardly “mistakes.”
And while we’re at it, re-think those “mistakes” as opportunities to play around with something new and unexpected – something you hadn’t planned on before, but that actually might look better in the long run. This is the exact reason I love modern watercolor. Because when I’ve hit rock bottom in a painting, I can always re-adjust and add in some unexpected supplies to spice up the painting – covering up the “mistake” as if it was never even there.
The Watercolor Erasers
Highlight Savers
The biggest mistake most beginners make when it comes to watercolor is losing those precious highlights that add so much to your painting. I have three supplies that I use to gain back these highlights, depending on how much of a “mistake” I need to cover up. Usually, I’ll mix a hint of my watercolors in with these paints to tone the white to that precious highlight color. Below is a list of my favorite highlight savers.
Winsor & Newton Designers Gouache Tube Permanent White
FolkArt Gesso
Copic Opaque White Pigment
The Distractors
The next mistake erasers I use are the “Distractors.” These are typically acrylic or gouache paints that are very opaque and can easily cover up a “mistake” with little effort. Sometimes I’ll even mix these together to create even thicker, colorful, iridescent colors for my paintings. Below is a list of my favorite distractors.
Golden Iridescent Copper Light (Fine)
Golden Iridescent Gold (Fine)
Golden Interference Gold (Fine)
Winsor & Newton Gouache Cobalt Turquoise Light
Winsor & Newton Gouache Opera Pink
Winsor & Newton Gouache Cadmium Scarlet
Winsor & Newton Gouache Intense Blue
Winsor & Newton Gouache Raw Sienna
Watercolor Distractors
Even some thick watercolors can be used as distractors when used in thick concentrations and have an opaque appearance, such as…
Holbein Watercolors Shell Pink
Winsor & Newton Watercolor Cadmium Orange
Holbein Watercolors Jaune Brillant No.2
Winsor & Newton Watercolor Cadmium Yellow
Winsor & Newton Watercolor Neutral Tint
So that’s a quick list of some of my “mistake” erasers. Realize you can really use any supply as a mistake eraser as long as it’s a thick concentrate and opaque in make-up. So really, any acrylic, gouache, watercolor, and ink will work if it fits into those categories. Hope you enjoyed this and happy painting!