Talks about watercolor with ink

Above about watercolor with ink.

Many artists say that transparent watercolor is more difficult than oil because white and light areas must be reserved during the painting process while, with opaque oils, highlights can be added for the final touch. Try starting with hot press watercolor paper, a waterproof black ink such as Platinum Carbon or Noodler's Bulletproof, and a waterbrush. Sketch with the ink and, with the brush, pull gray washes of every shade from the black lines. After the ink and washes dry, use watercolors to glaze hues over the varying gray tones. To me, this initial placement of darks on my paper, makes it much easier to arrange objects in a picture and create a balanced composition that will pull the eye in to a good focal point. Teachers have sometimes used a similar method by having students first sketch in charcoal to establish tones and spray with fixative before painting with watercolor. New waterproof inks offer an easier technique.