Process for Creating "Erased" Watercolors
The method for this series forces me to give up on some details and colors, to find an essence and figure out how to portray it. I think that this technique came out of making monotypes. One technique I like requires rolling paint onto a Plexiglas plate and then using water to blot out the areas you want to be white. The plates I created were beautiful, but the print lost something of the brilliance. At some point, we also experimented with using other surfaces besides Plexiglas for the plate, including non-absorbent paper. Again, I preferred the plate to the end product. So these paintings are like those plates BEFORE going through the press.
My technique:
1. If you want hints of color to come through rather than just white, apply some paint directly to the paper. Let dry.
2. Cover the paper with acrylic mat medium. Let dry. This makes the paper much less absorbent.
3. Squeeze out great big gobs of watercolor paint and roll them out. Sprinkle on or roll on a bit of water to help soften the paint and lift bits out to make a more interesting background.
4. Start lifting out. Usually, I use a brush, often a stiff one. I put down water wherever I want a lighter area. If I want to go to white, I scrub with the brush. Then I use a soft rag to lift up the loosened paint.
5. Add dark. This surface is difficult to paint on, so I have to be careful what I paint back in. Dark darks go on well. It’s harder to do anything more subtle.
Mary Blake
7 Lovell Ave, San Rafael, CA 94901
marycblake@comcast.net