A guide to preserving the luminosity of your paintings through careful removal techniques.
In 1883, James McNeill Whistler created his famous "Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket" by carefully lifting paint to create luminous effects in the night sky. The painting demonstrated that in watercolor, removing paint can be just as crucial as applying it. The ability to lift and control watercolor isn't just about fixing mistakes—it's about revealing light itself(as the white of the paper). Google Whistler's painting; it's stunning. And once you think about lifting color out rather than layering it in, his process gets a lot less mysterious.
What's the takeaway? The way you remove watercolor matters. The proper technique distinguishes between luminous, glowing passages and muddy, overworked areas. Let's explore how to lift and control watercolor precisely and confidently—so you only remove what you want and preserve what you don't.
Removal techniques in watercolor aren't all created equal. A good lifting technique does more than just correct mistakes; it helps refine your work, maintains paper integrity, and can even make dramatic effects. From gentle blotting to aggressive scrubbing, here's everything you need to know about controlling and removing watercolor.
Foundation Work: Pencil Techniques in Watercolor
Before we dive into removal techniques, let's talk about the crucial foundation of many watercolor paintings: pencil work. How you approach your initial drawing can dramatically affect how your final painting develops and what removal techniques you'll need.
Traditional Graphite Drawing
When creating your initial sketch on watercolor paper, a light touch is essential. You want just enough graphite to guide your painting without the lines showing through your washes or creating muddy colors. Choose harder pencils (H to 2H) for minimal graphite deposit, and remember that any line you put down will likely become permanent once the paper gets wet. You could use a harder pencil, but I find those gouge my paper. If you have a delicate hand, give harder pencils a shot. I have the nuanced touch of a gorilla on the rampage, so I use softer pencils.
A common mistake I see is artists pressing too hard with their pencils, creating indentations in the paper that catch the brush. This creates tiny canyons where pooling paint accumulates into unwanted dark lines. Can you erase them? Maybe, but it can be a lot of work, and sometimes it just won't come out.
Leave too much graphite on the paper, and the built-up graphite will dull the luminosity. So tread lightly. Think of your pencil marks as whispers rather than roars - they should guide your brush, not dominate your painting.
Water-Soluble Pencils: A Game-Changing Technique
Water-soluble pencils have revolutionized how I approach my initial drawings. These versatile tools create marks that partially dissolve when activated with water, integrating seamlessly with your watercolor washes. This technique can add depth and interest to your work in ways traditional graphite never could.
The real magic happens when you strategically choose which lines to dissolve fully and which to leave partially intact. Try these approaches:
Activate some lines completely, letting them bleed into your first wash for atmospheric effects
Leave other lines partially undissolved to maintain structure in key areas
Layer water-soluble pencil marks over dried washes for additional depth and texture
Pro Tip: Keep a separate brush to activate your water-soluble pencil marks. This prevents contamination of your regular painting brushes and gives you more control over the dissolution process.
Pro Tip 2: You can pull the water-soluble pencil through the wet areas and get an immediately painterly line. Wanna push it even further? Pre-wet the tip of your pencil so it's already dissolving. Good fun. Experimentation is the spice of life... at least in art.
Travel Tip: Use a few water-soluble pencils (like Derwent's Inktense pencils) and a travel waterbrush for "painting" on the go where water containers and paint palettes fear to tread. I use Inktense pencils and a waterbrush for my subway drawings. They look great. No mess.
The Basics: Types of Removal Techniques
Erasing Foundation Marks
When working with pencil marks in watercolor, whether traditional graphite or water-soluble, you'll sometimes need to make corrections before adding paint. Use a soft white vinyl (polymer) eraser with minimal pressure to avoid damaging the paper surface.
Kneaded erasers can work, too, especially for lightening rather than completely removing marks. But I don't trust 'em. Why? Mine aren't clean enough. If your kneaded eraser is dirty, the graphite gets rubbed into the fibers instead of being carefully removed. Clean it by pulling it apart repeatedly until all the trapped graphite and charcoal drop out. When it doubt, just go back to the white polymer eraser. It's safer. Just erase off the dirty areas before you start.
For water-soluble pencils, remember that any eraser marks might affect how the remaining pencil marks dissolve. Test your erasing technique on a scrap piece first to understand how it impacts the properties of your lines.
Clean Water Lifting
What It Is: Using clean water and a brush to reactivate and lift watercolor out of your washes. Master Watercolorist Wendy Artin suggests a soft 1" Flat Brush. Sable is nice, if ya' got it.
Pros: Gentle on paper, allows for subtle adjustments, and creates soft edges
Cons: May not wholly remove staining colors
Verdict: Essential for subtle corrections and creating atmospheric effects.
Pro Tip: Temperature matters—slightly warm water lifts more effectively than cold.
Paper Towel Technique
What It Is: Using absorbent paper towels to lift wet or reactivated paint.
Pros: Quick, effective, and allows for creating texture and pattern
Cons: It can be challenging to control precise areas, and the texture of the paper towel can be transferred into watercolors.
Verdict: Perfect for creating clouds, lifting large areas, or quick corrections
Expert Level Tip: Dab, don't wipe. Wiping can damage paper fibers or transfer unwanted texture. It can also drag color across the painting. Been there, done that.
Magic Eraser (Melamine Foam)
What It Is: A gentle abrasive material that can lift color through mechanical action
Pros: Highly effective, even with staining colors
Cons: Can damage the paper surface if used too aggressively
Verdict: Essential for precise corrections, but requires a delicate touch. I have tried this once or twice. I am not a master of this "magic."
Pro Tip: Cut small pieces for detailed work and test on a scrap first. Like working with wild beasts, these can quickly get out of control.
Essential Tools for Advanced Lifting
Brushes for Lifting
What They Are: Natural hair brushes specifically for lifting techniques.
How They Work: Soft but resilient bristles help control water and lift color without damaging paper. Again, a 1" flat is recommended by the inimitable Wendy Artin, master watercolorist and educator.
Why Use Them: Dedicated lifting brushes prevent contamination of your regular painting brushes
Clean Water Container
What It Is: A separate container of clean water specifically for lifting
How It Works: Prevents contaminated water from affecting your lifting attempts.
Why Use One: Clean water is essential for effective lifting—contaminated water can leave unwanted color behind
Pro Tip: The Water Container you use to lift paint off the paper is NOT the same as the one you use to clean your brush between colors. Both are critical, but they are NOT the same container. You must have two, at minimum.
Cotton Swabs
What They Are: Precision tools for targeted lifting
How They Work: The soft cotton tip provides control while gentle on paper.
Why Use Them: Perfect for small areas and detailed work
Lifting Tips for Watercolor Artists
Know Your Pigments: Some colors lift easily (like ultramarine), while others stain (like phthalo blue). Test your palette's lifting properties before starting a painting.
Paper Matters: Higher quality, sized papers allow for more aggressive lifting techniques. Student-grade papers can pill or break down quickly.
Timing Is Everything: Fresh paint lifts more easily than old, but working too quickly can create unwanted blooms. Find your sweet spot.
Preserve Paper Integrity: Never scrub aggressively. If color won't lift, it's better to work with it or cover it than destroy your paper surface.
Mind Your Pencil Work: When using water-soluble pencils, remember that lifting techniques will also affect your partially dissolved pencil marks... kind of. The water-soluble pencils don't always dissolve away completely, nor do they erase completely. This can be either a challenge or an opportunity. Depends on your mindset. When using regular graphite, use a light touch. Too much graphite dulls the watercolors applied over them. If you erase, use a white polymer eraser so it doesn't discolor or tear the fibers.
Test Your Approach: Before starting a painting, create a test sheet with your planned pencil work (whether traditional or water-soluble) and practice your lifting techniques. This helps you understand how your specific combination of paper, pencils, and paint will behave.
Know Your Pigments: Some colors lift easily (like ultramarine), while others stain (like phthalo blue). Test your palette's lifting properties before starting a painting.
Paper Matters: Higher quality, sized papers allow for more aggressive lifting techniques. Student-grade papers can pill or break down quickly. Pilling is when little nubs form on the surface. It's unattractive and demarcates a junky paper from the good.
Timing Is Everything: Fresh paint lifts more easily than old, but working too quickly can create unwanted blooms. Find your sweet spot. Watercolor is all about controlling by relinquishing control. Find your singularity, that flow state where everything feels intuitive. Doesn't always happen, but it's delightful when it does.
Preserve Paper Integrity: Never scrub too aggressively. If color won't lift, it's better to work with it. You can also cover it. Both are better options than destroying the surface. Having said that, J.M.W. Turner used razors and fingernails to scrape away errant marks. Tools, not rules, am I right?! Good paper is resilient. But it had better be a fine, expert-grade paper. 100% rag is the safest bet.
Final Thoughts
I've had many of my paintings ruined by improper lifting techniques. Paper towel texture shows up in the paint. Leftover paint on the paper towel gets deposited on the paper. Ugh... I should have known better.
Lifting techniques are not self-evident. One's gotta stay humble. Painting is not a "study, then pass the test" enterprise. It takes experimentation and practice. And watercolor papers do not come with exhaustive explanations. Lifting properties? Even more obscure. Entire workshops are dedicated to paper, often making it. In the watercolor workshop I attended, lifting was prioritized nearly as much as painting.
The proper lifting technique isn't just a correction tool—it's part of your creative toolkit. Whether creating soft clouds with paper towel lifting or carving out highlights with a lifting brush, each situation is slightly different.
And the humble cotton swab? It might be your best friend when precision is key, and you're stuck in a corner. Keep each tool handy, then choose the right one for the right task. You'll never have to wrestle with colors muddied by over-zealous underdrawings or damaged paper again.
Hah. Okay, that's wildly optimistic; let me walk that back a little. You'll minimize the chances that the damage will be self-inflicted.
And if your cat walks across your wet paint? Well, doesn't Buddha tell us control is an illusion?
Charles Merritt Houghton
25 December 2024
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