Painting A Basket - A Lesson In Masking & Lifting Watercolor Paint

This is a big lesson, so its split into two parts. In the first part we will draw a basket with tomatoes in and around it. Then we will mask out the tomatoes, and finally paint the basket.

You will learn how to supplement the sizing of the watercolor paper with gum arabic. That's to make the pain be easily lifted. We can then "erase" the watercolor paint anytime we want; even after it has dried. Then you will learn my very simple technique for "weaving" the basket."

Though this first part of the lesson takes about twenty minutes, once you know how, you can easily paint a basket like this very quickly. I paint this image small enough to fit on a "greeting card", in just a few minutes. That delights Mrs. Watercolor who gives them out pretty regularly.

Much of the "trick" is the choice of sedimentary colors, which I discuss. Non sedimentary pigments are much harder to lift.

This painting is mostly warm colors, the basket is a light brown, that is, dark yellow through dark orange. Even the paper has a slight mustard color cast to it. Only the shadow is cool, and that is definitely blue.

On To Part Two