Watercolour Mediums

From the likes of Van Gogh and William Blake to Turner and David Jones, some of the world's most captivating art has been made using watercolours. Whatever level of artist you are, watercolour offers so much and can be so rewarding to use. There is something about the freshness and lightness of the colour that makes it feel like no other kind of paint. A big part of how you can get the most out of your watercolour paint is the mediums that you use with it.

Watercolour Primers & Ground

By changing the quality of the paper onto which you paint with a layer of medium, you will be able to affect the way in which the paint reacts with it. Certain watercolour ground or primer layers will for example serve to make the paper more receptive to pigment.

Watercolour Masking Fluid

If you want to mask areas for overpainting at a later stage, you will want to make sure that you have some watercolour masking fluid. This medium forms a fast-drying, water-resistant film on watercolour paper or board, and it can be easily removed with an eraser, soft tissue or a cotton ball once it is dry. Once you have removed the patch, you will have a plain white space where you have just painted over the fluid, as it will have stopped your paint from getting through and into the surface of the paper.

Just use an old brush, pen or a cotton ball to apply the masking fluid so that you don't get it on the brushes which you are using for your watercolours, as it can be tricky to remove from brushes.

Watercolour Granulation Spray, Gum Arabic & More

There are lots of different ways in which to alter the watercolour you have, and it all depends on the kind of project you have in mind. Personally, we see this as a great opportunity to experiment. If you have a range of mediums, you can often find sparks of inspiration once you see the effect that the medium has on the paint.

The watercolour mediums avilable here simply need to be added in doses to the paint or mixing water itself to affect its attributes. You can use watercolour granulation sprays to add texture break up the smoothness of the paint while it's wet. Or mediums such as gum arabic to act as a binder and extender which makes your paints more viscous - very handy for creating a gradiant wash. There are even watercolour mediums that give your paint a pearly shimmer, or those that can make your work dry permanently waterproof - so you paint over without lifting the first layer.

Watercolour Ox Gall

Another great watercolour medium to consider experimenting with is watercolour ox gall. This is going to be handy if you want to make your watercolour as fluid as possible, so that it flows very smoothly. Increasing the wetting of your paint in this way will be a simple job with some ox gall. This medium simply needs to be added directly to the mixing water before diluting the paint. A few drops and the characteristics will have changed.