Three Ways to Save Whites when Watercolor Sketching

Daily Sketch "Apple"

Pencil, Sharpie Pen, Koi Watercolors

Today at my "Impressions of the Gardens" class, which is through

the Colorado Free University and held at the Denver Botanic Gardens,

we talked about "saving whites" and observing light and shadow

related to the object being sketched.  By saving whites I mean making

sure that highlights in the object are preserved or saved when the

object is colored in order to give your painting more sparkle and realism.

I had them draw their pears or apples in pencil, ink their drawings when satisfied,
then erase the pencil.  I also had them sketch in the highlights and shadow(s)
underneath and make penciled in notes of the main areas of dark and light.  

We used techniques to "save whites" in three ways

1. Noting areas of light and making light pencil marks to indicate them
2. Using masking fluid (I really like the fine line Masquepen)
3. Using a stiffer brush to gently "lift" color after the paint is dry or
   while it is still wet.

I think that most readers will understand about taking care to not paint

highlighted areas so I will not discuss number 1.  Number two, the 

use of masking fluid, is probably also familiar, but I think that many

have yet to discover Masquepen.  Unlike usual masking fluid that is hard

to control and can ruin your brushes, the Masquepen is a fine tip bottle

that allows you to accurately place masking fluid where you want to 

protect areas from further layers of paint.  Once the masking fluid is

dry you can add more layers, let the layers dry, then rub off with your

finger or a rubber cement eraser.

The third method is a bit of magic that proves that watercolor is easier to

manage than is believed.  Using a slightly stiff damp brush gently rub

on the area where you want to lift color.  Blot the damped area with a

cloth or paper towel.  Magically, with most colors (except the most 

staining) the color will lift.