HINTS AND TIPS

• Never sketch directly on your watercolour paper. Try to minimise the amount of mechanical abrasion of the paper as it can disturb the surface of the paper. Draw your subject of sketch paper first then transfer to the watercolour paper.

• Properly protecting those critical edges in your drawing before laying down your watercolour washes is an invaluable process for contemporary botanical artists. Masking fluid shouldn’t be left on the paper for long periods of time. If you are unfamiliar with using masking fluid, try not to leave it on your paper any longer than a three-week period. If you have central heating in your studio, this can also have negative effects on the masking fluid so do not expose it to extreme heat. I recommend using surface sized papers; softly sized papers would not work well with the masking fluid technique. One great use of the masking fluid is that it will remove graphite lines from your paper which means you don’t need to use an eraser to remove any residual graphite lines.

• With the application of paint, I suggest allowing the paper to settle for at least 24 hours between each step. This prevents the movement of pigment and the mixing of colour washes between each application.

• My colour palette mainly consists of transparent pigments which enable you to mix colour on the paper, rather than in the palette. The painting technique I use is ‘addition’ rather that ‘subtraction’ so you must be confident where you wish to deposit the paint. I always say it is easier to add and harder to remove watercolour paint. By layering paint this way you don’t need to scrub to remove paint and as a result, your paintings will be brought to a new level of realism and detail.mistakes and try again.