Consider your surface
Liz Chaderton delves into the world of corrugated cardboard, scraps of packaging and newsprint, to use as exciting surfaces for her paintings
The closest many line and wash artists get to changing the surface they work on is to use Hot-pressed instead of Cold-pressed, or perhaps cartridge paper if out and about sketching, but by being a little more adventurous and changing your surface, you will bring a whole new dimension to your work.
Most surfaces will need some preparation to accept watercolour, while the pigment inks will adhere to many untreated surfaces because of the shellac or other ingredients in the formula.
Don’t be put off by the preparation, as that little bit of extra work will pay dividends.
Using a tinted surface
Simply changing the colour of your surface will introduce a new element to your work but will also present a few challenges.
You need to consider the colour of your line work and ensure that there is sufficient contrast between the ink and paper. You also need to take into account that watercolour is transparent; the colour of the support will show through all your work and provide an overall mood to your piece.
You may wish to select more opaque watercolours. My natural preference is to use transparent colours, but working on a tinted surface does encourage use of the sad neglected tubes lurking at the bottom of your paint box.
A major consideration is how to introduce lights and highlights. White gel pens, gouache, paint markers
(for example, Posca), opaque acrylic ink or pastels might be good options.
While tinted watercolour papers are available, do not limit yourself to these. You could tint your own paper using diluted waterproof ink. Check the resulting surface still accepts watercolour.
Mixed-media papers, such as the
Strathmore range, are sturdy enough to take a watercolour wash. They have a toned tan, which is lovely for portraits, and also a toned grey.
If using watercolour ground to prepare an alternative surface, you do not have to use white. Daniel Smith produces grounds in buff titanium, gold, pearlescent white and black, as well as transparent. You could tint a white ground with watercolour or acrylic paint.
Found surfaces
Found surfaces can be wonderful. A surface which is really interesting to work on, is corrugated card. Not only does it have an interesting tone and texture, its use contributes to the aim of ‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’. I have seen excellent urban sketches executed on cardboard coffee cups, so you are only limited by your imagination. These found papers are not archival and may well deteriorate over time.
Corrugated portrait
I am constantly horrified by the amount of packaging we accumulate, so using it for artwork feels a tiny bit subversive. You will find that the water changes the tone of the board (that is, it is darker when wet), so you need to factor this into your work. You could use packaging with appropriate marketing logos on it and work the print into your design.
Consider whether you want a torn edge or a cut one; they feel very different and might become part of the message. You might wish to fold and distress the surface, which would make it harder to paint on but potentially more interesting – making something beautiful out of rubbish perhaps? It is always worth considering what you are trying to communicate and even your materials can become part of the tale you are weaving.
Corrugated board will not be archival but perhaps the degeneration over time is also part of the story of reusing precious resources.
You can also carve into your corrugated board if you wish. Using a sharp scalpel you can peel away the top layer of paper to reveal the inside and thus add an interesting third dimension to your image, as shown here.