Creating texture in watercolor paintings

This textural, abstract watercolor landscape is a composition of so many different techniques, which our member artist Manon Jodoin demonstrated for us in our February meeting.

Working on top of a sheet of glass or plexi, she wets both sides of her watercolor paper. The moisture helps to blend the colors and also keeps the paper flat so it doesn't move while she's painting.

Next she loosely brushes colors across the paper. Before she started, Manon had drawn a little flower in the corner with masking fluid as a resist.

Once her background colors are done (but still very wet), she randomly places small pieces of wax paper, which will change how the color dries underneath.

She adds a layer of medical gauze and brushes it down.

After brushing a tree trunk on the side, she sprinkles some rock salt near the top and lays wrinkled plastic wrap across the bottom.  Each technique adds unique texture to the background to mimic water, rocks, grass, etc. After leaving this to dry for several hours, she will gently peel all the wax paper, gauze and plastic away to reveal a very creative background - then she paints and scratches whatever she likes in the foreground. Beautiful!