Tip: Watercolor Rocks With a Palette Knife

 

Jagged rocks are something that can be done quickly in watercolors using a palette knife. While this can be done on either hot or cold press paper, the palette knife causes more damage to the cold press paper scraping off the texture and leaving pieces of it on the painting.

The process...

1. First draw the outline shape of the rocks. Don't waste time drawing many interior lines; they will be covered up with paint.
2. Mix puddles of the colors you plan to use. Use a lot of pigment in the puddles.
3. Lightly dampen the paper within the rock shape.
4. Drop in paint. I start by laying in one color first in scattered areas. Then pick up another color without rinsing the brush and without blending on the palette and drop it in. Let the pigments mix on their own.
5. When the wash is just starting to set but still very wet, pick up the palette knife. Hold the knife by the blade and turn it on its side. Use the long straight edge and with angular strokes push paint away from the light planes of the rocks towards the shadow planes. If the paint flows back to where it was, the wash is still too wet. Wait a minute and push it again.

Joanne Hall
http://journeysinart.blogspot.com/