Cool Masque Products

This painting was inspired by a barrel cactus and it was really FUN to paint!  Using a masque layer makes the cacti paintings so much easier to do.  I thought I'd show you the masques I use the most in case you have thought about using them and wondered how well they work.

This masque is applied with a brush.  Wetting the brush and then running it over a bar of soap a couple of times keeps the masque from drying in the brush and ruining it while you work.  Makes it much easier to rinse out.  Hint: Never use your good brushes to apply masque.  They'll never, ever be the same again!  

The green colored masque is applied using the handy bottle in the photo below with the blue lid.  It really makes small lines work like a snap.  

The white masque used on this project is the Incredible Mask brand.  I like it.  The Fineline Resist Pen is in the center and the Miskit, by Grumbacher is another favorite of mine.  It dries orange, making it easy to see on the paper surface. 

The tip of the Fineline

This square eraser is a great tool for removing the masque.  On the left, you can see the white paper that is exposed when the masque is taken off. 

The eraser just lifts and peels the stuff right up.  Pretty fun to take off, actually.

This closeup is to show the color being added to the needle areas contrasted next to the plain white of the paper before it's painted.  

Barrel Cactus, Watercolor on 300 pound cold pressed paper
22" x 30"