The 2 Best Ways to Fix Your Whites in Your Watercolor Paintings

Watercolors can sometimes seep into what you had planned to remain white. Not to worry, you can add them back in later using these 2 methods.

In watercolor painting, you will often find yourself using the whites of the paper as your source of watercolor whites. Typically, you will start out with a plan and paint around the white areas of the paper that you want to shine through. This doesn’t always work out according to plan, as your watercolors can sometimes seep into the area that you had planned to keep white. Not to worry, you can add them back in later using the methods below.

Key Takeaways

Artists add watercolor whites as a way to add depth and intrigue to their painting.
To keep sections of you painting white, add them back in using watercolor whites.
There are two methods to add whites to your painting: scrubbing whites or adding whites using gouache.

Adding Whites in Your Painting Using Gouache

The white paint used to add whites in watercolor is actually gouache. It’s made with gum Arabic binder, just like watercolor. However, it has less fine and more abundant pigment. It also varies from watercolor as it has calcium carbonate or chalk added to it so it appears more opaque and flat.

The opacity of gouache is the biggest difference between it and watercolor paint. The opacity causes the gouache to sit on top of the watercolor. However, like watercolor, gouache can be re-dissolved after drying. So, while it sits on top, it will darken as it dries.

To add whites in watercolor paintings with gouache, you’ll treat it similarly to your watercolors. Pull it out of the tube and work it into your brush on your palette without adding water. Then, add it to your watercolor painting wherever you want to add whites or accents.

As mentioned above, the gouache will dry a bit darker. To get a brighter, more dramatic white, you’ll need to double it up by letting the gouache dry, then adding another layer. Rather than completely doubling it up, you might use the second layer of gouache just for minimal accents. By limiting the second layer to accents, you can create realistic depth or eye-catching highlights.

To take this one step further, you can add more watercolor up against the gouache which will add to the depth. The new layer of watercolor will interact with the gouache. The different textures - watery watercolor to thicker gouache, will add movement and intrigue.

Scrubbing Paint to Add Whites

It is also possible to add whites in your watercolor paintings without using gouache. With this method, you scrub watercolor off your painting to bring the whites of the paper back out. There are several methods to do this:

Use a scrubbing motion with the bristles of an acrylic or oil painting brush. These types of brushes have stiffer bristles, giving you more power and control. Be careful using this method as overzealous scrubbing can damage the paper.
Use a razor blade or X-Acto knife to scrape thin, finer lines.
Spray & blot the paper, using a spray bottle full of water as a way to blast the paint off the paper, gently blotting up extra paint off of the paper as you go.
Use very fine sandpaper to carefully buff paint off the paper.

Final Thoughts

Adding in watercolor whites is a great way to add depth and intrigue to your painting. It’s important to note that scrubbing your painting to add whites will not work as well if you’ve used staining colors. For those colors, you might have to use gouache. Whichever method you choose, adding whites in watercolor paintings is a key skill to add to your repertoire.

Interested in learning more?

Check out our YouTube video on this subject with Arts of Course instructor Jess Rice.

Read "16 simple things to know to begin with watercolors and create successful paintings" by clicking here.

Download our free Top 10 Watercolor Tips by 200 passionate painters

Categories: Watercolor Techniques, Watercolor tips