Dear Karen, I have viewed your tutorials for a long time now and it amazes me how you can always learn something new in watercolour painting. Your techniques with the salt are amazing, such tiny grains sprinkled onto the wet and damp paper create such a stunning result. It's easy to pinch too much and ruin the painting! I have to say though I was actually worried about the effect of the salt on your lovely brushes !! I guess it's ok ? Your instructions and guidance are always so clear and precise , you are an amazing artist and I love your work. Thank you.
Thank you so much Susan, really pleased you are learning so much from the tutorials. I love trying out different techniques. I am not sure of the long term effects on the brushes. I would recommend using older well worn brushes just in case. Hope this was helpful 😊
I love using the salt technique. I never thought about adding a second color over another one and then using salt so the first color comes through from the salt - so cool! I can't wait to see you do a wildflower painting some time using saltwater effect as the flowers. It's going to be beautiful! Thanks for another wonderful tutorial.
Thank you so much for your comment. So pleased you liked the technique of painting a second wash, then use the salt. It is so effective, as you say creating a wildflowers scene 😊
I’m in a humid climate and I find salt works fine but since the air is humid already the paper can’t be too wet. And since it can take a little longer for the paper to dry in humid climes, impatience causes most of my fails. Waiting for the sheen to start to go off just a little so it’s not too damp but just right is the key. One thing tho, it is also hot here and if I have the AC on or a fan blowing, things can dry faster than expected. So again, patience to stay there while it dries so I can get it right is the real art to salt use here. 😅
Hi, dear, I used grainy salt, it’s like small stones… I am not that happy withmy results:((( I used also lots of water, the salt is still there…. I ruined a nice painting with amaryllis 🙆🏻♀️🙈😞😞
Thanks for this video! Using salt water and layering colors are ideas I hadn't thought of, but am looking forward to trying! :) That last technique also works with paints that don't react to salt, which sounds weird, but a brand I use, no matter what I've tried, couldn't care less about salt x'D
Hi Catherine, I’ve been using table salt for years. So far so good. I do brush off the salt when dry. A good alternative to salt is to spatter water into damp paint. Hope this was helpful 😀
Fantsstic video. Can you tell me what you have your paper taped to, is it a piece of wood or something, it seems to help with the buckling of wet paper that always seems to spoil my paintings. Thanks xx
Very interesting. I always stretch paper it’s cheaper that way. And you can have lots of boards and different surfaces of paper on one board. Please can you help those of us who stretch Much appreciated
Hi Karol, I haven't stretched for years, sorry... As a quick very cheap alternative you could wet the back and front of the paper, and paint wet in wet. Here is a link to a video where I did just that... Hope you find it helpful :ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DtI8-cRcUDU.html
Never had any luck with salt the two times I’ve tried (I’m a complete watercolour beginner) but this is worth a try. The effects are lovely and would make interesting backgrounds if only I can get a handle on it.
I love using table salt! It never dawned on me to use himalayan salt - that's next! I also handpaint silk scarves and use salt on those as well, for a really gorgeous texture.
Thanks greatly Karen how amazing the different results in this paints, enjoyed how you've calmly explained what is your way to apply the salt. I must confess not tried using salts yet,greatly appreciating your tutorials Karen stay safe and healthy
Thanks Karen. I really have trouble with salt being hit or miss. I just did a card and it worked perfectly. I need to write notes on which paint and paper react well . Love the two paint effect. That would make lovely trees and frozen water too. 💜
Thank you so much Annette! So many have trouble with salt... as you say it can be hit or miss. I think you are right to keep a record on which paper & colours work the best with salt. So pleased you like the two paint effect... great suggestions for trees and frozen water 😊
Thank you for being so generous with your tips. I’ve never seen the two layer effect before! I do find though that some pigments work better than others as well.
You are so welcome! So pleased you found this helpful... I agree some colours are better with salt than others... I never seem to get on with Ultramarine!
My problem is I am not enough patience to wait few hours for the paint dry naturally. I used the hair blower to dry the paint. Now I know my mistake. Thank you Karen !
Thank you so much,I was one of the artists that asked you about salt as I have experimented to know avail, one of my arty friends said she also has problems,so it was interesting what you said about humid conditions we are in Cornwall, I will have another go I have some aquarium salt which should be interesting, if all else fails I will try the water effect . Thank You so much Karen ,it doesn't matter how long you have been painting there is always something new to learn.Cheers ☺
Thanks so much, I am glad you asked that question, because it has helped so many!! I hope you have more success with the salt.. but you never know it could be the climate in Cornwall! If all else fails the spritzing water is great and produces some great textures... Good luck... let me know how you get on😊
Fascinating, Karen, I'll give it a try but as I don't have access to Patreon from here I would like you to show us how to use these salt techniques in a painting.
Thank you! Check out my latest video, I use salt in the background... you may find it helpful : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-x9su58OPUAE.html&start_radio=1
Thankyou Karen 😄- very useful and interesting. I do get very mixed results with salt and spattering water - timing and paper seem to be very important. Do you think the Saunders Waterford is the better of the ones you’ve mentioned? TIA.
Thank you Tricia... timing is so important as well as the paper. I have used Saunders Waterford in my teaching for nearly 30 years and other papers... I always go back to Saunders and recommend it to all of my students for quality, performance and price. I hope this was helpful 😊
Dear Karen, I have problem with using salt in painting. I have tried table salt and flakes sea salt on wet or damp painting. But I’ve never had any nice results. I am so lucky to find out this video. It’s full of knowledge and your demonstration is very easy to understand. I will practice and fully hope that my cards will have more beautiful texture in spirit of Christmas 😍 Thank you so much !
Thank you so so much Karen. Somehow salt never worked right for me though I love its effect, but this tutorial has given me hope and I'm definitely going to try it! My eureka moment??😊
You had the key, thank you! I've been so frustrated because salting a painting never worked for me, and I did some experimenting based on your video, and I was doing all of it wrong lol 😹 - wrong timing, wrong paper, and the wrong type of salt. Thanks again 😊👍🏾
Great tutorial. The green paint on a dry pink background with Himalayan salt is stunning and would make a beautiful background for a bird or floral subject.
Have you ever experimented with rock salt? I’ve tried it once in an ocean background to make bubbles. Interesting but sort of out of control. I think it was too wet. I’ll keep experimenting. I’ll try now to wait until it’s damp. Thanks for that tip.
Thank you so much! I discovered that our damp humidity has affected my "salt" work and also using an inferior paper. I was glad to hear that as I got rather frustrated using that technique. I just thought it was ME! However, I still have trouble knowing how long to wait before adding the salt. I think I may try ocean water to paint and see what happens! So, off to the beach!
Thanks so much Darlene, so pleased this tutorial has been helpful! I loved using the idea of using the second colour! It turned out better than expected 😊
Hi Karen: This is a great lesson for salt techniques. I think the key is to practice with the amounts of water for the effect you want. Thank you for the tutorial. 😎💜🇺🇸
This was great. When making my ckor charts for each of my paints i do a salt test for wach. I have found that some colors give gteat results while others do not have much of an effect. Have you noticed this?
Hi Mary, so pleased you found this helpful! What a great idea of doing a salt test on your colour charts. I too have found some colours work better with salt than others. Thank you for sharing 😊
We loved it and needed a place to send people for a simple yet in-depth video for techniques. We are mixed media artists and our approach is from that mind-frame. Thank you!
I use sea salt but you can use table salt, make sure it's not low salt. I recommend laying down some mid tone washes, wait for your paper to be damp, and sprinkle the salt. Give it time to work. Hopefully you will get some nice results and well done for persevering 😊
Hello Karen, I have tried two days now,but have no luck. Sometimes it can leave some light white flowers but with dark dot in the center. Why is that? Thank you for your lessons.
Sorry to hear you’re having some issues and not sure if you read my reply to your previous message? I always use sea salt or you can use table salt, just sure it's not low salt. I recommend laying down some mid tone washes, wait for your paper to be damp, and sprinkle the salt. Give it time to work. Or maybe try different watercolour papers. Hope this helps 😊
@@KarenRiceArt Thank you for your reply. I have changed to sea salt and find a way to do it. The white flowers are just not so clear as yours. But I am happy for it. I will try again. Thanks again.
