While I love the textures I can create with watercolor alone, I am always looking for new techniques to add to my repertoire!

For the past year, I have been devouring Ann Blockley’s watercolor and mixed-media books. I am in awe of how she brings nature to life in her work.

As many of you know, I am participating in the World Watercolor Month 31 day painting challenge again this year and am using the official prompts as jumping off points to inspire my work. For the Day 9 prompt, “gnarled,” I knew I wanted to try out Blockley’s tissue paper and gesso technique.

Knowing this would be a wet, messy process, I decided to work on a watercolor block to ensure my paper would stay in place and not buckle. If you don’t have a watercolor block to on hand, you can always stretch your paper instead (instructions on how to do so quickly and easily here!). While not necessary, I used painter’s tape around the perimeter of my watercolor paper to ensure a crisp boarder edge. If you have a tendency to paint right up to the edge of the paper like I do, you may consider doing the same.

Once my paper was prepped, I used gesso and a palette knife to create a thick, white silhouette where I wanted to tree’s trunk positioned. Next time I do this technique, I will use masking fluid to create a barrier between the gesso and the watercolor paper in areas I wish to preserve - such as the sky and where I would like to add foliage in more traditional watercolor techniques. Hindsight is 20/20, right?

Once the layer of gesso is added, crumple tissue paper to create texture and place is over the gesso. Smooth with your finger or a paintbrush until you get your ideal shapes and ensure that you aren’t leaving large air pockets under the tissue; this may cause tearing later on in your process. Since I was working on a tree trunk, I crumbled my tissue paper to create vertical creases.

When you are pleased with the tissue paper placement, add another, thinner layer of gesso on top of the tissue. Because of the glue in the gesso, this second layer will seal the tissue in place and keep its shape. Allow the gesso to dry completely before you begin painting.

Once the surface has hardened, you can paint directly over it! Note that this surface does not have the same sizing that watercolor paper does, so the paints will behave differently - but that is the fun part! Allow highlights to show through on high areas and pools of dark pigments to settle into the crevices to create. If you like working in layers, note that the paints will take longer to dry and the pigments will sit on the surface rather than be absorbed as they would be if you were working directly on watercolor paper. That being said - you can easily recover white spaces by gently wiping the area with a damp cloth or paper towel.

Have fun with this one - I can’t wait to see what you create!