A J Ludlow Lifting and Masking Medium

Lifting and Masking Medium is just one of the Watercolour Mediums that complement the A J Ludlow Professional Watercolour range. Made in the UK using the same fine quality materials we use to make our watercolours; this medium has been created to give an additional dimension and creativity to the artist.

This medium allows dry watercolour washes to be easily removed from the paper with a wet brush or damp tissue. It can also act as a mask, protecting under layers from subsequent colour bleeding or can be diluted and sprayed onto graphite drawings to seal the surface and protect the image.

If using this medium as a lifting preparation, then it must be applied sufficiently for the desired effect prior to painting and completely dry before starting work. It will allow colour to remain in place on top of it and so its use does not necessarily need to be precise, but it should be remembered that dried colour on top of this medium can be easily removed and the medium may show through very dilute washes. When used in this way the Lifting and Masking medium will seal the paper's surface and any subsequent surface it is painted over. It can therefore be used in layering and so acts as a permanent mask, protecting the underlayers from colour bleeding.

When used to seal graphite drawings, the medium needs to be diluted around 5 times with water (1 part medium to 5 parts water) for it to be sprayed through an atomiser spray (as shown in the Panda drawing example above).

However, due to the quantity of water used to dilute the medium, cartridge and lighter drawing papers will be prone to cockling. But by stretching the paper first, or by using a heavy hot pressed watercolour paper, the surface distortion can be greatly reduced.

An example of using the Lifting and Masking medium to paint an apple in watercolour: By painting the red and yellow areas separately the two colours can be applied as separate washes and hence retain their luminosity and brightness without inter-mixing. The medium can also be used to protect layers of watercolour during the painting, and in this project the medium was applied prior to adding the finishing touches to the painting.

Stage 1: Draw the outline of the painting onto watercolour paper lightly with a pencil.

Stage 2: Apply a generous coating of Lifting and Masking medium over the drawing and allow it to completely dry,

Stage 3: Glaze with water and drop in the base colour and allow the painting to completely dry.

Stage 4: Lift out the area where the apple is yellow with a wet brush and paper towel and again, allow the painting to completely dry.

Stage 5: Wash in the yellow base colour and allow to dry completely before lifting out the highlights with a wet brush and paper towel and again leave to dry.

Stage 6: Deepen the colour, by using smaller strokes of drier watercolour mixes. Allow to dry, then apply the Lifting and Masking medium to seal the layers of watercolour already applied, before using the dry brush method to add the deepest colours.

Stage 1	Stage 2
Stage 3	Stage 4
Stage 5	Stage 6

These notes are meant for guidance only and by no means, should have a limiting effect on the user’s inspiration or creativity. So how will you use this watercolour medium?