Watercolour paper can be very forgiving. Once you learn how to manipulate the paper, you will be able to effectively remove any paint spills or splatters on your work.
As a botanical artist, my work is done with no painted background, so any dropped brush, accidental paint spots or overpainting on an area is very easily seen on the clean paper.
How do we correct mistakes and retain a pristine background? Murphy’s Law (“if anything can go wrong it will”) says that if you have spilled any paint, the spots will not be where you can cover them up with a leaf or an insect. They will be very apparent.
Firstly, prevention is crucial. Cover the paper you are working on with tracing paper or baking paper. This allows the hand to slide easily over the paper and prevents any oils transferring from your hands. Draw a pencil line on the tracing paper around the subject. Cut this area out. The only exposed part of your painting will be the area you will be working on.
Use good quality paper. I use Arches 300gsm hot pressed paper as I need a smooth surface for fine, detailed work. Unwanted paint is easily removed from the paper surface with a scalpel. This method is used on very small areas of paint only.
Watercolour paper has a size on its surface. The size is a gelatine glue type substance that allows the paint to sit on the surface and reduce the absorbency of the paint, otherwise it would be like painting on blotting paper.
The worse thing you can do is try to remove the paint from the paper with a wet brush. This results in the paint spreading over a much larger area, and scrubbing it will remove the size and push the paint further into the fibres of the paper. Instead, wait for the paint to dry completely and avoid the tendency to panic!
Remove unwanted paint as the final steps in your painting, as it is not suitable to paint over these areas.
Using a magnifying glass so it is easier to see the paint you want to remove, very gently scrape the paint from the surface of the paper. This removes the size on which the paint is sitting. Do not scrape in just one direction. The paper fibres lay in all directions so it is more efficient to remove the paint from various angles.
Use the rounded edge of the scalpel. Do not use a craft blade or Stanley knife as they tend to dig into the paper and can create a cut or hole. To remove a very tiny drop of paint, it can be flicked out with the edge of the razor sharp scalpel.
After scraping the paint away, slight paint and paper residue will remain and the cotton fibres of the paper will be slightly apparent on the smooth paper surface. Brush the residue from the paper and burnish or smooth the paper fibres down. Simply put a small piece of baking or tracing paper over the area and use your thumb as a burnishing tool, rubbing in a circular motion. This will protect the work and prevent a sheen appearing on the paper. If the thumb nail makes direct contact with the paper while burnishing, it can leave a shiny surface.
There will be no size left on this area, so avoid painting on it again.
The second method used for removing larger areas of paint is with a Chux Magic Eraser Hard Surface Cleaner. These are available from the cleaning section in the supermarket and they come in blocks. They are chemical and detergent free and have super fine fibres which remove the paint when dampened.
Dip the block into water and squeeze out thoroughly. It must feel as dry as you can make it. There will still be water inside the block and when removing paint, if not dry enough, water will squeeze out on to the paper.
Press hard and drag the block over the paint. Only rub in one direction. If any trace of paint remains quickly repeat this. Do not do these more than three times, as it removes the size and the first underlying layer of fibre.
You will see residue on the paper which is the size and paper fibre. Leave this to dry completely then simply brush it off and burnish it as with previous scalpel method.
Experiment with these watercolour paint removal methods before using them on your finished work.
The repaired areas will be undetectable.
Fig 1. The tip of the scalpel will remove small spots
Fig 2. Larger spots are scraped off with the rounded edge of the scalpel
Fig 3. Some paper residue will remain
Fig 4. Use soft brush to remove residue
Fig 5. Example of overpainting on a leaf edge
Fig 6. After using a scalpel no edge remains
Fig 7. Large area of unwanted paint
Fig 8. Press damp Magic Chux to paint
Fig 9. Press hard and drag Chux across paint
Fig 10. Some fibre residue will remain. When dry this can be removed with a soft brush.
