Encaustic Informing Watercolor

Learning occurs every day on many different levels, capacities, and formats.

On the surface, I understand that, but simultaneously I was surprised to notice that my encaustic painting practice has begun to inform and teach me something about watercolor - a medium I’ve worked with for roughly ten years.

The surprise came from things feeling out of order. My encaustic skillset is newer than watercolor, so the idea that I’d learn something about watercolor by working in encaustic was unexpected but also exciting.

I’ll expand.
(you knew I would!)

I posted this video on Instagram of me scraping back the was on an encaustic painting. “Scraping Back” is an encaustic technique that makes lovely new patterns and reveals some brilliant colors and layers below—a time-honored technique that takes a fair bit to master.

Enter these tools. These are called Blenders or blending brushes. They have very stiff bristles, like a toothbrush, and a wire bristle brush had a wee little baby.

Selection of blending brushes

In the six-week watercolor class I took many years ago. I was taught these brushes existed - yay - that they are for blending or blurring hard lines in watercolor, hence the name, AND (this is the hitch/glitch) 

-for fixing mistakes.

Therefore up until now, when I have used them, it was because I had made a mistake. I was using them only in those shit! shit! shit! moments of panic and dread, making the blending brush a panic grab, not a daily tool.

BUT

The other day I was painting, and I reached for a blending brush to "scrape back" as I would in encaustic, and it worked!! I made an unconscious decision out of a habit I had learned while working with Encaustic.

In doing so, the blending brush had a total transformation in my hand. It's now a functional everyday brush to be used in my process, not for panic and dread. 

I'm so excited to have this "new" tool at my disposal, and I am delighted that these two seemingly different mediums spoke to one another from the garage to the loft to inform better art. 

The video below is of me “scraping back” with a blending brush.

P.S. Keep an eye peeled - this painting will be available in my Etsy shop in the next few weeks!

What lessons have you taken from a seemingly incongruent source?