Dogwood Berries

"Dogwood Berries"

Watercolor on Masa paper 10 1/4" x 13 5/8".  My first attempt at this style of painting on masa paper. The masa paper has a smooth side and a fuzzy side and is sized. I marked the smooth side of the masa in one corner with permanent ink (micron pen). I took the piece of masa paper and crumpled it up in my hand, then soaked it in a bowl of warm water for about 30 seconds. I then spread it out carefully on paper towels fuzzy side up. I dropped watercolor paint on the paper while still wet. This is when the magic happens. The paint seeps into the cracks in the sizing made by crumpling the paper. When the paper was dry I flipped it over to see what I had created. It wasn't as dark as I had hoped so I repeated the crumpling, soaking and painting process. Next time I will allow the paper to soak a bit longer and squeeze it into a ball before I flatten it out. Some people paint on the fuzzy side for their finished painting. I painted on the smooth side.  After the second crumpling, soaking and painting process had dried, I took a piece of 140 lb watercolor paper and painted it with watered down matte medium and also on the fuzzy side of the masa. I placed a piece of waxed paper over the top and used a rolling pin to flatten it and glue it down to the watercolor paper. You can also use a brayer if you have one. After the "glue" has dried, then you can start to paint on the front. Be careful not to use too much water as the masa is a bit delicate. Don't scrub it!