Salt on Watercolor Technique
Hello, my Graphics Fairy Friends! Heather from Thicketworks here. Today we will learn a Salt on Watercolor Technique. This is an easy and fun Mixed Media Art effect and technically, you don’t even really need watercolors! Most water based pigments will provide similar results. Today, let’s play with our food! Okay, salt is a condiment, but it’s the principle of the thing…
This process is very playful, and requires few supplies.
Come on into my Studio. Let’s get Messy, shall we?
Supplies:
- 140# Cold Press Watercolor Paper
- Water Soluble Pastels (or other water based pigments)
- Table Salt
- Optional: Red Sea Salt
- Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer (or your favorite spray bottle filled with water)
- Turquoise Glimmer Mist (your favorite shimmery spray ink will be fine)
- Optional: Inka Gold: Old Gold
How to Create the Salt on Watercolor Technique:
Begin by adding a wash of water based pigment to a piece of watercolor paper.
I’m using Water Soluble Oil Pastels, but any watercolors will work beautifully.
To create a gradient wash, begin by adding a light color along one edge, varying the intensity of coverage.
Add a related light color, blending it with the first.
Next, add areas of a contrasting color, being careful to create solid blocks of color.
Finish by adding deepening tones as you progress up the paper.
A light to dark gradient works nicely for this technique and provides a rainbow of colors.
To blend the colors, apply smooth horizontal strokes with a wet, soft round brush.
Clean the brush as often as necessary to prevent over blending the colors.
I like to further soften the effect by gently stroking a baby wipe over the surface – again, in a horizontal pattern.
When you are happy with the blending, spritz the surface of the paper, leaving a generous sheen of water moisture.
Sprinkle the wet surface with regular table salt…
Try experimenting with different types of Salt. For varying effects, I added a bit of Red Sea finishing salt grains. The salt grain is quite coarse.
Apply more water to the surface.
For subtle gleam, spray a shimmery mist over the top.
The tiny particles of mica will gather around the salt granules, resulting in tiny halos of shimmer!
Here, you can more clearly appreciate the glimmering ‘halos’ created by the mist:
Leave the surface undisturbed until it has dried completely – overnight is best.
(This is one time you do NOT want to use a heat tool)
When the paper is bone dry, gently rub away the remaining loose crystals with your fingertips.
This close up shows the varying intensity of the salt technique, and the slight staining from the Red Sea Salt.
You can enhance the texture by adding Inka Gold highlights…
The resulting contrast can be very pleasing…
This technique is unpredictable, and creates lovely organic patterning.
Once you’ve created your beautiful Watercolor Salt Effects papers, you can use these richly textured salt art papers as background for Mixed Media Canvases, like this one:
Of course, you can also use them to enhance scrapbook layouts, to add delicious layers to cards, as part of an Art Journal Page…there are no rules, and no limits!
I hope you find time to experiment with this Salt on Watercolor technique – the results are fascinating! You might also like my DIY Marbled Paper Technique HERE.
Until next time,
Heather
To learn how the Mixed Media Canvas above was created click for my blog HERE:
Our students have SO much fun in the Mixed Media for Beginners online course…
Gailie Running-Lynx says
Thank you sooo much for an incredibly detailed and wonderful technique How-To class!!
You are so Sweet to us with all your Freebies!! REALLY appreciate it; and I am so happy that I found you guys!!! xox
graphicsfairy says
Thanks so much, you are so kind. We are just thrilled you are enjoying everything!
Theresa says
This looks so cool! I have seen salt techniques before where it just left a little dot of white under the color. But this is elevated to a much higher degree. Thanks for the info.
graphicsfairy says
Thanks so much Theresa! As always, Heather delivers amazing ideas and techniques!
JEANIE KIRBY says
“Hi Miss Heather, You are so so Clever”!?, I Love watching your Tutorials each week”! I’ve lots of different Papers and Card Pieces, and look forward too Making something with different with them, I do lots of different Crafts, and it will be nice too do some like these for a change”!, Thank You”!
Heather Tracy says
Hee hee! Hi Jeanie! You are so funny and cute…I hope you give this a go, it’s fun to see what effects you can create, my friend. xox
Bee says
Have you ever used this on fabric? I’m not a paper crafter & would not want to purchase the colors if I could not use this technique on cloth for embroidery. It may have many uses in embroidery if the cloth takes the treatment well.
Heather Tracy says
Hello, Bee. What an interesting question…and I’m sorry to not be able to answer it properly. However, if I were working on a fabric surface, I’d opt for traditional watercolors – the blending would be so much easier. As to whether a salt treatment would have any effect? Unknown. But if you have access to watercolors and table salt, it is certainly worth experimenting with on a scrap of muslin! I assume (perhaps wrongly) that your embroidery pieces do not get laundered? That would have to be a consideration as well. I’d love to see your work! xox
Dorthe Hansen says
Such a gorgeous effect Heather , I tried it once, but totally forgot about it, so thank you for this beautiful reminder ,I really have to try it ,I guess it could be on all kind of color surfaces.
Have a wonderful weekend dear Heather , xoxoxo
Heather Tracy says
This IS one of those techniques that can be easy to ‘forget’ about…but it’s well worth playing with. The effects are so lovely! And yes, I say let’s explore all kinds of media! Hope your weekend is lovely as well, Dorthe! xox
Rupa says
Ahem, , I did miss that link. Thank you my friend, there is no one as kind and sharing as you (along with the fairy Karen). Xox
Heather Tracy says
No worries, my darling friend! So happy that you asked! (Karen is THE most generous blogger on the planet) Yep. xox
Victoria Banaszak says
This is awesome! I never thought to use salt with water soluable oils.
Heather Tracy says
Had to give it a try – and the results are FUN! So glad you like it, Victoria! xox
Rupa says
Holy cow!! You have elevated a simple salt technique to a whole new level of elegance!! The colors you chose are just gorgeous! I bought those pastels just because of your recommendation and I love them. You are not only a born artist but a born teacher! I love your detailed instructions that are so easy to follow, you don’t miss a beat! The last pic is so drool worthy. Please share more of it (and may I greedily ask you to show us how you used this salted paper to make that amazing mixed media art?) Thank you, thank you!! PS: I noticed that you have beautified your salt shaker too lol! Gorgeous!!
Heather Tracy says
Rupa! Hello my friend… this is such a simple technique, but it’s SO darn fun. I just love the kind of thing where you add a bit of this and that, then wait for the magic to happen.
So typical of you to notice my funny Salt Shaker embellishment…you don’t miss ANYTHING! And you may indeed ask about the little Mixed Media canvas – in fact, there’s a link to a detailed tutorial right at the bottom of the post.
Thank you for being so kind – it always lifts me up. xox
Elisabeth Djurvall says
Soo sad I vant getsold of your stuff for creating in Sweden !!!! Its all beautiful !
Heather Tracy says
I’ll bet you can find watercolors and salt, Elizabeth! Don’t be sad! Thank you for your kindness, my friend. xox
Jayne Webster Blyth says
Hiya, I have just discovered your beautiful mixed media canvas, I am new to this and have found your tutorial brilliant, especially the salt technique, I see you are using oil pastels, can you tell me the make of them please. Thankyou xxxxx
Heather Tracy says
Hi Jayne! Thank you for your kind words, my friend. In this instance I’m using Prima Water Soluble Oil Pastels – they are ultra creamy and blend very nicely. I hope you try the Salt Technique – it’s so fun! xox