White Rabbits

Sometimes things just happen organically. I had ordered some masking fluid, although I have never tried it before so I was a little apprehensive. I opened the bottle, and wow, let's just say I haven't smelt such pungent fumes since my girls were in diapers! Nevertheless I decided to give it a whirl - even though some people have told me it leaves very hard clean edges. But sometimes what a girl needs is hard edges! In this case to create hard tufts of rabbit fur.

I  used watercolor paper and decided to start drawing out some white rabbits in pencil. Then I started putting down the masking fluid with a tiny brush where I wanted bits of highlighted fur. Then I started sponging in the shadows and forms of the rabbits. Things were looking good but I needed more texture so I troweled on some acrylic base that has these gritty beads in it and scribbled around in it with a fork to make it look even more like fur.

Then I let the painting dry trying to control myself from peeling off the masking fluid. When  the paint had tried I let it rip! Let me say that peeling off masking fluid is great fun  - a bit like the thrill of peeling off strips of sunburnt skin (or maybe that's just me). And it did indeed leave white patches that gave some wonderfully stark highlights to the rabbits' fur.

You can use an eraser or your fingers to take off the dried masking fluid

Leaving some interesting whiskery textures

Hmm....yes....those rabbits are starting to look very rabbity

That's it folks!

How do you find working with masking fluid? What subjects do you use it for? I think a lot of people use it for straight lines but it was fun to use it for something organic like rabbit fur.