Use of a granulating medium

A few weeks ago I was painting a scene with a lot of large rocks and decided to use a granulating medium to see if I could create more of a mottled appearance to enhance the granulation of pigments and give the rocks more texture.

I was using the Winsor & Newton product instead of water to mix my colours. The granulation medium will cause colours which usually give smooth washes to granulate to a greater or lesser degree depending on the pigment. Generally the modern pigments, prefixed by ‘Permanent' or ‘Winsor' will be most affected by the medium.  I've since learned that for maximum effect, it is best to wet the desired area of paper with the medium and then make a washes using the medium instead of water. Apply it and leave to dry. All granulated washes dry flatter, if this occurs, as the wash dries keep disturbing it with a brush. This will prevent the wash just flowing into itself and levelling out. Granulation is also increased by the roughness of the paper and by the absorbency.

As with all techniques any new method needs practice and as with all water colour washes it can never be guaranteed to get exactly the same results every time.

To the casual observer of the painting that I did using this medium, I'm not sure the granulating medium will make much of  a difference.  I'll have to try it again to make to get more information.

What has your experience been with a granulating medium?

For this week's artist find, here is  Jacqueline Gnott:

 Have a great week
Danielle