Masking Tape
This post is about the wonders of masking tape. Discovering masking tape was a big step for me, yet I find it's not often mentioned in art instruction books. I use masking tape on almost every painting I do. Here's what I've found:
Masking tape is great for horizon lines.
My old method was to paint the sky, then paint the land or water area, and touch up the edges of each until I got a roughly straight line. The problem was, I can't paint a straight line! And even if I could, it would take way too long, and result in a muddy, indistinct horizon from all that painting over.
A much easier way is to choose where your horizon will go, then put a piece of masking tape across the canvas or paper (measuring at intervals with a ruler to make sure it's straight). Paint the sky, going slightly over the edges of the masking tape.
Peel the tape off, stick it to something (you'll need it later) and let the painting dry. When the area you painted is dry, stick the masking tape back on, but moved up over the painted area, so the edge of the masking tape just covers the bottom of your sky. Then paint the area below the masking tape, and peel it off.
Result: A beautiful clean straight line, with no overlapping colors. This technique can be used on canvas or paper, with any kind of paint.
Masking tape can be used for the edges of bulidings, stairs, windows, or anything else where a straight line is needed.
This technique is the same in essence as the horizon technique, but requires more planning and repositioning of tape. Make sure the paint is really dry before you reposition your tape. It helps if you can have another area of the painting (or another painting) to work on while paint is drying, or you'll be tempted to rush it.
Masking tape makes straight, clean-looking borders for your painting.
The clean white edges leave room for a signature and title at the bottom of the painting, and create the look of a mat.
Before you begin, decide how much edge you want on your painting. If you want wider borders than the width of the masking tape, make sure to measure the edges so your painting will turn out straight.
Step-By-Step Application:
Important! Tips for applying the masking tape:
Masking tape is safe on canvas, but if you're painting on paper (acrylic or watercolor), you can end up tearing your paper when you take it off if you're not careful. I learned this the hard way several times and now have some suggestions on how to avoid this disappointment:
1) Practice first! Use a scrap piece of paper to practice applying the masking tape, painting over, and removing it. You'll find that applying too much pressure will make it stick too firmly, and can cause your paper to tear. If you apply it too loosely, the paint will seep under it unevenly and you won't get a straight line.
2) Make sure it's not too sticky. The best way to keep masking tape from sticking too hard in the first place is to make it less sticky. When you tear off the piece from the roll, before putting it on the paper, stick it to some cloth (your apron or jeans work well) to pick up some fuzz. The fuzz will make the tape less likely to attach to your painting for good.
3) Don't leave it on too long. Up to a day or two is fine, but if you're going to leave it for longer, take off the masking tape and replace it later when you're painting again.
4) Don't stick the tape to even slightly damp paper. It's tempting, when you're excited about the next step, but you'll regret it.
5) Choose your paper carefully. The masking tape technique works better on high-quality watercolor paper, because the paper is stronger. I have used it on 90 lb student-quality paper, but my error rate was higher. Whatever you're using, take a minute to practice on another sheet and see how much pressure and "fuzz" you need to apply.
Don't worry too much about all these cautions. Learning to use masking tape is definitely worth a few mishaps and it will improve your paintings significantly. Just practice first.