Doorway in Batik

Doorway in Batik
watercolor batik on wasabi rice paper, 6x8.5

This crazy textured watercolor paper is an experiment for today's "batik effect".  Brought to me by a friend, I'm not sure of the name of it - but it is full of little strings that wind upon it's surface.  It accepts the paint relatively well, and also accepts the hot wax.  The wadding and cracking phase are a little more difficult, as the paper feels more like cloth than paper, but it does work.  The second layer of dark paint floats well over the surface, but the "cracks" are not as linear.  I did go in with a TomBow pen for a little definition to certain parts, and the results are pretty cool.   These pens are water-based, and can be manipulated with a wet brush.  One end is a fine point and the other is a brush tip, making them wonderful to use in many different applications.  I use them here by only lightly brushing the surface of the paper with the side of the brush tip, barely skimming on color where needed.  This results in a very natural look, not a sharp, marker "coloring page" look.  It is a great way to get my painting where I want it to be, when the results vary from the desired effect.  In fact, this painting was one of my least favorites, until I started "tweaking" it!  This painting makes 1058 in 1058 days.