Why Are Pencil Marks So Hard to Remove From a Watercolor Painting?
Why Are Pencil Marks So Hard to Remove From a Watercolor Painting? “I have tube watercolors. For some reason I can’t erase the pencil marks that I have put to outline my painting. I have tried several different leads and still can’t erase it. Do you have any suggestions?” — TereseAnswer: Once you’ve painted over pencil, there’s a layer of gum arabic over the pencil which can make it hard to remove (particularly with yellow for some reason). One approach is to erase the pencil as much as possible before you start painting, or put as little down initially. A technical pencil with a thin, hard lead helps keep the amount of pencil to a minimum. (A hard pencil is one marked with an H, with a 4H being harder than a 2H. Don’t press onto the paper to get a dark mark with a hard pencil, as you may indent the paper.) Another option to consider is using a
