In the August 2009 issue, Cathy Johnson explored various ways to save the white of the paper with liquid and dry resists. Here are a few of my favorite tricks that you can try with materials you probably already have lying around the house—if not, just ask your kids or grandkids.





Regular crayons—yes, the kind you used as a kid—work perfectly well as resists. White will give the white-paper effect when painted over, as you see above, but you can also use any of the colored crayons for a more colorful effect. Caran d’Ache’s Neocolor I or other waxy, artist-quality crayons work beautifully, too.









To save whites, you can place a sheet of wax paper over your watercolor paper and draw firmly with a blunt burnishing tool. Enough wax is deposited in this process to make wonderful, fine white lines for grasses, twigs, leaf veins, the shine on hair or decorative elements. In this case, Cathy made lines that suggested the direction of hair masses.









Cathy used a white birthday candle as a resist for this quick sketch of a waterfall.