Kelly Klapstein

• Avoid using kitchen utensils, cups, and bowls as part of your watercolor tool kit unless you’ve designated them to use solely for painting.

he number one rule for brush maintenance is not to leave them soaking in water. Rinse your brush well in clean water when finished and then gently squeeze bristles with cloth or papertowels and lay flat to dry. If you dry them standing up vertically in a cup, there’s a danger of the water moving downward into the ferrule (the part that holds the bristles to the handle), which will then rust or loosen around the bristles.

Apply masking fluid slowly for solid coverage. Remove it by rubbing gently with fingertips or with a kneaded eraser.