Create a Background After Your Painting is Finished

A member of our private Facebook group posted a gorgeous animal painting, and mentioned …

“I’m still terrified of backgrounds. I always ruin the whole painting, which sometimes take months to complete, by adding backgrounds.”

The good news is, you CAN create a pale background after your painting is finished. In this post, I’ll share how I created a pale blue, yellow, pinkish background in this Hairless Cat.

Watch this demonstration on my Youtube channel. Scroll lower to see the steps with images.

The image below demonstrates before and after the background was added.

Here are the Steps I used:

Step 1: Apply water to the background area, not quite touching the cat. The paper should be damp enough for the color to move slightly, but you don’t want to see puddles.

Step 2: While the paper is damp, I applied Winsor Blue (Green Shade,) the consistency of milk, in the upper part of the painting. Tilt the painting, allowing the color to move on its own. Gently guide the color to the edge of the cat.

Step 3: Dry. I use a hair dryer. You want the paper to be completely dry before applying the next layer of color.

Step 4: Gently apply water to the paper again, wet enough for the color to slightly move, but no puddles. While the paper is wet, apply Winsor Lemon and Permanent Rose, consistency of tea to milk, to the right side of the painting. Tilt the painting, allowing the color to move. Again, gently guide the color to the edge of the cat.

Step 5: Dry the painting completely (I used a hair dryer.) Then, wet the entire background and add pink and yellow to the other side.

Tips:

• When wetting the paper, keep the water away from the edge of the cat. Then, as you apply color, gently guide the color to the edge of the cat.
• Always wet the entire background area with water, even if you plan to focus on just one side of the painting. This will avoid hard lines as the painting dries.
• The paper must be completely dry before applying another layer of color. This will help to avoid lifting previous layers.

Delve Deeper into painting this Hairless Cat!

You can learn to paint this cat inside our watercolor school. Conquer the golden eyes, smooth coat, dark and light colors, and those ears! If you enjoy taking your time, creating detailed, realistic paintings, this tutorial will be fulfilling for you. Rebecca will take you through the entire step-by-step process.

Doubts be gone. You can do this!

Explore the Hairless Cat tutorial here