Rubber Cement Watercolor Resist Painting Technique

The thought of rubber cement always takes me back to the 6th grade. The smell! I’m not sure that schools offer rubber cement to kids anymore (kudos to them if that’s the case), but us adults can still try this favorite watercolor resist technique in a well-ventilated area.

If you art journal or if you’re keeping a sketchbook, the rubber cement watercolor resist art technique is a fun way to add some variety and texture to your pages. It’s also a magical way to play with negative space and positive space. As you’ll see in the video, rubber cement will pour off of the dispenser brush in a haphazard way, and it can be hard to control the flow of it. Keep this in mind if you’re thinking of using this technique for detailed work. I’m sure there’s a way around it and encourage you to experiment!

Rubber Cement and Kids

I don’t recommend the use of rubber cement with young children and suggest using your best judgment for yourself and others in a well-ventilated space. If you’re like to try this with kids, an adult could do the rubber cement step and once dry, the child could paint over it.

Supplies

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• Rubber Cement
• Watercolor Paper or other heavy paper
• Watercolor Paint. We like this set from Pelikan (it gets amazing reviews)
• Water
• Brush. We used a wide filbert-shaped brush.

Rubber Cement Watercolor Resist

I’m dipping my toes into the world of video. Would you let me know what you think? There’s sound, so be sure to turn the volume down if you’re in a quiet place 🙂

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Steps: Rubber Cement Resist

• Drip rubber cement onto watercolor paper.
• Wait for rubber cement to dry.
• Paint right over the rubber cement. It will resist the paint!
• Once dry, rub the cement away from the paper.

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Cling Film Art Experiment