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.