Masking fluid pens

20 Jul

Hello friend!

Lately I've discovered an art supply I'm really enjoying and these are.. masking fluid pens!

I had used different masking fluid before like:

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From masking fluid point of view, both have worked fine for me because they mask correctly and depending on the paper they work just fine.

However, from the application point of view I feel they were not working for me but against me: too much fluid and density that takes a long time to dry, not so precise application even with the fine point of the Sennelier one, etc.

When I bought this ebook from Sarah Cray, I saw she was using masking fluid in the form of PEN to make the details on the foreground grasses, the flowers etc. So I decided to give it a try.

I bought these two ones:

I wanted to try both because one of them has a very fine point (0.7mm) and the other one a bigger one (2mm) and I don't know you but in my head I don't really see how the difference between them would be until I try them out!

***Molotow masking fluid pen***

This is not intended to be a review or anything but so far, the **Molotow** one is earning a place in my artist heart! Why? because..
***Cons:***
The strong blue tint of the fluid can affect which colors you use in your painting (because of how they look next to the blue)

Pros:

So far it works really well, you don't need to do any previous step to use it
The point is really sturdy and resists pressing it to make the fluid go to the paper
It's refillable
The point can be changed
The 2mm is enough to make small details
The 2mm point is good enough to fill bigger sizes
It works on my cold pressed papers perfectly
The blue tint is perfect to know where you have placed it
I removed it easily with an eraser (although it says to only leave the fluid on the paper for maximum two days)

Cons:

I didn't use it for two days and the fluid is stuck inside, almost impossible to come out
In the first application I almost destroyed the 0.7mm point (Maybe I'm too strong?), probably making it around 2mm point
The point is a bit small to fill in bigger shapes
It's not refillable.
You should store it horizontally at all times

Apart from all these pros and cons, I'm really enjoying them because they are very portable compared to the other ones I tried, the application is much more precise and you don't need to use an additional tool, such a brush, to apply them. Also, they are very portable and they're amazing for carrying them in my plein air painting sessions!

Bonus - Sennelier masking fluid

This masking fluid is one I have in the studio since a long time. It’s from the brand Sennelier and even if it has a very fine point, when you press the bottle for the liquid to come out, there's just too much liquid that comes out and it provokes a thick layer that takes a lot of time to dry 98% of the times, so I was not using it that much because I missed control with it.

Comparing all three

Here you can see a comparison between Molotow, Pebeo and Sennelier (in that order).

As you can see below, the Sennelier, specially when making dots, have a lot more volume and takes longer to dry which drives me crazy 😂

At the end I realised the results are quite similar but the frustration when using each one is quite different, which is important for me when I use art supplies :) It's great when you find a tool that works FOR YOU instead of working against you… isn’t that awesome?

I hope you found this post interesting! As I think this is very personal and each of us may would have a different experience with them, I would love to know your point of view!

Have you used these kind of pens? Do you use masking fluid in your artwork?🥰