Some info
here
To explain how to do them step by step would result in a small journal!
But................
You can buy corner marking gauges as detailed in the link above. You can also make your own - get a strip of matboard, about 4" wide and 2' long, mitre one end in your morso, then, starting about half an inch from the shortest side, mark increments of one eigth of an inch along the 45 degree angle - number them.
Line the matboard strip along the bottom of your mat aperture so that the 45 degree angle comes away from the right hand corner of the aperture.
(Left if you are left-handed)
With a sharp, hard pencil, make tiny dots on the mat to correspond with the increments you have made on your gauge. Not all of them of course!
Write down the numbers of the increments you use.
For a six line French Mat, say - start about half an inch away from the aperture, mark two, one eigth of an inch apart, then another quarter of an inch from the last one, then one three eigths away from that, then one five eigths from that (the gap between these last two will be your 'panel' of colour, usually very subtle.
The last one would be about three eigths from the washline.
Repeat on the other 3 corners.
Join the lines up with lines of watercolour, or whatever, with a draughtsman's ruling pen.
I draw very faint pencil lines to outline the washline, to guide my brush.
Lines should get progressively further apart.
I use artists quality watercolour for all lines - work from the inside out so that you do not have to wait for them to dry.
I usually add one more line almost touching the last one when it is dry, so close that the gauge is not needed, this last one may even be in gold ink or foil or even real gold leaf (I draw a line of acrylic gloss medium to adhere the leaf)
Much, much more to it, how to steady your hand, how to load the ruling pen, choice and subtlety of colour, type of brush. The band of wash is edged by lines, usually a slightly darker tone than the wash itself - draw these lines before or after the wash? (I do them after.)
Laying a panel of clean water along the washline first? (Yes) DOING the washline first and letting it dry before starting the single lines? (I do)
etc.
Phew!
[ 05-11-2006, 06:32 AM: Message edited by: RoboFramer ]