I have a question for all you inveterate gum printers out there. I'm still toiling away here at tri-color gum, and I had a mix that just seemed too dark and too thick, so I diluted it with distilled water-- probably too much as it ended up very watery-- but I spread it out with a roller, and so it was very even-- but also pretty pale. I printed it, though, and the results were amazing. I was using a piece of Fabriano that I had not sized-- and I couldn't believe it. The result was far superior to some layers I've gotten on a sized piece of Fabriano.
So was this just dumb luck, or is adding distilled water a common practice? I only did one coat so far, and I like it so much, I'm gonna dry this and then size it for subsequent coats, but I could end this print now with this one coat, and I'd be satisfied. It has detail (well, as detailed as an image from a toy camera negative can be), not grainy, very smooth, and no staining. I used Payne's Grey. Anyway, so my question-- is there some downside to adding distilled water like this on a regular basis, other than the obvious (somewhat paler layer than it would be ordinarily, I guess)-- or do people do this all the time and just not talk about it?
I guess I should have paid attention to all those gum posts in the past.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Diana