Handmade paper Seascape Painting Process continued

In this image, the water has been painted and a pinkish color added to the horizon line of the sky. I use “overbeaten” abaca for these areas. When the abaca fiber is beaten in a Hollander Beater for approximately 10 hours (instead of the more typical 1-2 hours, thus the name overbeaten), the cell walls in the abaca fiber break down and release a gelatinous substance that makes the fiber syrupy. This allows the fiber to be applied more like oil or acrylic paint instead of more bulky cotton fiber. Cotton cannot break down like abaca because cotton does not have a cell wall, thus it will not release the gelatinous substance and remains bulky no matter how long it is beaten.