Micro Pointillism: Defining A Medium

The last coat of paint has to be dry actually, since acrylic is water soluble when wet. If they did the splash down while the last layer of blue was wet, they would wash off the final layer.

The masking solution will dissolve in water when it is dry, but the paint will not.

There were indeed some paintings by Stephen and Lowell that were unwashed at some of their shows. During the opening reception, one of them would take the unwashed painting right off the wall and wash it outside in front of the appreciative crowd, then hang it back on the wall. Then the other would wash one of his paintings after that. Later, in the late 1980s, they would teach the technique to others and have a group show where you could see other artists washing their paintings as well.