While I usually go for acrylics when I paint I love to pull out the watercolours on occasion. I find they create less of a mess and can be easier to deal with at times. With that being said, I thought I would share one of my favourite things to paint with watercolours…
What you need:
Watercolour paints: I used my Jane Davenport watercolours for this painting. I usually tend to go for liquid watercolours but I love the colour options in this palate.
Watercolour paper: I am using Canson artist series Montval watercolour paper for this painting.
Masking Fluid: Masking fluid is one of the greatest finds for watercolour paintings. It makes everything so need and tidy, just don’t forget to take it off as soon as possible!
White Signo Pen: I love this pen, it goes on so smoothly and I prefer this to white paint because I can control it better. When the ink starts running out it can be annoying but otherwise the greatest white pen ever!
Pencil and Eraser
What to do:
I usually trace the circle from a bowl (on the case of this one, a roll of tape) because I definitely can’t draw a perfect circle by hand. After tracing out the circle I go over the pencil with the masking fluid. I have a rubber tipped brush to use with the masking fluid because it will ruin any normal brush it gets on. You can also use the rubber brush to make it easier to get the masking fluid off after you are done painting.
I use a spray bottle to wet the circle before putting any paint down and then I just let the paint mix together and move around as it likes. I keep adding colour and water until the whole circle is filled and then I leave it to dry enough to get the masking fluid off.
Once the painting is dry I start drawing out the flowers. I always start with the biggest flowers and continue to the smallest one till, more or less, all of the space is filled. There is no right on wrong with the flowers just start drawing and see what happens. (P.S. If you don’t feel like you can draw enough different styles of flowers you can always use a stencil, though if you look closely at mine you’ll notice there is only three different types of flowers and then a leaf and ivy, not a crazy variety)
Once you have everything drawn out in pencil start tracing over it with the white pen. This is probably the most therapeutic task because there is no thinking required, it’s kind of like one of those adult colouring books. Don’t worry if the pencil is showing or you are doing tiny adjustments as you go along because once you are done with the pen you can erase any pencil you see.
Be careful with the erasing though because it will start to erase off the watercolour paint and make it look faded in spots. After erasing the pencil I always go over the white again in any spots that needed a little more erasing because it can look a little dull after being erased.
And that is it, the simplest of watercolour paintings!
Email me themondaycreative@gmail.com if you give this painting a go
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