In this post I will share 3 fun watercolour techniques you can combine with washes of brilliant colour. The quote that inspired this page is:
Every moment is a new beginning
This quote doesn’t immediately conjure imagery so I had to think of what imagery could represent this idea. What came to mind was a game we used to play as children which involves picking dandelion seed heads and blowing on them whilst counting 1 o’clock, 2 o’clock, etc. In this way the dandelion represents moments going by. Every moment can be a new beginning as they are all seeds which may grow into new plants.
I really love the idea that anyone, at any moment, can change their lives for the better. So just ignore ‘all the haters’ . . .
3 Fun Watercolour Techniques Process
- Apply gesso to page
- Create dandelion stencil: first find reference images, draw dandelion in Procreate in black and white, export .png of stencil, import .png into Silhouette Studio, cut stencil.
- Emboss dandelion on gessoed page. I used white embossing powder.
- Add watercolour washes in square shapes to page. Create some hard edges by leaving areas to dry before painting next to them. Create some soft edges by painting next to wet washes with different colour. Repeat once layer is dry until desired vibrancy is achieved.
- Re-emboss dandelion if you want a bolder image.
- Add quote in white posca pen – the bleed from the pigment below into the pen marks will soften the contrast with the background. Write over your lettering until desired effect is achieved.
3 Fun Watercolour Techniques
- Resist with Embossing Powder: use clear powder to preserve the colour of the support. I used white here to get good contrast and did 2 applications of embossing powder to get a clear image. here’s another post I have written about embossing powder.
- Granulation Medium: dilute watercolours with pure medium for strongest effect. Here I added drops to the page. Try with washes at varying stages of drying.
- Cellophane or Clingfilm: cellophane applied on top of a wet wash creates interesting patterns on the page. I got this idea from Anne Blockley who does some really expressive watercolour work.
Fun Watercolour Techniques Process Video
Below is a video showing the key stages of my process.
I hope you have enjoyed this short post on fun watercolour techniques and it has given you some inspiration to try out watercolours and have fun with them. Hugs, Ceri xx
