Watercoloring Human Doodles

 This week Linda is sharing this video tutorial by Stephen Coats doing quick sketches of people from the back in simple scenes and watercoloring them. The video is called Watercolour Doodles Human Figures seen here on YouTube. 

 So, I started doing sketches of people after watching the video in these sketch books. 

 And I thought OK this is not so bad as the mental thought of drawing people or even sketching people so, I picked up a second sketch book with watercolor paper that I had not used as of yet and did a larger couple on it. This is a link to this particular pad. 

And then right before I started painting it I remembered that you were supposed to ink over it and I actually remembered to test it on a scrap. 

 

 I grabbed an Micron pen and found it bled with just water so, I went online and found this multipack of the Uni Pens in the video on Amazon here. And then I scribbled on some of the black from that pen on the same scrap of Arches paper 

 And it looked like this pen bled more than an Micron pen... so, I decided that I would use the pen and let it sit for a while incase there was some drying time needed. 

 I did try to mix some plum paint from the ultra marine and some red (not a what ever red he used and I did not really see the paint move as well on this paper. I will have to look for a link for this particular sketchbook but, it is not Arches paper for sure. 

I did drag the paintbrush below their feet trying for some blurry shadows in the rain um, reflections type movement.

 

So, after that paint dried I added on some more shadows at the feet for a reflection and Sketched inked shadow lines as the paint had dried by this point. And this is where I stopped. I did not have time to build a scene and I am OK with that, I still grin about the whole "carrot" people comment but, I was glad to see this explained in more depth as the first time I had heard him say that during the beach scene tutorial from Last month seen here I did not try to add legs and feet like I did there and this is more realistic to me so that was a cool thing to learn. That's about it from me, If you'd like to play along with us you can find this challenge here at SCS. Thanks for stopping by. 

Inspired by {Lamps Plus}

 This week Amy has chosen the Lamps Plus site for inspiration and their pinterest boards here. I came across this chair with a collage/bird print fabric on it and went from there. 

 I have spent a little time this last week diecutting some of my scraps with new to me dies and this Creative Expressions Sam Poole Cheesecloth background from one of those old SU brown colors ( its the one that is darker than Chocolate Chip whose name escapes me..) that was how this card started as the envelope of these was laying front and center, So I dug out this old PSX decoys stamp # G-1737 from 1995 and stamped it with some Versafine Clair Pinecone ink on some Neenah classic cream cardstock. I ended up adding the sentiment from the Woodware happy birthday set ( this only has two sentiments in the set) with the same ink as I liked the font and my dad's birthday is next week. The scripty text printed paper is from Hobby Lobby and the base here is some textured Bazzill. This is 5 1/2" square in real life. I did use a Simon Says Stamp notebook edge die on the cream cardstock stamped panel and then used some DOX vintage photo ink along the edges of the paler shades of papers here. I thought about adding an Egg image or two to the collage but, I needed to get this in the mail so, I just left the birds as line art and did not color them either. That's about it from me, I hope you're doing well & thanks for stopping by. If you'd like to play along with us you can find this challenge here at SCS. 

Watercoloring Old Trees

 This week Suz is sharing this video seen here on YouTube that is using brush strokes to create old looking trees, so it's a water coloring practice drill that creates a row of trees if you are in need of a forest card. 

 

I did use a water soluble pencil to do the un even ground line.

I was watching the video when I started painting the first tree on the left and by the time I started on the second tree it was over with haha. so, I did do the next batch of trees and leaves by memory and then I re-watched it to see the rocky/ground part as I did not see that at all the first time around. I only seemed to get the dry brush strokes correct for texture going the wrong direction so, I ended up filling in that ground with more green and browns a few times and so.

 

First layers of ground paints.

 Added more paint to the ground and some grass sprigs, and started thinking if you keep messing with this it is going to be so overworked it looks stupid and cauli-flowered... so. 

It's fairly funny to me how different the colors look between the cell phone shots ( all the ones on the table) and one taken with an DSLR. I do not remember if there was more paint on this layer but the blue tones in the Paynes Grey Blue here really seem much more deep and dark than they do in real life, so the greens are also off and darker. Such is life. :) I do like how the bark looks on the tree trunks and I will be doing more of that in the future I am sure. That's about it from me, if you'd like to play along with us you can find this challenge here at SCS. Thanks for stopping by. 
 

 

It started with one diecut

 So, I have this pile well, actually its more like 3 little piles of containers of dies new in their packages and or new to me ones on the floor behind where I stand to paint and under the penny candy wall of Jars of stuff and stamps on display. And I fished out this Spellbinders ornaments die from the top of the bin closest to me, and I cut it with watercolor paper.

Which lead to cutting this sentiment and adding paints to them both, 

 And then more paints. 

 So, while the paints were drying more ornaments were cut and then they got coats of paint..

 Which had me opening yet another set of Ornament dies ( tonic studios) and cutting those from scraps with mostly watercolor papers and I happened across this piece of Arches that had this snowdrops painting on it... I don't remember why it failed but, I started pushing the large skinny ornament over it thinking, you could tweak this. The original blog post about painting the snowdrops can be seen here. 

 So, I did cut two of them from that painting, then cut a second layer of watercolor scrap to go directly under them as the paper was not actually "tall" enough to do that whole die, so then a third one was cut from plain Neenah cardstock to be the back layer and the ornament hanger pieces were also cut, and so at the top of these they are actually 4 layers of papers. 

So, I added some shadows along the underside of the blooms and stems with some Indigo paint and then I added some white Gouache to the petals straight from the tube for texture. 

 

I added some silver shimmer paint to those ornament hanger parts at the top. 

Dug out the blue fibers fishing tackle box from the closet and found this fuzzy fiber that had deep blues and silvers mixed in and thought that was cool, tied some May Arts (it almost looks like thick tinsel type fiber to the one on the left and made it a bow. I spent a bunch of time looking at my tie them on metal things and decided the bow was "enough" for that one on the left.

 

And I found a little charm/gem thing that was tied on to the one on the right with some navy Hemp string. and I am pretty tickled with how these turned out. The really did take most of the afternoon today to do. and that makes me curious what else might be hiding in the bin of started painting them a long time ago things across the table. I think these may just find there way tied onto Christmas packages this coming year. That's about it from me, I hope your doing well & thanks for stopping by.  

Inspired by {Colossal Shop }

 This week Denise is sharing the Colossal site and pinterest boards and this very nearly stumped me as I have a hard time with really graphic lines I guess, which is funny as I build my cards in a pretty linear way most of the time. but, I came across this red french knot textured ( I am not sure what it is supposed to be) but, I liked how the red dots "Popped" if you will and I had happy mail from Sweet Miss Daisy Stamps on the table and since I like red & white as a Christmas theme I decided I would just go that away using that fabric as a jump start on the theme. Because, I'd rather make something I will use rather than something that is a total CASE. 

 

I started by stamping this Santa from the Hope for All Set with some Versafine Clair Morning Mist ink on Arches cold press watercolor paper and adding a layer of Daniel Smith paints. 

 while that was drying I recently updated my palettes and moved one of the 48 ones to a smaller size and so, I am laughing at my self because, my colors are reversed. ( the greens used to be closer to the glass mat) so, I need to get the cheat sheets laminated this weekend before I spill paint on them) 

More paints, the white is Windsor & Newton Gouache straight out of the tube for texture. And then when I was dry I decided it really needed more "red & white" pops. So, keeping with the textile-ish theme I used a Penny Black zig zag die to do the cutting around the painted layer and then again on the printed holly paper. 

 I used scotch tape to put the die cut mat layer back into the drop piece and then just used the whole thing for the mat on this. The base is some SU Sage Shadow finished at A6 in real life, that holly print is from the Simple Stories 'tis the season pad. and that red & white embroidered ric rac if Vintage. The Believe diecut came out of that little milk glass tray off to the side that has scraps diecut into tags and words and such. It was painted with watercolors an then tied onto the ric rac with some natural hemp string. I am really impressed with my self that I have an almost blues Santa card here and then I had to laugh that it does not look at all like that pin that started it but, that's life and I will use it so, that makes it a win for me. That's about it for now, if you'd like to play along with us you can find this challenge here at SCS. Thanks for stopping by. 

Watercoloring Flowers & Foliage

 This week Brenda is sharing this video from Marena Art that is an abstract foliage/flower painting with fall type colors. I loved the colors in the painting so, my first thought was what do you have that is close. 

 So I started out mixing some Raw Sienna & Quincindrone Coral and got that color (left in the line) and thought that is not bad, not sure if its really what she used but, I liked it and then picked up some of the other colors in the line mostly straight with some Sepia Brown later in the painting. 

 This is a 4 1/2" square piece of Arches cold press watercolor paper with Daniel Smith watercolor paints. I thought OK its not too bad, I don't know how "abstract" it is but, I do like the colors and I kept going.

 I think I will use this for something so, I set it to the side and started a second one also cut to 4 1/2" square because, the stems are not curvy enough for this to be "pretty" to my eye, its all a little too tight together. I can see it being cut in half and becoming a couple of tags with the painting off the edges of them actually. Something in a smaller scale then this I guess.

 So I started a second one trying to get it a little more loose.

 I did add a little more paint to the crevices of this and more splatters before they became cards but, I am leaning towards fall birthdays of which I need ones for gals in October and November in my family so, I think these will work for a couple of those ladies. 

 Found this textured peach-y colored bazzill in the stash and thought its nearly the same color as the paint I mixed. ( the colors look a little more on the orange shade here but, they are really more peach in real life.)

That's about it from me, these are 5" square in real life,  The ribbons are unknown at this point. I've had them a lot of years. The sentiments are Tim Holtz cardstock stickers from the occasions sticker book and they have glue dots holding them onto the scraps I cut with his label dies from the drop pieces of the base cardstock. If you'd like to play along with us you can find this challenge here at SCS. Thanks for stopping by.