Card Galleries
Botanical
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Dried Flower Shoppe
The Garden Spot
Patricia Ann Rizzo
Sunny Southwest
Pottery Gallery
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Holiday
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Watercolor for Beginners
Custom Shadow Stamps
Watercolor Class
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Background Ideas
Card Assembly ideas
Projects
Journal: India
Window Cards (vellum)
Lavender Sachets
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Supply List
- Tall Irises stamp (BC-105)
- Gold detail embossing powder
- White pigment ink
- Gold metallic pen
- Strathmore 2-ply series vellum or 90-lb Arches hot press watercolor
paper
- Good watercolor paints in tubes (ie:
Grumbacher Academy): Violet, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium
Yellow, Sap Green, Viridian Green, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna
- Plastic palette or styrofoam disposable plate
- Round brush #3
- Paper towels
- Water
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This project sheet outlines some basic concepts of painting with watercolors in the context of rubber stamping. It assumes basic knowledge of stamping and embossing techinques. I cover wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry techniques, layering color washes, preservation of white, and basic backgrounds.
Preparation
Stamp iris on watercolor paper with white pigment ink. Emboss with gold detail
embossing powder. Wait for the paper to cool completely before watercoloring.
Watercolor
- Put a dab of each paint color on your palette.
- Dip paintbrush in water, dab lightly on paper towel to remove excess
water.
- Paint "water" on iris petal.
- Dip paintbrush in water and then make a little water-paint puddle mix
with the violet color.
- Touch the paintbrush on the paper towel to remove excess water, but
leave some pigment on the brush.
- Paint around the inside border of the petal, being careful to leave
the middle of the petal white.
The embossing should act as a barrier, keeping the paint within the boundaries
of the petal. Use the same method
to paint the leaves, using green first, and leaving white areas to paint
with a yellow-green mix for highlights.
These are the main things to watch out for:
If you lose your white, you can't get it back. (Unless you are using a very
watered down paint,
and it is still wet, in which case you can dab it with a paper towel.)
Your paint-water mix should be thin. The color should go on the paper with
transparency! not opaque like acrylics. When you apply the paint solution to the already wet paper, it should bleed
creating a soft effect. If the paint didn't bleed softly, use your slightly wet brush and soften the
edges with water before the paint dries.
Variations & Tips
Wet-On-Dry: Apply watered down paint to dry paper along the edges of the
petal. Use a wet clean brush to spread the paint lightly towards the center of each petal. Work
quickly before the paint dries!
Color Effects: Add blue (very watered down paint) washes to the petal areas
you want to darken
or shade. Add a light red wash to areas you want to highlight. On the leaves,
use either blue or brown to darken the shaded areas, and yellow to show the highlights.
Background: Since the powder tends to "dirty" the paper, I recommend painting
a very light wash of yellow-ochre and dabbing the painted paper while wet with a paper towel. This will lift some
paint and leave a parchment paper effect for the background.
Finishing Touches
- Cut painting to size
- Border with gold pen
- Mount on desired background!
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