Hello everyone! Happy Friday to you! This week I was playing again with some watercolouring and this gorgeous new image from Power Poppy called Hydrangea Hype. I happen to love hydrangeas and their beautiful bountiful petals in such lush varieties of colours, so I could not wait to try my hand at them.
Now I find that if I’ve been away from using a medium for awhile, it takes me a bit to warm up, so I began my watercolouring the first card on the left. I wanted to make the petals a variety of colours so I used different washes to bring colour, but as I was working I feel like I had too heavy a hand with my paint especially on the leaves. I eventually fiddled with it until I am ok with it, but I also decided to start all over again with a lighter hand - thus the second card on the right.
So, we’ll start with the bolder card. Isn’t it a gorgeous image? I printed this one on Arches Cold Pressed 90 lb paper with a darker ink, so you can see the definition in the outline of the petals and sentiment quite well. I used Daniel Smith Fine Watercolors and a 0 brush, so I could get into the nooks and crannies. I sewed the image onto a layer of stencil sponged cardstock, and then added some iridescent holeless sequins to accent here and there.
My style of watercolor (when I’m doing it right!) makes use of a lot of highlight and contrast to create the feeling of light and depth, but you can see there a a few spots that the paint is heavy, my petal colours are uneven, where my washes aren’t as even as I like, and that removes those highlight I love so much. But, watercolor takes time and I hated to waste the image, and it still makes a cheerful card, even if it’s imperfect.
Next up is the softer version. This image was printed in a lighter transparency so it already gives the image a softer look - almost no-line. From a watercolor style perspective, this one is a bit more successful. My leaves are much better, the washes are more even and there is a more ethereal look to the petals. I’ve placed the image on an embossed background which I splattered some glimmer spray and leftover paint.
A bit of twine and those same iridescent sequins for soft pizzazz!
So, hopefully you can give some project of yours a second chance and grow your skills in a medium you love!
Check out my Bloomie Sister in action today...
5 comments:
Gosh, Christine, most people would be thrilled no end with your first card, but the person you have to satisfy is yourself. You have a lot of patience for a do-over. Both are beautiful!
Gorgeous Christine. I would take your "being away" talent for anything. These are wonderful and so cheerful. Beautifully colored my friend.
Love Hydrangeas. These are so lovely. tfs
Beautiful, I love how you did the different colors in the petals, lovely mix of colors and beautifully done!
so beautifulllllllllll Christine
Gr Karin
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