Jun 30 2008
Coloring Today — Watercoloring With Twinkling H20’s
Welcome to the first edition of my new weekly feature, Coloring Today. Barring unforseen events, I’ll do this every Monday until I run out of ideas. I know a lot of you are old pros at coloring, and I’m no expert by any means. Heaven forbid a trained artist should see this and want to shout, “no, no…you’re doing it all wrong!” I’m just one amateur hoping to share a few things I’ve learned along the way and possibly help other folks have an easier time of it.
Unlike today, when I first started stamping I had very few resources to turn to for enlightenment. I stamped, but my images had no life. I almost wanted to give up. Shortly after I got my first computer I read an online article titled “A Lifetime of Color” and it was the turning point for me — the beginning of my lifetime of color. I was hoping to share the article with you but it appears to be gone. Too bad, I’d love to pay tribute to the person who wrote it.
Today’s article is about watercoloring with Twinkling H20’s. It’s rather long, but I promise all the coloring techniques I’ll focus on won’t be quite so involved. I’m using the Lilac stamp from Flourishes for my example. The H20’s are from Flourishes, as well.
Stamp image. This is the raw image shown with my light and dark purple H20’s which will be used to color the lilac bloom. I stamped it on the smooth side of heavy weight watercolor paper with Timber Brown Stazon. Stazon is completely waterproof.
Watercolor paper isn’t the most ideal for stamping on and you’ll want to apply good and even pressure to get a decent image. However, some imperfections won’t show in the finished product.
For this entire image I used a natural bristle petal brush, sometimes called a tulip brush. It has flat sides and a rounded tip. When I use my H20’s I dip my wet paintbrush directly into the paint pot. Swish it around until the surface of the paint and water mixes to form a paste of the consistency you can paint with. You’ll want it to brush smoothly over your paper without running all over creation. Experiment on a scrap piece. Too wet? Swish again to bring up more paint in the pot.
Add pale lavender. Paint the lilac bloom with the pale lavender. Don’t worry about shading. That comes later. It’s going to look great! If you go outside the lines you can remove some of that color with a clean, wet brush and then blotting with a tissue. Any remaining errant color will be blended in and become part of the finished image. That’s part of the beauty of watercoloring — it’s very forgiving.
Add dark purple. This photo shows the image with the dark purple added. Simply dab spots of dark purple paint all over the lilac bloom. Hold your brush straight up and use the tip to pounce it onto the image, much like stippling. Less water gives darker color. Too much water will disperse and bleed the colors — you don’t want that. Try to have some dark and some light, but allow plenty of the first coat of light purple to show through, too.
It’s shaping up nicely!
You may think you’re turning your lilac into a blob, but you’re actually making a series of mini-blobs that will become a beautiful painting in the end. The following close up may help when you see how impressionistic it is:
Add light green to the leaves.
A little note here: The lilac bloom should not be sopping wet, but if it is you’ll want to let it dry a bit before adding green to the adjoining leaves. Any paint or ink will spread into a wet area and we don’t want that at this point.
Paint the leaves a solid light, bright green. Don’t worry about shading yet. Just try to cover the leaves with an even coat.
I’ve noticed the green seems to be a little extra shimmery — fun! Your colors will look different when turned at different angles. This bright green appears more of a soft moss when viewed straight on. It’s the nature of the twinkle in the H20’s.
Add dark green shading. Here are the leaves with the dark green added. I propped up the image for this photo so you can see the difference in the green. See how the purple looks darker, too.
When adding the dark green shading you need only think about where the light and shadows would naturally be. Where something overlaps there’s a shadow. The lower edge of the leaf would be more shadowed. Inner curves are darker than outer curves.
Moving Twinkling H20’s around on your paper is a little different from inks or other paints because the H20’s are loaded with mica chips. When it comes to doing the blending and shading it sometimes appears you’re just pushing those mica chips around. A light touch will usually yield better results. I use a combination of brush strokes and patting with the flat side of the brush. As always, experimentation and artistic interpretation are key.
I added dark green where the leaves meet the blossom and along the lower edges of the leaves. Paint a distinct line and then diffuse it with a clean, wet - but not too wet - brush. A little blotchiness is okay as long as you maintain some shading in the specified areas. Step back a time or two for an overview and remember, it’s a watercolor painting — it won’t look like it was colored with Copics. I painted the stem brown and then used a clean, wet brush to remove a little paint to create a highlighted area. Here’s a close up:
Add copper and green wash. This is the final photo of the process, showing two steps at once.
The first step is to add the green wash. I scribbled a little paint here and there, as shown, and blended it with a wet brush. The scribbled spots help to assure a background of varying tones, rather than a flat appearance. It may be necessary to add more green to achieve the desired effect.
Next, I painted a line of copper around the entire image and diffused it with a wet brush. Again, more paint may need to be added. I’ve shown the right side of the image with just the copper and the scribbled spots of green hoping to better illustrate the process.
And, finally, there’s nothing left but to frame the finished art piece and mount it on a suitable background. I covered an entire card front with some designer paper scraps and mounted my painting on foam tape to float it off the background. The swirl clip with the ribbon and cord off to the side add an accent without covering the image or adding too much bulk. Done!
If you feel this information is helpful and you decide to give it a go, please leave a comment here with a link to your art because I’d love to have a look. We could really set the world to Twinkling! Thank you for dropping in today!
Beautiful! I think I mignt have to pull out my Twinkleing H2O’s and play with them. Thank you for the insight into watercoloring.
Great work, Leslie! I have H2O’s but have barely used them in the many years I have had them. I may have to dig them out!
This is awesome. I certainly need all the help I can get.
Oh My Leslie…This should be put on canvas! You really have a way with your H20’s. This was a great tutorial…TFS
Leslie, This is just gorgeous! Thank you for the tutorial……..I too need all the help I can get.
What a great tutorial! Watercoloring is an art form in and of itself, but I found Twinkling H2o’s to be a bigger challenge for me. Your tutorial was WONDERFUL! It must have taken you a long time to put it together. Let me give a huge shout of THANK YOU for sharing it with all of us. I hope your “Coloring Today” segments include a variety of mediums. I personally would like some help with my chalks, especially blending colors. Thanks again!
Leslie, this is absolutely breath-taking! I am so not good w/watercoloring and your tutorial was awesome, maybe now I can be better at it! Thanks so much for the close up pictures as well. Some lucky person is going to get a true work of art w/this awesome card!
Pinky
Leslie, thank you for this wonderful post. Your tutorial and comments were wonderful, and the final result is spectacular! You are such an encourager…and a talented artist! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Thank you for this article. I have trouble with shading also and this helps alot. Plus I have not used my H2o’s much, so this is a great explanation!!!
This is a good tutorial. Thanks for sharing with us.
Hi leslie. The flower is just gorgeous. I love the colours, I have never tried stamping. But I have my eyes on a set of stamps at a local store, I think I will just have to get them (All 250 of them) lol. Keep up the great work.
Debra from Australia…..:)
Wow, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge on this subject. I am so lost sometimes when it comes to H2O’s. I don’t use them much because of my lack of experience with painting. This tutorial will help me tremendously.
Leslie–Thanks so much for taking the time to present a step-by-step tutorial! I haven’t used my H2O’s in years…you’ve inspired me to get them out and try them again! Love your work!
Leslie, as always, your work astounds me! Your style has been one that I am drawn to time and time again, and I am never disappointed! I loved your “Ruby Tuesday” posts, and looked eagerly for what you’d create with that paper. Now I can really learn some of the techniques I’ve always dreamed about doing–only on Mondays, now! :0) I sincerely appreciate all your dedication on “our” behalf. Blessings, Chris
Leslie, thank you so much for offering coloring tutorials. This is fantastic. Can’t wait to get painting. Guess I should finish work first, huh?
Wendy
Absolutely stunning- this makes me want to dust off my twinklers.
I don’t own H2O’s but have thought about getting some and now I know I want them!
Gorgeous card and thanks for the great tutorial-now need to bookmark it. tfs
I will be eagerly looking forward to Mondays now, Leslie. Loved this tutorial and I think if I had the proper supplies, that I could actually paint something!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to show us this technique. I can almost smell the lilacs!!!
Cheryl
Stunning, Leslie! Thanks for the tutorial.
Thanks so much for the great tutorial. I can’t wait to try it. Of course, first I’ve got to get the Twinkling H2Os. I love this new series as coloring is such a challenge for me.
Thanks.
Shawn K.
OMG Leslie, gorgeous Twinkling H2O image and AWESOME tutorial !!!! We leave tomorrow for a week vacation…….maybe I can at least start an image. I have the perfect stamp and I now have 2 pkg. of 12 H20″s from Flourishes
As always, you are a huge Inspiration 
TFS……..so very, very much!!
Oh my….the beauty!! I love your coloring on this gorgeous creation of yours!! Thank you for all of the details, Leslie!! This sure is a stunner!!
I never bought H2O’s because I didn’t know how to use them. This has truly enabled me and thank you for all the wonderful details and photos. It’s been quite a learning experience and your card is just beautiful! I feel I know enough about them now to give it a try! Thanks so much for a wonderful tutorial!
Hi Leslie
I love this card it’s absolutely Stunning.
Great tutorial also
Happy Monday
Just beautiful. I bought some H2O’s last year but have never used them. I’m going to have to pull them out and try them. Thanks for the great tutorial and I can’t wait to see the other coloring techniques each Monday.
Great tutorial! I’m not sure I have any of those colors but might have something close! I might just give this a try as I rarely use my Twinkling H20’s! Your card is beautiful!!!!
Oh Leslie!!!! First of all, your lilac is GORGEOUS! And I am SO EXCITED about this new feature!! I love to read coloring tutorials on blogs - I love coloring and I love to learn from the experts like you! (yes I DO think you are certainly an EXPERT!) But darn you, woman!! How am I supposed to resist twinkling H2Os when you go and do something like this….! Off to the Flourishes site I go…..
Beautiful. TFS the tutorial. I have a few pots of H20s. Gotta get some watercolor paper now to give this a try.
This is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing!
Oh my goodness, what a wealth of information!!! Your card is so gorgeous and your painted lilacs are just breath-taking!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! So much work, but so appreciated!!!
Leslie, this made me GASP OUT LOUD. It is *amazingly* gorgeous. Just *wow*. WOW.
Gorgeous Leslie!!
WOW!!!! Absolutely stunning!!!
This is a great tutorial Leslie! I have looked at the H20s but would have never even considered purchasing them until now. I can’t wait to see what else you’re going to do because coloring is scary to me! :o) I can tell this took effort to put together so Thank You!
Leslie this card is absolutley stunning… breath-taking. I love this wonderful tutorial for the H2O’s. I’m printing it out to keep right with my paints. Thank you!
Hi Leslie! Thanks so much for the great tutorial. I have really been wanting to try the twinkling H2Os but I was afraid of them. I think you’ve enabled me into taking the plunge! tfs
Wow. This is gorgeous. Thanks for the lesson. Please move to northern va!!
Gorgeous!!!!!! Absolutely stunning card Leslie! I have been eyeing those twinkling H2O’s… but not sure what to do with them! LOL … I do believe you have given me courage to give them a try! Thanks so much for the awesome tutorial!
What a beautiful card and a great tutorial. I love the detail as I have not tried watercoloring with much of anything before, let alone H20s. I look forward to future Mondays for Coloring Today!!
I’ve only just started stamping but have been trying different colouring and painting techniques in other crafts for ages, mind you without lots of success. I do enjoying colouring and keep on trying so found this very interesting and helpful.
I will look forward to seeing your tutorials each week. Many thanks
Carol
What an awesome tip!!!! You were featured over at Card of the Week.com.
You can check out the original post at http://www.cardoftheweek.com/2008/07/tutorial-tuesda.html
The instructions are wonderful; thanks for sharing them. The first time I used the H2Os was about 6 years ago; have seen that the color selection has grown tremendously since my first 20 or so were purchased. Your instructions will help my images look less “flat” because I never knew how to shade properly, so thank you for the information; can’t wait to “watercolor”! Looking forward to your weekly posts, too.
This is gorgeous!!! I’ll have to get out my H2O’s! Thanks for sharing the steps you went through - it’s *very* helpful!!!
Thank you for sharing such a beautiful piece of art with us.
Wow Leslie… this tutorial rocks! You make it seem ooooo too easy! I love how you shaded the image. Looks so natural!
Just like a lot of other people here, I too have tons of H2O’s and have not used them in a LONG time. This is great! I am going to pull mine out as well and get using them. My new goal is to use everything I bought!! I may not use it all in one lifetime but I am going to have fun trying!!
Thanks again for reminding me why I bought the H2O’s in the first place.
Jen
Beautiful!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! A wonderful tutorial - easy to understand and follow. You’ve made many stampers very happy!
This is just stunning, Leslie! What a gorgeous card and what a great tutorial! You’re still my stamping super-hero!!!!
Thanks for the tutorial, Leslie. I’m still trying to get the hang of H2Os. Hopefull, if I follow your directions, I can get better. Your card is lovely.
OMGoodness! Talk about spectacular! And thank you for the tutorial! Just love the whole card and technique!
I use my H2Os a lot because I love the shimmer. I would recommend them to everyone! For painting anything with a metallic type shine they can’t be beat. For things like cars or streamers they just add so much sparkle. The metallic colors and also the iridescent ones are wonderful too. Thank you for sharing the beautiful card - and I need shading tips!
This is just beautiful! And I love the copper accents! Great choice!
Here is the SCS link to my Bloomin’ Beautiful Twinkling H2O card. I love the twinkling effect. I kept the card simple to showoff the pretty main image. Thanks again Leslie for sharing your awesome talents and tutorials. Your friend forever, Nancy
Bloomin’ Beautiful: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/970839?cat=12776
ummmmm WOW again!!!!!!!!
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I really loved viewing how you made this wonderful card. It really helps to understand how and when to add things. I really love your card!
As I stated on your card on SCS is WOW!!
Cause at the time I really didn’t know what else to say. But it’s stunning and down right gorgeous!!
To me you are a Artist.
Fantastic and inspirational tutorial, Leslie! And beautifully photographed too. You did an excellent job of describing some of the special challenges of coloring with the H20’s, such as trying to blend colors while dealing with those little mica particles. Especially helpful to me was your detailed description of the background shading, which you always do so well not matter what coloring medium you use. Your finished card is absolutely stunning! I also noticed you were featured on the “Card of the Week” blog. Linda
i’m new to your blog and artwork…very nice! i love the coloring tutorial and see i will have to spend the afternoon reading the rest of your coloring tutes! love the samples of yours that i’ve seen on scs!
sandyh
sandyha@comcast.net