#also I practiced watercolor today and felt like using some poppy colors | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

trashyswitch · 3 years

Text

The Strange Flower

Logan and Roman take a walk in the imagination. Not long after, Logan is plagued with the giggles and phantom feelings! What ever could they be from?! Whatever it is, Roman is loving it!

I'm gonna be gone to the cottage for a week starting today. So, I'll be working on fanfics a little, but less than usual. It's a vacation!! I'm actually really excited!

This fanfic prompt came from @little-lee-lo-simp. Thank you so much for the prompt and I hope you enjoy the fanfic.

These are the morning Giggles:

Logan was walking around with Roman in the imagination, admiring the many flowers and trees surrounding them. There were so many colors! And so many different fruits and things hidden within the trees! From creatures to vines and flowers, it was beautiful.

There were poppies with smiley faces on them, different fruits that were covered in ‘paint splash’ syrup, there were lettuce bits that could be fresh, sweet or crunchy depending on your preference, and there were banana-shaped fruits that had edible skins and pomegranate-like seeds in the middle of the fruit.

There were vines covered in pickable sticks that were edible and used for healing purposes, and twisty flowers that had yarn-textured petals yet, were still real and growing on their own. There were thick leaves that held different-colored inks in them that could be used for mixing and writing, and there were thin large leaves that could be written on like paper without ripping when written on with a stick.

Many flowers looked like they were squirting different things. One flower had honey running down the stem. They were labelled ‘Buzzy suckles’, a wordplay of honey suckles. There were even different colored roses that looked like they were splashed with layers of watercolors. Red, yellow, purple, pink, they all covered the roses in a drippy paint-like pattern.

Logan smiled as he knelt down to look closer at the small cluster of roses. “These are beautiful, Roman.” Logan reacted calmly, filled with awe and delight.

Roman smiled at the complement. But when he looked upon the flowers that Logan was looking at, Roman tilted his head in thought. He...didn’t remember what he had called those specific flowers. Obviously they were a type of roses, but he liked to give them a spinney, cute kinda name to go with them. But...Roman had forgotten this particular cute name.

But he most certainly remembered how beautiful they were! “Thank you!” Roman replied.

Logan picked one of the roses and put it behind Roman’s ear. Roman giggled at this and wore the rose with confidence and pride. The flower started blooming little sticks that had...rectangular flags on them? And they had the gay flag on each one of them!

“Awww, it knows you’re gay!” Logan reacted.

“Yup! This flower can specifically tell what sexuallity you are. If you were straight, you’d have a straight flag. If you were pan, you had a pan flag. If you identified as multiple things…” Roman looked at the flower and pointed to hated multiple Gay pride flags that popped out. “Each of these flags would be different, to identify what kind of person you are.” Roman explained. “And if you’re more than 3…” Roman poked it and watched as a single LGBT flag poked out. “The LGBT community flag will pop out, specifying anything!” Roman explained.

“I love it!” Logan reacted.

“You can also use this flower to find out what you are in a few seconds.” Roman added.

“But it still has the usual sexuality journey, right?” Logan asked. “Cause everyone needs a journey.”

“Yup!” Roman replied proudly.

Logan continued to look around at the different varieties of flowers and plants that filled the imagination. There were even weeds that looked surprisingly pretty! A few of the weeds had pretty leaves and pretty flowers that were hidden within it. Even the dandelions were nicer to look at. They were more of an orangey yellow color, and were slightly bigger than the usual dandelions.

But in a specific spot: a small field of these strange flowers had been planted. They were blue flowers that looked a lot like Morning Glories. But...they resembled a heavenly blue version, and had a very visibly yellow middle. “Wow..I’m gonna head over here.” Logan decided.

Roman didn’t think much of it. “Okay.”

Logan walked to the blue and yellow flowers, and laid down inside the flowers’ fields. They looked so pretty...and very detailed when he looked closer at them. They had these dark green leaves that extended out of the stem. The flowers actually looked like they were dancing in the wind like Groot did in Guardians of the Galaxy. It looked really cute. It also seemed to be spirting out tiny bits of pollen. Logan tilted his head and placed a finger closer to the pollen. It was yellow looking, like all pollens were, and looked fuzzy.

Strange...

Logan got up and walked away from the pretty flowers a little while after. He dusted off his fingers on his shirt and pants to get rid of the pollen and walked to Roman.

“You have some really pretty flower and plant ideas. I love them!” Logan reacted.

Roman smiled eagerly. “Thank you! I worked really hard to make sure every single one of my flowers were distinctive and different in their own way.” Roman declared proudly. “Now: Cherry?” Roman asked, holding up a black cherry to him.

Logan smiled and took it. “Thank you, Roman!”

The two boys walked themselves out of the imagination and back into Thomas’s house. Logan was feeling a bit of an itchy feeling, but he didn’t think much of it. He just kept scratching it and continuing with his day. But soon the itchy feeling turned tickly. And it started spreading.

Logan attempted to ignore the feeling and hid his smile, but it felt like a single finger was scratching at one side each. It was distracting and made him wanna tense up. Soon, the feeling moved to his ribs. It felt like poking and wiggling in between his ribs. Logan could barely hide his smile without looking like a doofus that was trying not to laugh at a stupid joke. Logan looked away from Roman in an attempt to cover it up. But Roman could tell something was up.

“Logan...What are you smiling about?” Roman asked. “Are the smiley flowers making you smile?” Roman asked, referring to purple poppy’s that had a smiley face on each petal.

Logan shook his head and hummed ‘no’.

“Huh...I thought that may have been it. What’s making you smile, Logey Bee?” Roman asked. Logan accidentally let a giggle slip at the weird and strangely cute nickname. “Ooooh, you’re a giggly bee! I see now!” Roman declared. “What’s making you so giggly?” Roman asked.

Logan shook his head and couldn’t stop the giggles that left his mouth more and more. That’s a good question! What IS making him so giggly? He’s never like this!

“Iiiiis it a funny joke?” Roman asked. “Hey I’ve got one for you:” Roman cleared his throat. “What do dentists call their X-Rays?” Roman asked.

Logan frantically shook his head. Even if it wasn’t funny, any amount of jokes is gonna worsen his giggles!

“Tooth Pics! Dentists call X-Rays tooth pics!” Roman declared proudly.

Logan squeezed his eyes shut. That was a bad one...An obvious joke- “Hehehehehehehe!” Logan giggled. SHIT!

Roman gasped. “PATTON! PATTON, I MADE LOGAN LAUGH AT A JOKE!” Roman shouted. “YESSS!”

Logan growled through is giggles. “Nohohohohoho! Stahahap ihihihit!” Logan begged. Logan covered his belly as his inner stomach was attacked with the strangest phantom tickles he’s ever felt in his life. “Thahahahat tihihihicklehehehes!” Logan giggled, nearly falling over. He was beginning to lose his balance.

“Tickles? What tickles?” Roman asked, getting closer. “Does your belly tickle? Maybe your sides? Or your neck?” Roman asked.

That word was enough to throw Logan into full on laughter, mixed with giggles in between. “HAhahahahahaha! Rohohohomahahahan whahahat dihihihid yohohou puhuhuhut ihin yohohour flohohohowehehers?” Logan asked.

“Well that depends. The smiley Poppy makes you smile uncontrollably. The blue and red Mushrooms make you overly hyper. The morning Giggles make you- Ooooooh…” Roman turned to Logan. “Did you cover yourself in the pollen from the Morning Glory flowers? You silly, giggly goose!” Roman teased. “Those are called Morning Giggles! They make you giggle and laugh through means of tickling and softly teasing your ticklish spots!” Roman declared.

Well, that seemed to be the most conclusive answer.

“But when did you get in contact with the morning giggles? You never struck out on your own until the end- Oooooooh…” Roman smirked and leaned into his ear. “You brought this upon yourself, Giggle berry~” Roman teased.

You could say that again...He really did get himself into this. But why didn’t he warn him!

“If I had known you were gonna look at the morning giggles, I would’ve warned you! But nope! Telling by the spot you’re holding so tensely, it looks like you decided to lay on your poor, ticklish belly to admire the beautiful, giggle blooms!” Roman declared. “Does that sound about right?” Roman asked.

Logan finally kneeled over and flopped onto his side with laughter. With his feet free, Logan started kicking and squirming on the ground, unable to contain any of it. The pollen was tickling everything it touched. His belly, his thighs, his nose, his neck, his abs, his feet, the tops of his feet, even his armpits were partly covered in ticklish pollen! It felt like the pollen bits were jumping around and snuggling into Logan’s ticklish spots on his body! Even his hands were being tickled by the micro-sized pollen bits! What a strange conundrum!

To make things even worse, Roman’s teases were flustering him beyond saving. Logan was practically the color of a strawberry! How dare!

“Aww! Listen to that sweet little laugh! It’s so fun and cute!”

“You should laugh more often, Logan. It suits you! And you of all people know, laughter is very good for you!” Roman teased.

Logan covered his face and cowered into the fetal position.

“Where is my camera? I need to get a picture of this. Or maybe even a video! Or 5!”

Logan whimpered and whined. “SHUHUHUT UHUHUP!” Logan ordered.

“Are you whimpering now? You be careful doing that! Patton just might think there’s a puppy in this house!”

Logan whimpered again and covered his mouth. Just about every part of Logan’s front side was being tickled by the bits of pollen. It was so much tickling at once.

“HEHEHEHELP MEHEHEHEHEHEHE!” Logan begged.

“Hmmmmmm...Maybe in a bit. I wanna enjoy this for a little longer! Then I’ll dust you off!” Roman decided. “How’s that?”

Logan whined and groaned. “FIHIHINE…”

Logan handled the tickling for a little longer, despite his want for it to stop. It was getting to be too much light tickles for him to handle. “Ihihihit’s soho lihihihihight!” Logan reacted.

“Ohh! Do you want more? Does the blueberry Logan bean want the stronger tickle tickle tickles?” Roman asked politely.

“Yehehehes plehehehehease!” Logan begged.

Roman nodded. “Your wish is my command, your royal blueness!” Roman grabbed Logan’s hand and started tickling his palm.

Logan’s laughter TRIPLED in volume! “OHOHOHOHO NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Logan screamed!

“WHOA! Okay! What’s up with you?! You sound like you’re gonna rip a vocal cord if you keep screaming like that!” Roman reacted.

Logan cackled and laughed hysterically as his hand was attacked by Roman’s hand. His hand was moving the pollen around, which only made it tickle even more! And the pollen in Logan’s armpit was more free to move around, making the pollen tickle much worse in that spot too! There was just so much tickling!

Not that Logan minded, of course…

Logan squeaked, squealed, cackled and snorted through the whole thing. “OHOHOKAHAHAHAY, OHOHOKAHAHAHAHAHAY! EHEHENOHOHOUGH! IHIHI CAHAHAHAHAHA!” Logan couldn’t even get some of his words out properly at this point.

That was when Roman realized he should probably stop. Roman let go of his palm and placed it down. Then, Roman summoned a big broom-like paintbrush and brushed off the pollen. Though the pollen did end up coming off (Which lessened the tickling), the brush itself tickled as well. Even with the shirt and the pants on, it tickled! Logan giggled and squirmed around as Roman brushed the pollen off his poor body.

Roman soon stopped and looked at Logan. “Alright. I have a new plan.” He decided. “Let’s get you into a shower to let the pollen wash off you.” Roman decided.

Logan nodded as he held his belly somewhat lightly. Roman walked to the shower, started it up, checked the water, and left the bathroom so Logan could get in.

30 minutes later:

Roman was playing a game on his iPad when Logan walked in with his hair somewhat wet, and his body in new, yet identical clothes. Logan had a small smile on his face. “That was quite the ordeal.” Logan admitted.

Roman giggled. “I’ll say. I guess you gotta keep in mind the morning giggles from now on. And some of the other ones I mentioned.” Roman added.

Logan sighed and looked at him with a serious face. “I have another idea:” Logan picked up a sign that said ‘Morning Giggles: Pollen makes you laugh’ on it. “How about placing signs in front of the plants?” Logan asked.

Roman nodded and took the sign he made. “Thank you Logan. That’s a better idea than I could’ve come up with!” Roman reacted.

“No problem.” Logan replied. “Though I will say…” Roman turned to face Logan as he continued. “I would consider laying in the morning glories- giggles again.” Logan admitted.

Roman bursted out laughing at that. “Yohohou know you can just ask people to tickle you, right?” Roman added.

“Yes, I am aware of that. But doing that would ruin my image. I would much prefer there being an uncontrollable reason to my giggles and laughter.” Logan explained.

“Okay. Suit yourself.” Roman replied, sneaking a poke to both sides.

Logan jumped and shot a wobbly glare at him. This just made Roman laugh at him more.

Roman’s imagination is filled with thousands of different flowers. But only one flower’s pollen can make the most monotone person laugh beyond their years:

The Morning Giggles.

#the imagination #flowers #tooth rotting fluff #ticklefic #lee!logan #ler!flower #ler!roman (kinda)

32 notes · View notes

doodlewash · 7 years

Text

The supplies I’m reviewing today might not be too much of a surprise. Hahnemühle recently sponsored a Doodlewash giveaway with some lovely products. They also sent four products for review- a Nostalgie Sketchbook, a Watercolour Book, Cézanne Watercolour Block, and a Turner Watercolour Block. In this review I start with a little bit about the company, move into the products, next pricing and availability, and then have my little say at the end.

Hahnemühle is one of the leading suppliers of fine art papers in Europe. The origins of Hahnemühle paper making come from a rich history that started in 1584 in the South Lower Saxony’s Solling uplands in Germany. Hahnemühle’s paper has been processed in the same place for 430 years. The company is named after Carl Hahne, who purchased the company in 1886. Read about the company’s history here.

“We employ traditional and proven technologies, using the Fourdrinier and cylinder mould machines. The distinguishing feature of Hahnemühle was and will be the ability to combine tradition with modern technologies. This way, paper is produced according to old recipes, passed from generation to generation, and it continues to meet the highest demands of present-day standards. Our paper technologists are proficient in their trade. With high-quality pulp and by using formulations that are partly several centuries old, they produce traditional artist papers, FineArt inkjet papers and specialty papers for industry and filtration.”

Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketch Book– 40 sheets/80 pages of acid free smooth 190 gsm/90 lb paper. The book is thread stitched and available in A4, A5 and A6 sizes in landscape and portrait. The color of the cover is anthracite and has linen like pattern. The sketchbook is “suitable for use with all dry-painting techniques in addition to wet colours.” The book that they sent me is the A5 landscape (5.77” x 8.19”). It lays flat- without the need to break it in, and has a red ribbon bookmark. The paper is “natural white,” I like the color of the paper, it worked nicely for this ink sketch.

I used fountain pens with two different colors of ink and a waterbrush for the flowers. The ink did not feather. I went over some spots several times with the fountain pen nibs and waterbrush, no bleed through on the other side. The paper did start to pill slightly where I really went over some spots- mostly in the center of the open poppy. When I run my fingers over it, I can feel it, but it’s not visible in the sketch. In my experience, this is not uncommon with smooth sketch papers. I really liked how this book works with ink and wash. In person, the fountain pen and sumi gold inks look beautiful on this paper.

I also did some field testing with quick basic sketches, a cactus practice. Copious cacti- so many on that mountain! I used pencil and a light application of watercolor. The paper held up well with no deterioration or bleed through. It had some curling on the edges, but that’s to be expected with 90 lb sketch paper and watercolor. I used a waterbrush and the watercolor behaved like it does on cartridge paper- soaked in and dried pretty readily with a dull/flat look. I should add that all watercolor used in all of the watercolor examples is Daniel Smith.

Watercolour Book– 30 sheets/60 pages of natural white 200 gsm acid free paper with fine grained surface on both sides and it is surface sized. The book is thread stitched, has an elastic band, red bookmark, and available in A4, A5 and A6 sizes in landscape or portrait. The paper is natural white and the cover is a dark grey synthetic linen. The book they sent is the large A4 landscape size (8.19” x 11.28”) and it lays flat without breaking it in. The paper is from their Akademie line where “natural felt is used….with rag fiber content.” It is Fourdrinier machine made paper marketed to be “multi-talented”: …equally suitable for watercolours, gouache, tempera, pastel, charcoal, pencil and crayons.” Both sides of the pages can be painted/sketched on. This is a nice watercolor sketch book. The paper has a nice feel to it, erases well, and to me, is higher quality and more workable and pliable in comparison Travelogue Watercolor Journal.

I did a few watercolor sketches in this with and clipped the ends down. The one shown above included watercolor that has granulating properties and more muted earthy colors. The paint remained vibrant, and with using the clips, there was very minimal buckling to the paper. Much less buckling than with something like the Global Art Materials Travelogue Series Watercolor Journal– a review on that can be found here and see in a side view how the paper buckled in that one for comparison. I’ll warn you though, there are a lot of journals in that post, so scroll down a bit.

With both of these books- sketch and watercolor, after I took the plastic wrapping off of them and left them on my desk, the covers bowed. I put a rubber band around the sketchbook when I put it into my bag. The Watercolour Book has an elastic band, but it bowed out in the middle. The bow in the cover calmed down after a while, it’s like it needed a little bit of an adjustment period. Still keeping a rubber band around the sketchbook, it looks the same as in the photo, pulling up on the end. First photo sketchbook, second watercolor book. Both books have a durable feel.

When these become more readily available in the states, and depending on the price point, they will give some serious competition to competitors. I like both of these books and will continue to use them.

Moving on to the watercolor paper blocks. Both types of blocks that they sent are professional grade, 9.4” x 12.6,” 10 sheets, and glued and gauzed on all sides to keep the paper flat during use. Both are archival quality and acid free.

Cézanne Watercolour Block is a 300 gsm/140 lb cylinder mould made, natural white, 100% cotton rag surface sized matte paper. The surface is a rough hot press, which means it has a slight tooth, but is smooth enough to sketch on. It has a softer feel- not as stiff as Arches cold press and not as soft as Fabriano Artisitco cold press watercolor papers. I tend to paint fairly wet and this paper remained flat. It is “especially suitable for wet painting techniques: watercolour – especially glazing – lavis, gouache, tempera and acrylic. I usually look at covers as an indication of what I will find on the inside. One thing that I thought was odd given that this is watercolor paper- the photo on the cover, I believe, is of the oil painting Apples and Biscuits, on canvas.

Paul Cézanne– “A prolific artist, he produced more than 900 oil paintings and 400 watercolours, including many incomplete works.”

Turner Watercolour Block is a 300 gsm/140 lb cylinder mould made, natural white, 100% cotton rag without surface sizing, matte paper. This paper acts a little bit more absorbent because it is not surface sized. Watercolor paint on paper that is not sized, may not look as brilliant because it tends to soak into the paper more- this did not prove to be true in my experience with this paper (see below). I keep emphasizing surface sized because I’m not sure if their is sizing in the pulp, although I suspect there is. It “is suitable for all wet painting techniques: watercolour, lavis, gouache, tempera and acrylic.”

If you are not familiar with William Turner’s work, here is a link and it’s worth clicking on. The light in his paintings is amazing.

The two papers side by side. I couldn’t tell a difference just by looking at them. Yeah, not a very exciting photo.

Time only allowed for quickie painting, these were a lot of products to review. My one purpose with these examples is to give a visual representation between the difference of the Cézanne paper with surface sizing, and the Turner paper without it. In the close-ups below I used the same non-granulating watercolor paint, and brushes. Cézanne sized paper on top, Turner on the bottom. As you can hopefully see, the Turner paper has a more textured look. Good for someone looking to express a more impressionistic style I would think. To the eye and to the touch, the two papers look identical prior to applying paint. Some people soak their paper to remove the surface sizing. Pencil marks on both erased with ease. Paint lifted easily from both- I used a paper towel and blotted. I did not attempt to lift paint after it dried though. I enjoyed both papers.

I also did some swatches with the new Daniel Smith 2017 colors (thank you Ophelia!). I used a fountain pen with Platinum Carbon ink for the writing, it worked nicely on both papers. I used a Pigma Micron Pen for the circles, that’s where I could tell the difference between the papers. It worked better on the Turner paper because the ink soaked in more readily. Cézanne sized paper on the left, Turner on the right.

Now for pricing and availability. I was sent these products by Hahnemühle USA out of Illinois. They sent me a list of retailers. Not all of them have the items reviewed here listed on their sites yet, but may have them stocked on the floor or can special order them. Dick Blick and Jerry’s Artarama are expected to have all of these available mid-summer. Customers can also special order all of these from both Blick and Jerry’s now.

Wet Paint has the Nostalgie Sketchbooks, and as of the writing of this, they are on sale. I linked to the product pages where available.

Wet Paint, St Paul, MN

Dick Blick – Online and Blick Locations

Talas, Brooklyn NY

Binders, Atlanta, GA

Flax Art & Design – San Mateo, CA

I found the products for sale, not surprisingly, on Amazon.com, click here. All of the products there look like they are shipping from the UK. Check out the link, but to give an idea the A6 watercolor book is around $14 and the A4 about $26, both with free shipping from the UK.

I would like to thank Carol and Joe of Hahnemühle USA, not only for sponsoring an awesome giveaway, but for giving me the opportunity to experience and share about these products.

And here’s where I have my little say.

Putting oneself out there like this, these reviews and sharing, can subject one to criticism and unkindness. I am so thankful for all the kindness and sharing that many of you have expressed! Truly, thank you. I want to remind readers what Doodlewash is all about. Here is a link to the Doodlewash Manifesto, Charlie, the creator of Doodlewash wrote it- it’s brilliant. For anyone questioning what I share- I write about supplies not technique or skills. I review supplies to the best of my ability, and with integrity. I’ve never professed to have mad art skills, and I’m not here to wow you with those. I write these to help provide information and personal insights about supplies that you may decide to use, and will hopefully wow yourself with. Like many of you, I’m on an artistic journey and learning as I go along, everything is process. These reviews are written to help people figure out what supplies are right for them as they go along in their own processes.

Kindness in life is key. May you be well. Happy painting and sketching.

Join us for World Watercolor Group! It’s a group for everyone who enjoys watercolor. It is a very active group. There’s also the #WorldWatercolorGroup tag to use when sharing your work on social media. More info in the link above, or click here.

In case you missed it, check out Jessica's review of Hahnemühle sketchbooks and paper! The supplies I’m reviewing today might not be too much of a surprise. Hahnemühle recently sponsored a…

#art supplies #Hahnemühle #sketchbook #Watercolor Book #Watercolor Paper

0 notes

doodlewash · 7 years

Text

Hello friends, I am Saswati Chakraborty, currently living in Detroit, Michigan. I was born in a Bengali family in Kolkata, India and grew up in an environment where education and art are of paramount importance. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest to see more of my watercolour painting and art tutorials at the links found below.

Background and Inspiration

From my childhood, I always felt an irresistible attraction towards brushes and, with time, I realized my love of watercolour painting. I mainly work in pure watercolours. I focus primarily on photorealistic, detailed, nature paintings.

Figure 1. Lost In Dark Woods. (Photo Reference: Jacobs ATV)

In my childhood days, I was introduced to the world of colors in terms of school projects where I had opportunity to paint with pastel colors and learn a few basics about primary and secondary colors.

Figure 2. Title: The Colourful Poppy (Photo Reference Wendy Sinclair)

In high school, I had explored sketching, lino, acrylics and, of course, watercolour painting. However, for my career, I followed the traditional path of education and pursued a Masters in Microbiology and Business Administration. The desire of chasing my dream to become an artist somehow took a back seat, and I got lost in academics and my career. It took a few more years for me to fully dedicate myself to following my destiny.

When I started painting after 15 years, I found that the basic process is still the same. However, the means of painting and medium have expanded a lot. For the first year, I struggled a lot to find my genre, hopping from one subject to another, not being able to find my own style. Eventually, I started focusing on the process and learning afresh.

Alwin Toffler rightly remarked; “To educate yourself you have to learn, unlearn, and relearn”.

Why Watercolour Painting?

Watercolour is the most simple and spontaneous medium to work with. I found it is a versatile and magical medium. There are many disheartening myths regarding watercolour painting and its challenges. However, once mastered with proper knowledge, techniques, planning and research, combined with patience, it can produce surprising results!

Why Photorealistic Paintings?

Figure 3. Zinnia Detailing with Winsor and Newton Kolinsky Sable Minitaure Brushes (Photo Reference: Morgue File)

In photorealistic paintings, the artist strives to paint the intricate details observed in a photograph in his paintings. He also tries to give the light and shadow effects exactly as shown in the photo. I love taking up challenges and paint intricate subjects like macro details of a flower or the detailed foliage in a landscape. I have seen excellent photorealistic paintings in watercolours, which highly inspired me to focus on the same.

My Approach

Talent is God-gifted, but it’s the perseverance that makes one stand out. Talent, aided with relevant knowledge, creative thinking and a systematic approach – that’s all it takes to create magic. It’s not so difficult after all, as long as you have hunger to learn and improve. When it is accompanied with a knack for perfection, anybody can create a masterpiece!

Figure 4. Title: Wild Flowers of Farmington (Photo Reference-Own Photo)

Over the years, I learnt, one needs to have a right plan to bring the image in mind onto a canvas. Generally, I follow a three-phase approach for my projects.

Planning – It is often essential to create good compositions and plan the color schemes.

Research At Each Stage – This enriches me with the knowledge of the right techniques and tricks to handle difficult stages of my painting.

Execution – The above two stages being conducted appropriately, gives me enough confidence to enjoy the watercolour painting process.

Learning Stages

I am self-taught and I am constantly learning new methods of improvement. To make photorealistic paintings, one needs to have the right knowledge of light and shadow, colour theories, basic knowledge of sketching, and techniques to produce the detailing on paper or canvas. I discovered the huge realm of You Tube online instructional videos and demonstrations.

Figure 5. Title: Sunkissed Irises (Photo Reference: Self)

Gradually, I learnt new processes, brush strokes, and was more attracted to realistic paintings with detailing. I will be happy to share with you a few significant factors, which helped me to increase my knowledge base and improve my watercolour painting style.

Watercolor Painting Tips

Understanding of Color Theories and their Properties

Use of Good Art Supplies (For e.g. Light-Fast Pigments, Good Brushes, professional quality watercolours)

Use of Good Watercolour Paper (Professional Grade)

Finding the right subject or Genre for painting

Using the right photo reference (if painting from a reference photo)

Knowledge of techniques like Glazing, Wet on Wet, Wet on Dry, Lifting.

Concept of Light and Shadow

Open to feedback or criticisms

Figure 6. Title: Pink Plumerias (Photo Reference: Wendy Sinclair)

At First, I was shy in sharing my art as I thought it was amateurish. Then I realized that in order to progress further, feedback (positive or negative) is mandatory. The feedback essentially helped me to develop my skills and to produce professional quality paintings.

Figure 7. Title: Dahlia Painting (Challenge Entry)(Photo Reference: LiveDan330.com)

The final breakthrough came when I joined social media groups and actively started taking part in the monthly art challenges. I was not sure whether I was prepared for it, but I started planning for them right from the beginning. They gave me the momentum and confidence, which I needed at that moment. After this, I did not have to look back and started my own official page on Facebook. I am grateful to the master artists, who endowed me with the skills and knowledge of watercolour painting techniques and for whom, today, I am capable of offering my own tutorials and demos.

Materials Used

I love to experiment with materials but my favorite professional brand of pigments are Daniel Smith Professional Watercolours, Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolours and Kokuyu Camlin Watercolours. I tend to use a limited palette technique.

Figure 8. Title: Blooming Holly Hocks in Watercolours and Watercolour Brush Pens (Photo Refernce: Self)

My palette ranges from warm to cool shades with a few earth colors, which I use very rarely (mostly for landscapes). I love to derive my colors and mix my colors mostly on paper rather than on a palette.

Watercolour Paper

I prefer St. Cuthbert’s Mill (Cold Pressed/Not) 140lbs mold-free papers when I am painting some photo-realistic works, which involve multiple washes and use of masking fluid. For Botanical works, I prefer Arches (Hot Pressed) 140 lbs papers. I also love Fabriano Artistico (Rough) 140lbs paper for landscapes.

Figure 9. A Botanical Study of Grape Leaf in Arches Hot Pressed Paper (140 lbs)Photo Reference (Self)

Brushes & Palettes

I love to continuously experiment with new watercolour brushes. I mostly do my Botanical works with pure kolinsky sable brushes for their flexibility and water holding capacity. For large washes, I love the hake brush and squirrel mop brush. I also use the Black Silver brushes or Grumbacher semi-synthetic brushes for practice washes.

Figure 10. Begonia Painting in Detail. Reference: Self Study

I use a ceramic palette with a large mixing well, and also love the Winsor & Newton travel size half–pan set which are good for a few botanical works. I’m a huge fan of masking fluid and masking tapes. As I do photorealistic paintings, I apply these in quantitative amounts to my paintings. I use a 0.5 mechanical pencil for my initial sketch in most of my works, and a kneaded putty rubber eraser, which helps to remove the extra graphite marks efficiently.

Figure 11. Light Initial Sketch of Protea Flower

Figure 12. Title: The Green and The Wood (Photo Reference: Self)

My Watercolour Painting Techniques

People often complain that their “Painting look Amateurish”! The right knowledge and the right technique can transform a painting from an ordinary one to an extraordinary one.

As I often demonstrate in my tutorials, I follow a few basic, simple techniques: (As shown through the steps of a Sunflower Painting)

1. Stretching of Paper

I always stretch my paper prior to painting, when I am working with 140lbs papers, and where the painting involves multiple washes and layering.

2. Sketching

I often draw from reference photos, where I take my reference image from groups like Photos for Artists on Facebook, or Paint my Photos, or my own Photos. If I am taking reference from photos of other artists, I never forget to give due attributions. I make a light sketch in the main watercolour paper initially

3. Finding Value Ranges

I often find it very helpful to study the value ranges (value sketch) of the elements in my painting. This helps me to decide the darkest darks and the lightest lights and decide the light and shadow sources properly.

Figure 14. Layering and Painting the Darkest Darks and Lightest Lights according to Value Ranges

4. Using the Colour Wheel and Shadows

This helps me to decide the shades for the shadows and the complementary colors. This is particularly helpful in cases, where I am making up a composition. I try to compare the values of each shade to get the reference color range for each subject, thus choosing my colors for them. I use a rough strip of paper where I make swatches and test my colors before I finally paint with them.

Figure 15. Colour Swatch of Green for Foliage

5. Painting in Layers (Wet on Wet Washes) and , Dry Brushing, and Stippling

I paint in layers and allow each layer to dry properly before painting the next layer. This is essential for wet on wet techniques. For botanical works, I tend to use the dry brushing technique a lot with stippling and hatching too.

Figure 16. The Final Layering of the Painting

6. Lifting and Glazing

I do not use white and black colour in my paintings and tend to derive my black colors, if required. For whites or highlights, I prefer saving the whites of the paper and for that, I use masking fluid for my highlights. I also use tissue papers for lifting out certain areas as needed. Sometimes in order to give a smooth feel, I do glazing at the final stage after the initial layers has completely dried out.

Figure 17. Finished Painting after Glazing (Photo Reference: Myoho Dane from Indulgy.com)

In this Sunflower watercolour painting, I used very basic colors from Daniel Smith professional watercolours. I used the Primatek set and the Basic Set colors where my greens have been mostly derived by mixing blues and yellows. I like to use transparent and light fast pigments and avoid fugitive colors like Alizarin Crimson. In this example, I did not use black color but for the dark center, I mixed French Ultramarine blue with Raw Umber mixed with dash of neutral tint to get the dark tone. To see more about my watercolour painting process, follow me on my official Facebook page.

My Final Words

“The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away. “ – David Viscott

Figure 18. (Photo Reference: Self)

Life is fun, when we do things that we are good at. To create good art, patience is the most important factor. The next most significant contributors are perseverance, dedication, and sincerity. As explained above, if properly planned, no painting is a difficult task.

6 Steps Towards A Great Watercolour Painting

Planning the work ahead and doing proper research for the painting.

Making a thumbnail painting and creating your own composition.

Finding the value ranges and making the colour swatches.

Mixing the colours according to the colour wheel.

Paint every day. Analyze it by standing at a distance, which helps to locate the flaws. Correct your mistakes with a fresh eye.

Complete the painting by adding the final touches.

Six years ago, I never imagined that I would reach this stage finally. However, I had the passion of creativity and reaching out to people through my work. Maybe that has pushed me to pursue my career in my favorite subject. I would like to say that if you have a dream or passion, live it, because you have just one life and life is short!!

In the end, I would like to thank Charlie O’Shields, who is kind enough to give me the opportunity to share my works and my processes with all of you out there!! I would also like to thank the photographers, especially Wendy Sinclair, for providing such beautiful reference images for my paintings.

Cheers! Happy Painting!

Saswati Chakraborty Misra Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Doodlewash

#Doodlewash GUEST ARTIST: "The Dynamic World of Watercolours..." by Saswati Chakraborty Hello friends, I am Saswati Chakraborty, currently living in Detroit, Michigan. I was born in a Bengali family in Kolkata, India and grew up in an environment where education and art are of paramount importance.

#watercolour painting #Dry brushing #featured #glazing #lifting #photorealistic #stippling #stretching paper #watercolour techniques #wet on wet

1 note · View note