Tori's Tip - Watercolor Painting Pointers

Last month I showed you a flower image burned into Creative Paperclay® modeling material.  This month I'm going to show you how I colored it with watercolor paint and give you some pointers on using watercolor paints on dry clay.

This is the piece I started with - the dry piece of clay was sanded smooth before I burned the image into it.

My first pointer is to make some extra pieces of flat clay to use for experiments and practice.  Try painting a wash on a section of clay that hasn't been sanded, then try it with various levels of sanding up to a smooth finish.  The paint will be absorbed quickly into the un-sanded clay, which will make it more difficult to create a smooth wash.  I like a smooth, but not polished, clay finish for painting on, but it is somewhat a matter of personal preference.

This is the first wash of color -

The second pointer is to wet the area, apply a wash of paint, then spread the paint with the brush.

In this case, it is easier to keep the watercolor in the areas I want it to be in, since the burned image lines are impressed in the clay.

Here a couple of additional layers of paint have been added.

The next pointer is - let the watercolor dry before the next layer of paint is applied, and don't let the clay get too wet, or you may end up brushing the paint off instead of putting it on.

Now the final paint layers & washes have been added.

The tip for this final step is - use the warning in the last step to create highlights or paint a lighter color.

I "erased" some areas that I thought were too dark by lifting the paint off with a wet brush.  I decided the leaves also needed more contrast, so I lifted some paint off of a few areas and then added a light yellow/green wash on those areas.

Thanks for joining me here again!  As always, play, experiment, and have fun!

Tori

Find me on Facebook, or peruse & ponder pics with me on Pinterest