Southwest Scene

I made a scene with a bit of a Southwestern feel for this week's Watercolour Weekend post on the Art Impressions blog.

I coloured the stacked pots image from 5569 - Handcart Set in Tombows #969/565, and stamped it onto my Canson XL Watercolour Paper.  I left off the lower leg on the stool, so that I could add in the little mouse from 5599 - Mini Mice & Squirrel Set, and then added the rocks from 5055 - WC Sitting Places Set on the opposite side.  I used the 5528 - Desert Succulent Set to fill my pots, doing plenty of masking to tuck some of them in behind.  After pulling out the colour with a damp brush, I used #947/N79/373 to paint my pots, keeping them lighter in the middle, and adding several layers to build up the colour more towards the sides to give them a rounded appearance.  I painted a bright version of #373 onto the stool.  I used different shades of green on the cacti: #126/177/228/312, along with hints of #772/606/565 for some two-toned effects.  I used a warmer grey #N57 on the mouse and rocks, and added a few spots of colour to make them interesting.  #565 was used to add shadows to the pots, and under the stool, then was painted as a wash for the sky.

The panel was die cut with 5063 A2 Double Stitched Rectangle Dies, and a sentiment from the retired Exclusive Roses Set was stamped in the top corner.  I adhered my panel to the card base with 3D foam adhesive.  Be sure to check out the Ai blog on Saturday to see what Diane and Tricia have created!

Southwestern Village

 Hello Ai Watercolour fans!

I am sharing one of the newer released images from Art Impressions today, that will be on the Ai blog for the Watercolour Weekend this Saturday.  Here is my take on 5520 - WC SW Village:

I stamped one of the images in the set on my Canson XL Watercolour paper, using #992, as I wanted a lighter image.  With my stamp positioner, I added in the two mesa images from 5198 - WC Mountain Set, making the smaller one appear as though it was farther away.  The cactus from 5196 - WC Desert Set was added to appear closer to the viewer, along with rocks from 5415 - WC Large Rocks Set.  I used these colours from my palette to paint the buildings:  912, 993,761, 885, 991, 969.  The cactus was painted with #228, #177 and #173.  Layers of warm browns including #947 were painted on the mesas along with #565 as shadows.  I used my #228 marker directly on the paper to add in some foliage, and I used my Navy Twintone marker to darken all the windows.  #493 was painted in as the sky, and washes of brown were added to the ground.  After mounting the image on brown cardstock, I spattered metallic gold paint on the edges of the card, and popped up the image with 3D adhesive.

Be sure to check out the Ai blog on Saturday to see what Dot & Tricia have to share.  Happy painting!

A Little Southwestern Watercolour Weekend

I have a Southwestern scene to share this week for Art Impressions' Watercolour Weekend!  

For most of my cards (but especially this one!) I like to plan them out on scrap paper ahead of time.  I usually sit down in front of the TV and design a whole bunch of cards, planning the layout, the stamp sets and even colours/paper if I can.  I don't like to just sit down in front of a blank piece of watercolor paper and try to start stamping - I find I'm much more productive if I have a sketch and a plan.  Here's what my sketches look like:

With my sketch beside me, I planned out what the cactus cluster was going to look like on scrap paper, mixing and matching stamps, and trying out colours to get it just right.  I started stamping it on Bristol Smooth Watercolor paper from the bottom up, using the rock cluster from 4763 Southwest, colouring them in my Tombow Dual Brush Marker #N55 Cool Grey 7, then I added the smaller stones from 5196 WC Desert Set in #947 Burnt Sienna.  I masked the stones, and stamped the prickly cactus from 4763 Southwest in #228 Grey Green, masked it - and stamped the spiky greenery in #312 Holly Green.  With all of the masks in place, I added the larger cactus from 5196 WC Desert Set in #177 Dark Jade in the background.

I put my watercolor paper into my Misti, along with the frame from 5269 Wood Frames Set from the Bible Journaling line.  I coloured about 3/4 of the frame with #969 Chocolate - just enough to stamp the left side of the frame.  Then I repositioned my paper, moving it about 1/2" to the left and coloured the portion to the right of the cacti, and stamped it.  I did this to make the frame longer than it is, about 1/2" extra so that I could fit the scene in the background.  I used the smaller rock formation from the 5198 WC Mountain Set coloured in #947, stamping it in the upper left, and after masking the frame, a portion of it in the lower right.  I stamped the tiny rocks from 5196 Desert Set around the base of the mountains several times in #947.

Now that the stamping was done, I finally grabbed my #4 paintbrush, and pulled the colour out of all the images, concentrating it in areas where the shadows would be, and leaving plenty of white highlight areas.  I purposely kept the frame very streaky, adding warmer and darker browns to achieve a worn wood effect.  The river was painted in with #565 Deep Blue, picking it up off my palette, and then using it to add shadows in the mountain crevices and on the rocks & cacti.  I added touches of #676 Royal Purple all over my painting to liven it up a bit!  Finally the sky was added with #493 Reflex Blue, and I added touches of it to my scene as well.  I die cut my painting with a 5063 Rectangle A2 Double Stitched die, matted it with kraft cardstock and adhered it to my base with some thin 3D adhesive.  A few sequins finished it off. *I had intended to hand write a sentiment just below the frame - but chickened out at the thought of maybe messing it up after all my hard work!  I may think about it a little longer and add it in... 
Before I painted today's card, I actually did a "Pacific Northwest" version using a pine tree & mountains:

 I created my tree with the WC Tree Set 2, added a few rocks around the base, and a touch of grass.

 I used the twig frame in the Frames set, using the same method of stamping and moving my cardstock before stamping the right side.  I used the other mountains in the mountain set to stamp my scene in the frame, and painted the rest in with my brush.

Rustic Watercolour

 I'm combining old & new Ai watercolor sets today.  When I saw the cowboy boot in the WC Rustic Container Set (Sku #4871), I knew that I wanted to pair it with Southwest (Sku #4763).  I ended up just using the rocks from Southwest... but I'll be revisiting the boot with the cacti at a later date.  What I did add, was a sprinkling of wildflowers using WC Flower Set 2 (Sku #4868) the tiniest foliage from WC Foliage Set 2 New (Sku #4867), and the grass from Foliage Set (Sku #4051):

 I started by stamping the boot, masked it - then added the rocks and flowers.  I used my damp #6 Art Impressions paintbrush to soften the lines and pull out the colour.  I scribbled my markers onto my palette, and then picked up the colour with my paintbrush to add a little more depth to the boot and to colour in the sky.  I "almost" sketched in some mountains in the background... but chickened out!  Sometimes you just need to leave well enough alone :o)

Check out the range of watercolour sets available on the Art Impressions website here.  Happy Painting!

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Art Impressions Southwest Watercolour Mini

 I pulled out my Tombow markers and the new Ai Watercolor Mini - Southwest (Sku #4763) recently and painted up a storm!  So today I have two cards to share with you from my paintfest:

 Both images are quite similar, I changed up the colours of the foliage a little, and added a bit of a design to one of the pots.  I used my Tombow markers to colour directly onto the stamps, and after using my damp paintbrush to soften the lines, I went back in and added some colour by scribbling the markers onto my palette, and picking up the colour with my brush.  It doesn't show much in the photos, but there is a lovely pale turquoise sky around the plants.

 There are all kinds of Ai Watercolor videos on our You Tube channel done by both Bonnie & Kendra that give step by step instructions on using the wonderful Ai Watercolor stamp sets  You can find the one that is using the Southwest stamp set here.

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