In January, Michelle over at Elegance & Enchantment started a Creative Challenge. Each month, we explore a new art/craft project to get us back to our artistic roots. I can’t begin to tell you how much this idea resonated with me! How many awesome projects have I pinned on Pinterest with hopes of trying them out “some day?” Well, some day has come and I’m going to dig into my archives of pins and dust off my art supplies to do more crafty things.
I’m a wee bit late on posting for the second month, which is all about Watercolor. I honestly have a good excuse for not posting on time. I was on vacation! Have only just returned at the end of last week, actually.
I was really excited about the Watercolor challenge because 17 years ago, my then boyfriend bought me a set of watercolor pencils AND I’VE NEVER USED THEM! There, that’s my deep, dark secret. *shameful*
Until now.
I’m very creative and imaginative, but I never claim to be able to draw anything. It’s really the only reason why I chose to go into interior design instead of fine arts. So I needed an inspiration photo that I could copy.
This was a wall detail from my recent travels. I have a thing for peeling paint and worn surfaces.
To start, use watercolor pencils like colored pencils, drawing in your image.
Then wash the drawing with water. The water can really intensify the watercolor pencil, so it’s best to draw lightly if you don’t want the colors to be too bright.
As the inspiration image has some really bright colors, I needed to add more layers of color.
To get more intense colors, try one or combination of these two methods:
• Rub the watercolor pencils over wet paper.
• Wet the tip of the watercolor pencil before drawing on dry paper.
After experimenting with the two techniques mentioned above to get my colors brighter, this was my final image.
To get the vertical and horizontal lines of the architecture, I used the watercolor pencils as colored pencils without water and a straight edge.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison:
FINAL THOUGHTS: Working with watercolor pencils was so much fun! It offers a ton more control than traditional watercolors. Had I more time to play with this challenge, I might have tried to paint something a bit prettier - maybe with flowers or something.
I’m really so pleased to have come upon the Creative Challenge. Who knows how long it would have taken me to pick up the watercolor pencils if I hadn’t been encouraged by this challenge? I don’t know why I was so scared to do it 17 years ago.
If you’re interested to know which pencils I used, you can find them here. Keep in mind that this is my affiliate link.
Get in on the fun! More details about the Creative Challenge can be found here.
Hey M,
That’s so cool. I loved your take on your inspiration picture. Hoping to see more art from you!
Hi Anjana! Thank you! Watercolor was so much fun. Will definitely have to give it a go again. Just wrapping up this month’s challenge for paper flowers. Will be posting that in a couple days, I hope! ~M.