Doodles + Watercolors (Part 2)

This is the 2rd in a series of fruity watercolors (check out Part 1). I'm not sure if these are art journal pages, watercolors, abstract mixed media, paint-by-number... if anyone has thoughts on how to define our art, let me know. But nonetheless, these are soooooo much fun that I can't stop quite yet. 

Here's how to do a watercolored doodle!

Ingredients

• big piece of watercolor paper
• pencil
• paintbrush (details below)
• set of pan or tube watercolors
• 2 cups filled w/water for rinsing brushes

Instructions

1. Draw a wavy line down the middle of the page.
2. Draw four or five wavy lines across the page.
3. Draw simple shapes in various sizes, where you wish, just your pencil & imagination having fun. I used a cup to outline the large semi-circle pie in the top left & drew the rest.
4. Get out a set of watercolors.

   

5. If using pans, put a big drop of water in each color with a tiny spoon or a brush and let it sit while you set up. If using tubes, pick a handful of colors and put a little paint in separate sections of the palette. You will be using these, thinning with water, and mixing to create more colors.
6. Get a palette or something to use as a palette, where you'll mix paint colors with your brush. Something plastic perhaps. Like a lid from take-out chinese. Ma po tofu does coincidentally come in plastic containers with round lids not unlike what I'm suggesting.
7. Here's how to use the 2 watercups. The first is for dipping a brush full of paint, the second is for dipping after you've relieved the brush of much of its paint. I just learned this tip!
8. Get out a watercolor brush, perhaps #6, #8, or #10 round. I prefer pointed round because I can control it better. The junky brush you've been using with Mod Podge & gesso for months won't cut it. You want smooth lines and a brush that will hold a decent amount of paint.
9. Select a color to start with, let's say lemony yellow, and dip the brush in water, then in the paint, mix it around to get it goopy, and put some paint on your palette. Paint a bunch of shapes yellow.
10. Wave the brush in the first cup of water. Then to the second cup.

    

11. Select a color to mix with yellow. Maybe an orange or red or blue. Grab a little paint with your wet brush and mix it in with that yellow on the palette. Paint a bunch of shapes. If you don't want the paint to blend with another on the piece of art, paint shapes/sections that aren't touching. It takes a few minutes to dry enough not to bleed into each other.
12. Wave the brush in the first cup of water. Then the second cup.
13. Repeat steps #11 -> #14 starting with a new color. You can add a third or fourth color to your original, it really is up to you. Clean the brush when you switch colors so you don't *uck up (I meant muck up, what were you thinking?) your paints.
14. Add penciled lines and sections, keep mixing, painting shapes and sections, leaving some white space, and at some point... reflect on your colorful work and grin!

 More, more, more...

• Abstract Batik Psychedelic Mandala
• Watercolors + Salt
• Mandala: Watercolor Compass
• Rapidograph + India Ink
• Watercolor Mandala
• Got 20 Minutes?

Comments

[Terri @ Pringle Hill]

You can't imagine how happy these colors have made me! Great tutorial, Tammy! Hugs, Terri

[Eden]

I'm going to give this a try! Those are such beautiful colors! Do you do a lot of color mixing in your projects?

[gypsy]

Terri and Eden, Thx you for the sweet words on the fruity colors. When I work in watercolor I mix colors frequently, because that's part of the fun of watercolors for me... In acrylic I have a lot of colors of Golden fluid acrylics so I mix when needed, but also use right out of the bottle because it's more spur of the moment! How about you?