Chipmunk, Flowers & Watercolor Tutorial

This is a sweet garden card featuring a cute chipmunk.

Sentiment:  You are wonderful.

The top panel is watercolor and the bottom is colored in with Copic markers onto tan kraft color card stock.

Here are watercolor tips that I find useful:

Watercolor with distress markers and water:

(watercolor paper, distress markers, paint brushes or water brush, bowl of clean water, paper towel, stamped image, plastic pad or acrylic block for a mixing area)

For the chipmunk panel, stamp with permanent ink on watercolor paper for best results.

With a distress marker, dab a small section of the image where you want the color the darkest.

Then quickly use a small brush dipped in water to pull the color through the image.

Do this in steps.  Dry between colors.

Blot the brush onto a paper towel to remove excess water on the brush.

You can also brush the marker onto a plastic pad or acrylic block and then pick up the color from there with the brush.

For this example I used paint brushes instead of a water brush to get finer detail.

To remove excess water from the paper or to lighten the color in an area, rub the brush onto a paper towel and then dab the brush on the water spot.  Repeat for desired color or effect. 

To spread color around a larger area, brush the paper with water before coloring using a wide brush or spray mister with only water.

While the paper is still wet, dab the brush with watercolor onto the wet areas of the paper.

The color will flow around the paper wherever the water is.

Let dry and then repeat the areas to accent darker sections or to blend colors.

Dry between colors and layers, using a heat gun or leave to dry naturally.

To flatten warped paper, cover with a heavy book or block for a while.

Just want to say that I am not a professional painter, far from it. These steps are what I have found to be most helpful to me while using these materials.  The options are endless.

The best part is to see the water do the coloring for you and the beauty of imperfection.

Link Ups:
Little Red Wagon Challenge #347 Kraft-tastic!

Supplies:  Unity Stamp of the Week Wonderful Gift & KOM 3/2015 Always Begin Again, Tim Holtz distress markers, paint brushes, watercolor paper, Copic markers and MFT dies.

It would be great to hear from you. I appreciate your comments, tips or suggestions.
Have a great day.