Pinecone example 1. Colored pencil and ink superimposed over a watercolor background.
This is an example of painting a background with watercolor, or in this particular case taking a painting that barely got started and transforming it into a background with more watercolor and some watercolor splattering/flicking. After it was dry, I transferred the pinecone drawing onto the background.
This also shows the darker graphite paper and the lighter graphite paper (the right side of one pinecone and the branch are the lighter graphite). The white transfer paper I used in a small area that barely showed up on this background, so i went over it with graphite since I could not see it. I often need to try different graphite on the colorful textured backgrounds to find what shows up best.
Pinecone example 2. Colored pencil and ink over a watercolor background and loosely painted subject.
This is the start with watercolor and watercolor pencil on hot press paper (watercolor pencil is optional, just wanted to show you a few techniques with it).
I transferred the drawing first because it's easier when teaching. Oftentimes I transfer after making the first pass on the background. I used dark graphite transfer paper for mixed media so my drawing lines are visible (I would not use this transfer paper for a 100% watercolor painting). Test your graphite transfer paper for darkness and erasability and how it holds up to water being added. Some graphite is too light to see after we make all the textures and some is made to disappear during the painting process (at times not ideal for mixed media pieces). Dark watercolor backgrounds need white transfer.
The colors you choose for your background are completely up to you. Choose colors you are drawn to for the background. I wet the entire paper and dropped in warm yellow (the paper was very wet). I added the yellow all over the entire
paper ignoring the drawing. If there is enough water, the paint should move with no brushwork lines visible.
I splattered/flicked other colors onto the background while it was wet, again all over ignoring the drawing still. I then did a process called sanding with watercolor pencils. Holding a small strainer over the painting I scrapped the watercolor pencils on the mesh of the strainer to make fine particles go onto the wet paint all over, still ignoring the drawing. I used a variety of watercolor pencil colors.
You can make as many passes as you wish with the watercolor. I usually do at least two passes, oftentimes 4 or 5, sometimes more. You can also do the sanding more than once as well. Just remember that the sanding will disperse if rewet (which can be a lovely effect). Play around with all of this.
After my paper was dry, which took awhile, I wet the branch and painted it using a mixed brown, a tube brown is completely fine to use (mixed brown = warm yellow + warm red + cool green, more of the red and yellow to make brown, more blue in the mixture makes gray). Some of the watercolor speckles mixed in as I was wetting and painting which looks nice.
I mixed a light green (light means more water and less pigment). I added the green to areas of the pinecone, I did not wet the paper first. I mixed a dark brown and started putting in the shadows on the pinecone, I did not wet the paper first.
Highlights and shadows can be added and/or enhanced with the ink and colored pencil. Any mistakes can be fixed with colored pencil and the subject matter will be enhanced using the colored pencil and ink.
Camellia. Colored pencil over a watercolor underpainting of a more carefully painted subject or a subject painted with local color.
If you are decent with watercolor or wish to practice your watercolor, you can paint the subject as carefully and detailed as you wish. If you are not a watercolor painter you can paint local color on the subject.
The top part of the flower and the top left leaf are painted with local color. I wet the area and dropped in the color. I added a second layer of the same color in some of the shadow areas. I still need to add the shadow areas on the leaf. I will post again after working on these more.
The other leaves and the lower petals have been painted a little more carefully paying attention to the values and dropping in varied color. I need to work more on these. I will post again after working on them more.
We will work on the next phase with colored pencil in the next classes.
For my mixed media pieces my watercolor underpainting is sometimes local color, sometimes a very detailed painting, and sometimes a more loose watercolor painting. Often I start a watercolor painting and decide to switch to colored pencil and/or pen & ink to finish it. Sometimes I start a watercolor painting, ruin it in some way, and make an amazing mixed media piece with it (so don't discard watercolor paintings gone bad...).