Best Of Diys | Fine Art Tutorial
Thursday, 8 August 2013
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Watercolor BLOCK, paintbrush, creative somebody pencils, archival pen, in addition to coffee.
Art Tutorial: Drink Up These Kitchen Colorants!
Guest fine art tutorial past times Mandy Behrens of weathered silo
For me, 1 of the greatest pleasures of creating fine art is experimenting amongst unconventional materials. I learned this from my mom, my biggest artistic influence, who used java in addition to tea to stain salvaged furniture. I savage inwards honey amongst the hues cast upon ivory painted undercoatings in addition to I marveled at the organic nature of the process--you never knew what the pattern would terminate upward looking similar until the colorants dried. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 topcoat of varnish sealed the color!
Today I'm applying this same staining technique to practise one-of-a-kind pencil in addition to ink drawings on heavy watercolor papers. I absolutely honey the jagged edges in addition to random "pools" of color this technique offers.
Follow along in addition to encounter only how slow in addition to rewarding this artistic technique tin be!
Pencil in addition to ink applied to coffee-stained watercolor paper.
- Coffee, Tea or Wine
- Watercolor newspaper (I prefer 140 lb weight + using a BLOCK)
- Watercolor brushes
- Artist pencils
- Archival pens
- Etching tool (optional)
- Lint-free textile for blotting (optional)
- Utility knife in addition to dominion for trimming newspaper (optional)
1. Choose a watercolor paper. This volition depend on the pattern aesthetic you're going for. I prefer the heavier weighted papers (140 lb. or 300 lb.) because I honey the means they experience in addition to they tin grip to a greater extent than manipulation (see "Etching" below). I also opt for Cold Press, a slightly textured surface, to trap the colorant inwards random patterns.
It is difficult to avoid fifty-fifty slight newspaper warping when working amongst watercolors, but I've lately discovered watercolor BLOCKs (stacks of papers glued on all iv sides) that are a fantastic alternative in addition to alternative to traditional watercolor newspaper stretching techniques. To minimize warping, locomote out your epitome on the block until the colorants dry out earlier removing.
Experiment amongst coffee, tea, or wine. Apply colorants individually or combine to practise a unique color.
2. Apply the colorant of your choice. This is my favorite part of the process! I get past times dipping my paintbrush inwards the colorant, inwards this illustration coffee, in addition to outline the surface area I desire to paint. I endeavour really difficult non to depict conduct lines because I honey the human face of tattered edges.
Applying the start launder of java -- intentionally leaving white borders.
Next, I glide my brush across the newspaper beingness careful non to overwork the launder of colorant (very slow to do!) Try to resist the urge to apply additional washes of colorant until later the start application has dried because that is when y'all volition encounter where additional splashes of colorant may or may non elevate your work.
As expected, the watercolor BLOCK amongst colorant becomes slightly warped.
Blotting: I detect that some of my best outcomes are those where I've intentionally left some areas drier or lighter inwards color. You tin also accomplish this lawsuit past times blotting your newspaper amongst a lint-free cloth.
Leave stained newspaper on BLOCK until dry out to avoid major warping.
3. Begin drawing your flick or pattern. My personal pick is to purpose a combination of pencils in addition to archival inks to practise my drawings, but y'all may prefer to purpose a combination of acrylics, gouache, oils, pastels, or calligraphy ink to consummate your art--the possibilities are limitless!
Artist pencils, archival pen in addition to coffee-stained watercolor paper.
I began amongst a pencil to sketch a pattern.
I used an archival pen to highlight the unmarried cast that's positioned differently.
Etching: For added dimension, I sometimes scrape patterns onto the dried colorant surface area of my newspaper using an etching scribe. You tin accomplish the same human face amongst a wooden bamboo skewer or other precipitous artist's tool on hand. Unless you're going for a human face that incorporates holes, I recommend practicing this technique on some scraps of newspaper first.
4. Trimming in addition to framing. The watercolor BLOCK newspaper I used was 9"x12" but I wanted to practise a drawing that could hold upward slipped into an 8"x10" frame for quick display. I used a ruler in addition to a rotary bike to trim down the newspaper to 8"x10".
I recommend framing your artwork behind drinking glass in addition to avoiding displaying it inwards conduct sunlight to avoid fading.
I trimmed away excess newspaper using a ruler in addition to rotary bike cutter.
Here is the finished artwork:
Finished newspaper size is 8"x10"; epitome size is unopen to 6"x8".
Artwork amongst white borders fits nicely inwards an 8"x10" frame.
Thanks for allowing me to part this technique amongst you. I can't hold back to encounter what y'all create!
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Mandy lives amongst her trouble solid unit of measurement inwards Seattle in addition to has an affinity for the sometime ways. When creating her store mention she straightaway idea of her great-grandparents in addition to their parents who homesteaded inwards the early on 1900s on the prairies of Kansas, Colorado, in addition to New Mexico. "weathered silo" pays tribute to her ancestor's resilience in addition to resourceful ways of living off the sometimes unforgiving province in addition to it's untamed beauty. Visit her at Handmde this calendar month here where she sells similar staining technique original drawings or online at the links below:
website: http://weatheredsilo.blogspot.com/
twitter: http://twitter.com/weatheredsilo