Painting Workshop

Hello

My latest painting has inspired me to show you guys how fun a few simple techniques are to produce a lovely painting.

Blue Dill in my Etsy shop is a lovely silhouette of a umbrella dill flower.

You will need:

Watercolour paper (300grm rough is good choice to get texture)

Watercolour paint

Acrylic Ink (not necessary but nice)

Masking Fluid

Needle/old brush/pen tip(ink less)

Pencil

Eraser

Masking Tape

 

First mark out the area where you are going to paint and remember to leave a border. Then draw your chosen flower, seeds, cat or anything you like, you could even go abstract!

 

 

Next get your masking fluid and go over the image that you wish to keep white. Don't do anything to your picture until it is dry and don't use your best brush in the masking fluid! - eek that is a bad way to loose a nice brush.

It should look like this when you have finished. Next mask the edges of the painting. Now you are ready to add the colours. Make sure you mix all of your paint before you start and choose the colours you wish to use as you don't want it to dry before you have finished.

I like to test my colours before I start, in my Blue Dill painting I added Acrylic Pearl Blue Ink to give it a shimmer.

Here I have applied a wash of paint and then dropped in my greys and greens and then a few drops of Acrylic ink. Before it dries too much I have removed the masking take to avoid it sticking to the paper. Then you have to wait for the paint to dry!

Make sure that the paint is really dry before peeling off the masking fluid, this should just rub off with your fingers. Again don't leave the masking fluid on for longer than necessary (too long is days not hours) as it will pull your paper up with it too.

Then tad-da you should have revealed your lovely new painting!

Easy when you know how :-) Send a picture of yours if you wish to my twitter or to Lizzesbeautifulart@gmail.com or if you would like your own but have no time, please feel free to send a request and I'll be happy to create one for you in your choice of colour!

Happy Painting :-)

Making Birds with Polka Dot Sundays

On Saturday I went to a workshop to learn how to make a Polka Dot Sundays bird as featured on Kirstie's Handmade Britain.

This is the lady herself Jaina Minton the maker of Polka Dot Sundays and is on a mission, to make the world a more colourful place.

This is what we are heading for... a beautiful bird! - You need very strong hands make them this beautiful!

Jaina showed us how to scrunch and mould paper into balls, sounds much hard than you think. With lots of newspaper and cell-o-tape later the birds are starting to form. Mine looks cross between a bird and a turtle at the moment -burtel.

 

 Next some legs.

Slowly my little bird is taking shape.

Here are the others working hard...and yes Jaina did work us hard, there was a time limit before we got locked into the Market Place!

After making the legs we added a little beak and wings if wished, then we painted them white.

When the birds were dry then the fun began, choosing a lovely print and covering the birds. Yes I did take my time choosing the print, I did have a "Kirstie" moment but with the thought of being locked into the Market Place, my mind was quickly made up!

Here is Julia's bird being covered...

And here is Albert, my little bird :-)

Albert

I loved doing the workshop and if you ever feel like doing a half day or something crafty I can recommend Polka Dot Sundays' Workshops, Jaina was warm, interesting and very good.

 Keep up with Polka Dot Sundays and all Jaina's creations with www.polkadotsundays.com, www.Polkadotsundays.etsy.com, Twitter and Facebook