Free - Hand Florals

You probably noticed I am painting a lot of flowers lately. You can totally thank Tracy Weinzapfel for that. I joined her 'Tribe' and have been watching Tracy's videos. Stepping way out of my comfort zone and loving it! And this is so much easier that I thought it would be!

I began with a sheet of The Collection watercolor paper from Hahnemühle and some 1" painter's tape. Taping the edges gives you a good crisp edge around your painting when you are done. As long as you get that tape down good and snug all the way around so watercolor can't seep underneath. I used an ultra fine Sharpie to free - hand the flowers, then painted them with my Schmincke watercolors. But any watercolor you have will work. Even watercolor pencils or blocks. 

Throw in a couple leaves, paint them and paint your background.  It doesn't have to be perfect, just get it on the paper. The Collection paper is 140 lb. which handles a good bit of wet media. And I used a heat gun for drying.

Add the details. I like to double up all those lines - that covers up a wealth of boo-boos. Just use that same Sharpie and go back over the original lines and add more lines where you want to. For the white accents I used a Sharpie paint pen. Great little pen for things like this. I darkened up those edges with a brush and some black Archival ink. Remember a light hand goes a long way. Tip for removing that painter's tape - thanks, Tracy! - heat the tape with your heat gun or hair dryer, then peel it away from you. 

So what did I use to paint this 5" x 7" art piece? My brushes were the Black Tulips from ZenART Supplies. Great brushes! The color is Schmincke watercolors - they are my favorites. Such bright and vibrant colors. I even sneaked a little tangling in with those printemps centers and antidots petals. Hahahaha! Great combination of paper, paint and brushes. Check out the links to get them for yourself.

Schmincke watercolors can be purchased here. My favorites are brilliant opera rose and may green.

The Collection from Hahnemühle can be purchased here.

Black Tulip paintbrushes from ZenART Supplies can be purchased here.