Bright Color on Grey Toned Paper

 

Hahnemühle recently released a couple new books with toned watercolor paper. The books come in grey and beige and are suitable for all wet media. When I read that on their cover band I knew I had to try it out for myself! 

I started with the grey toned watercolor book and some Aquafine watercolors from Daler Rowney. As usual I began by taping the edges of my page with painters tape. I knew there would be plenty of water involved and the tape securely placed on the page keeps the water and color from flowing out onto the entire page. And into the seam of the book. You just have to be sure it is stuck down tight. 

I used a flat brush and painted water all over the page. A good thick layer. Then I started adding watercolor. I had no idea how the colors would look on top of grey but I was liking it so far. And you know since it is a Hahnemühle book it is going to work just right.

I kept adding colors and letting them run into each other and blend. I did get a bit of a problem when that green ran into the orange, but I blotted the mud up with a paper towel and kept going. 

Here it is completely dry. It was my first time using these colors and they seemed to just sink into the paper in places. And looked dull. 

So I added more color. More bright and more intense. And waited for it to dry. Just kidding! I totally used a heat gun because I hate to wait! Hahahahaha! You can tell. See that blue streak that goes up the page? I pushed that with the heat gun. 

And here it is dry. And still the color looks flat to me. More subdued than what I am used to. But I still like the colors. 

I liked the color placement well enough, so I went on to drawing. Just the basics. 

Flower details were next, with a Sharpie ultra-fine pen. Then, using a white Posca Paint Pen I began adding details and highlights. 

All the detail work is my favorite part of pieces of art like this. I have to say my friend Tracy Weinzapfel opened a whole new world of art for me. Yes, I know I had it there inside me before, Tracy just brought it out. I love working like this! All I had left was to smudge some black Archival ink around the edges and remove the tape. 

Ta-Da! And that it was it. See that grey border? That is a reminder for me. A reminder that this art was painted on grey paper. It was a first time for the grey toned watercolor book and a first time for these Aquafine watercolors. The paper worked great. I threw a lot of water at it. The page wanted to warp a little, but flattened out once everything was dry. The watercolors? I need to try them on other papers before I give you a yay or nay. Did I spell those right? 

The Grey Toned Watercolor Book from Hahnemühle can be purchased here. 

Aquafine Watercolor Pan Sets from Daler Rowney can be purchased here.