Hey everyone! Today I’m playing with some watercolors and doodles, using colors I don’t normally use. My palette for today is a bright yellow, grassy green, and olive green. I want to see how these colors mix and create something abstract.
First, I prep my workspace with a spray bottle and some water. I like to work wet-on-wet, so I wet the area where I’ll be painting but keep my brush damp, not soaked. I like using a little sauce cup for mixing my paints – it works great!
For this piece, I wanted to start with a bright yellow base. I mixed some yellow and then dipped it into the green and olive green to create some interesting mixes. I let the water spread the colors naturally, creating some nice organic shapes.
I continued adding some more greens and yellows, letting them blend and flow together. I wasn’t too worried about being neat – I wanted to see how the water would move the paint. I even dropped some darker green in to add some contrast, but not too much because I wanted to keep the colors fairly pure.
Next, I went back in with the yellow to add some more pops of color, and then used a little more green to darken up the edges. I like that the colors are texturing a bit as they dry – it adds a bit of extra interest.
I decided to play with the texture even more by adding some more watery yellow into some of the darker areas. I know it might cauliflower a bit, but I’m okay with that – I want to let the paint do its thing and see what happens! It’s a fun surprise to see how the water takes the paint in different directions.
I wanted to add some more flourishes and texture, so I grabbed a stencil and lightly colored it onto the watercolor background. I like having some white space around the edges, but I also wanted a little something extra peeking through.
After pulling up the stencil, I decided to add some doodles with a green and yellow Pusapen. The colors are a little faint on the paint, but that’s okay – it just adds another layer of interest.
Then came my favorite part – leaves! I used the green Posca pen to draw some simple, almost S-shaped leaves, making them thicker at the bottom for a stem.
I love how easy these leaves are to draw, and when you put them all together, they create something special. I used the same green Posca pen to add another layer of leaves, overlapping them a bit for a natural look.
Now, for a touch of sparkle, I grabbed a gold Uniball pen. I debated between this and a white pen, but ultimately went with the gold to add some detail to the leaves.
Since the leaves overlap, I had to decide which one I wanted to appear “in front.” I went with the smaller leaf and started adding some gold details to the top for a bit of shine. This Uniball pen is actually quite sparkly – I love it!
Finally, I wanted to add some extra visual interest with a few white dots scattered around the background. I like the hint of white peeking through the light washes of paint.
I resisted the urge to add white dots to the leaves themselves – I think that might be a bit too much. But I did manage to squeeze a few in some more noticeable areas.
Overall, I’m really happy with how this turned out! The colors blended beautifully, and the doodles and gold accents added a nice touch. I hope you enjoyed creating with me today!