Hey everyone! It’s Kate here. I wanted to do a watercolor and doodle video with you guys, so I grabbed some inexpensive Artist’s Loft watercolor paper from Michaels. It’s different from the usual cotton paper I use, but it’s a good way to use up some leftover supplies.
Today, I’m playing with some blues and letting the paint spread on the paper to create a loose and flowy background. This paper is actually wood pulp (cellulose), but I like the texture! I also wanted to experiment with some metallics, so I included some gold in the mix.
Watercolor exercises are a great way to relax and get rid of artist’s block. You can just play with color, make marks, and doodle without worrying about a perfect outcome.
After the first layer dried, I went in with a darker blue to create some circles. The texture of the paper is really interesting here, as the color kind of flows into the creases.
Then, I grabbed my favorite quill brush to add some bright white details. It’s a really affordable brush that holds a ton of water, perfect for washes.
I also used a lighter Payne’s Grey for some more circles. There are some happy accidents here, like the gold peeking through from the previous layer! It adds a nice effect.
Overall, I’m really surprised and happy with how this paper worked out. The gold especially shines through nicely after drying.
Once everything dried, I used a Uniball pen to add some doodles inside each circle. I went with a flower petal theme and incorporated little dots throughout the design.
This pen can be a bit finicky sometimes, but when it works, the ink is nice and opaque. It creates a great contrast with the dark blue background.
As I doodled, I noticed a bit of a “cauliflower effect” in some areas where the paint dried unevenly. But other than that, the paper performed well considering I worked very wet with it.
I finished up the last circle with some white dots and really loved how the whole thing turned out. It was a fun and relaxing exercise, and I hope you give it a try! Let me know if you’ve used this paper before and how you liked it. There will be another video coming soon, so stay tuned and keep creating!