Watercolor Nebula or Galaxy

Goal

 

Inspiration

"How to Paint a Galaxy with Watercolor -- a Nebula -- Universe" via ArtVilla.

Materials

• Some probably hot-press watercolor paper I cut into approximately 3.5" • 5" rectangles.
• Various color papers cut into slightly larger rectangles for 'faux' matting.
• A pack of white 5.25" • 7" blank white scored cards and envelopes.
• Some quality watercolor brushes my aunt gave me upon her trip from England.
• A 24 pan set of Yarka St. Petersburg Artists' Watercolors she also gave me.
• A roll of 1" 3M Scotch Masking Tape.
• A hard back vinyl-cover binder to tape the paper to.
• A jar for water, and lots of rinses and refills.
• Salt -- I used a fine sea salt because it was the coarsest I have. 
• Opaque white paint. 
• A tiny, gentle spray bottle full of plain, fresh water.

 

Step 1:  Prepare the colors for the first layer.

• A light + dark red mixture.
• A cherry.
• A darkish blue.
• A blue-ish green.

Step 2:  Wet the paper on a slight angle.

A lot of water allows the paints to bloom together across what would otherwise be white space.  Having the paper slightly tilted lets gravity aid the process.

Optional, first tape the paper to your surface to mask the edges.
Tip:  Stick the tape to clothing before applying to the paper.  This isn't the first time I've tried it, but I read online that this will keep it from tearing the paper.  However, this seems to tear the paper.  This time I tried sticking it twice to clothing.

Step 3:  Place colors and let them bloom together.

Place a few large, abstract blobs of each dilute hue about the paper.  Don't use too many or place them too closely, or you'll end up with mud.

It started out too wet, and there were pools of muddying waters at the bottom edge, but it didn't stay wet long enough to get through the whole process--next time I'll remember to use the spray bottle!

Step 4:  As the paint begins to dry, add more intense pigments.

Place smaller abstract dabs of less dilute, pure pigment about the paper as it begins to dry.  These will still spread and bleed a bit, but not as much as on the wetter paper.

As the paint continues to dry add smaller dabs of even more intense pure pigment.

Step 5:  Sprinkle salt.

You want uneven distribution, some larger salt concentrations in the center of the nebula, and smaller ones further out.

In my case, I let the painting dry too much before I salted it, so I spritzed it with a tiny, gentle spray bottle full of plain water.  Also, in my hurry, I over-salted some areas, and the salt that doesn't dissolve will have to be carefully rubbed off.

Step 6:  Let the painting dry completely.

Rinse your brush(es) and change the water.

Step 7: Remove the salt.

Using clean hands, a paper towel, or a small piece of new kitchen sponge, gently brush off the salt.

This image looks more intense than the painting at this stage, which is dry.

Step 8:  Wet the paper on a slight angle.

This is the same as the second step.  Do this quickly so as to minimize disturbance of the underlying layers of paint.

Step 9:  Add more intense, pure pigments on this layer.

Use yet more intense pigments to add this layer.

On this small scale, this step covered up the salt patterns, which weren't as dramatic as in the demonstration.  I'm tempted to do another salt stage, but I should follow along, and proceed to the next step.
 

Step 10:  With the paper still slightly damp, add dark borders.

This will be a dark blue-purple that fades toward the center.  Make sure to fuzz the edges of the borders around the center, so it has a natural cloud-edge.

Step 11:  Let the painting dry completely.

Rinse your brush(es) and change the water.

 

Step 12:  Splatter the stars.

Using opaque white paint with a lot of pigment and little water, load a fine-tip brush, and tap it gently, perpendicularly to another brush handle.  Different amounts of of paint on the brush, and different tap strengths will create smaller and larger splatters.  You want tiny star-like dots unevenly spread about the nebula.  Don't worry about small groupings of 'stars' or non-circular 'dots' because a few of those would be naturally seen in the night sky.  Try practicing this technique on scrap paper or a sheet of paper you keep for testing techniques.

Step 13:  Let the painting dry completely and remove the tape.

Rinse your brush(es) and change the water.

 

Results

I left the tape on a blank card on for a week or two--far too long.

I need to make a physical color scheme so I test my mixes in advance, and note the names of the colors I use.

I think I missed a layer of color, and if the middle layer is more washed out in the middle, it won't obscure the salt effect.

I like the overall result.  Making the above changes should make the painting go faster
and ultimately also look more realistic.  This is greeting-card size, so it will do double duty
as part of a set of greeting cards I'll give as a Christmas gift.

Watercolor Sunflowers

Goal

Remember no one but you will know exactly what your source looked like.  These are different sunflowers than are shown in the images I looked at!

Inspiration

I took my inspiration from the instructor's painting second from the right on the bottom row.

Materials

• Some probably hot-press watercolor paper I cut into approximately 3.5" • 5" rectangles.
• Various color papers cut into slightly larger rectangles for 'faux' matting.
• A pack of white 5.25" • 7" blank white scored cards and envelopes.
• Some quality watercolor brushes my aunt gave me upon her trip from England.
• A 24 pan set of Yarka St. Petersburg Artists' Watercolors she also gave me.
• A roll of 1" 3M Scotch Masking Tape.
• A hard back vinyl-cover binder to tape the paper to.
• A jar for water, and lots of rinses and refills.
• Salt -- I used a fine sea salt because it was the coarsest I have.

 

Step 1:  Tape and sketch.

Tip:  Stick the tape to clothing before applying to the paper.  This is the third time I've tried it, but I read online that this will keep it from tearing the paper.  I now know I need different tape, but I've not bought it yet.

 

Step 2:  Prepare your color scheme.

Start with a triangle of three primary colors.  Mix the indicated secondary colors and then mix complementary colors for the browns.  I learned this trick from a local artist who was doing a watercolor demo at a local art store.

Here you can see I tried several of each of the primaries, because I the Inspiration page didn't suggest colors.  I chose Golden Deep (transparent) because it was sunflower-like, and the Naples Yellow (opaque) seems too muddy.  I chose Indigo (opaque) for the background because I want a deep, intense blue.  It mixes well with the Golden Deep to make a nice brown.  Blue Lake (transparent) and Indigo both mix nicely with Lemon (transparent) for similar Yellow-Greens.  Lemon with Green Light (transparent) makes the best Green-Yellow of my three greens.  My other yellows were too orange for this purpose.  I chose Quinacridone Rose (transparent) because it made the best oranges with the Golden Deep.  An X indicates a choice I didn't use; the circled daubs are the ones I selected for use.

The Green Underpainting is Lemon, while the Sunflower Underpainting is a mix of Golden Deep and Lemon.

I let the colors in the centers of the bloom and then used a salt technique to create the texture.

Label your hues, diagram your mixes, and label final key colors.  Mix up large enough amounts.  This doesn't take as much pigment as I'd feared.  If you don't mix up large enough amounts, be sure to leave room on your color scheme page to test new batches.

 

Step 3: Apply the under-paintings for the stems, leaf, and the flowers.  

Using the Green Under-painting mix, wash the leaf and stem areas.  This will dry quickly.  Working from the edges of the flowers opposite of the leaf and stems, pre-wet the paper in the flowers and wash them with a mix of Lemon and Golden Deep, blobbing each on in different areas and allowing them to bloom together.  Use a touch of the Yellow-Green mixture for the centers.

 

Step 4: Add shading to the leaf and stems; paint the flower centers. 

The image above is still wet; you can see the paint fades as it dries, as shown with the sunflower wash below.  Use the Yellow-Green mix to add highlights to the leave and stems; use the blue-green mix to add shadows to them.

Lightly pre-wet each flower center, one at a time, and add brown and orange mixtures to the outer edge, Yellow-Green to the middle, and Lemon in between, allowing them to bloom together.  If it becomes muddy, daub with a rolled-up paper towel and try again.  The flower center in back should be slightly fainter.  When the paint is no longer pooled but is still shiny, sprinkle the centers lightly with salt.  The salt will dissolve, changing the surface tension in minute areas of the water, pushing and pulling the paint into abstract textures.  Too much salt won't dissolve well, and will be harder to brush off.  If the paint is too dry, this technique won't work well.  Let this stage dry completely.  The centers below are still wet, so the colors seem more intense than I want in the final product.  The stem on the bottom right is too faint, so it will need another layer of wash and shadow.

Step 5: Let the painting dry completely.

Rinse your brush(es) and change the water.

Step 6: Remove the salt.

Using clean hands, a paper towel, or a small piece of new kitchen sponge, gently brush off the salt.

I added another layer to the leaf and stems.  I started to add another layer to the front flower, painting each one individually, but it wasn't coming out as I wanted, so I made it a light wash, something that can easily be obscured by another layer, but will also add variation to the petals.

 

WORK IN PROGRESS