Blue Fern Studios April Sketch Challenge

April Flowers
This is a photo I took of my cousin from 2012.  I thought I would pair her up with some Blue Fern Studios   chippies and try painting a pastel watercolor looking background with my Lindy's Stamp Gang mists.

This was created for the brand new sketch challenge at Blue Fern Studios by the gifted Michele Singh
Don't get discouraged if you don't have the Floral clock that is shown in the sketch - substitute it for a punched circle or perhaps some string or stamping in a circle.  Utilize your Blue Fern chippies elsewhere.

Someone asked if I used photoshop to create the whitewash  over processed look.  I did not.  It is very light in person and I actually was afraid I would have to enhance it in photoshop for the internet, but in the end I did not.

     Here are the chipboard products I used: Floral Clock 074684

Garden Daisy (large 074967) and (small 074974)

This is how I created my watercolor look:  

Step 1.  Completely coat your paper or canvas with clear gesso.  The clear canvas acts as a water barrier for the papers so that the mists do not soak into the paper.  

Step 2.  I dipped my paintbrush upouring a little Lindy's onto my nonstick craft mat.  Then dabbed the Lindy's onto the paper lightly.

Step 3.  Dabbed up the excess mist on my paper with a paper towel so  it does not leave a pool or puddle of mist. 

Step 4.  Sprayed water from mist bottle onto the spot where I painted - then dabbed up the water with a paper towel. 

Step 5.  If not happy with results, spray more water or add more mist and follow the steps over again. 

Step 6.  Using a black marker, trace some of the lines around the splotches.  

Step 7.  Rub a little Tim Holtz Scattered Straw ink around the page for blending and softening. 

I painted the chippies with white gesso then added yellow acrylic paint for the flowers and green acrylic paint for the stems.   The yellow was too bright for me so I painted over with white gesso to tone down. 

Thanks so very much for looking. 

So come and play along with the  Blue Fern Studios sketch challenge here and get creative. 

Supplies:

Garden Daisy (large 074967) and (small 074974) 

Floral Clock 074684

Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch

Stampabilities Le London Script Punch

Archival Ink -Jet Black

Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst - California Poppy Gold/Ramblin Rose Pink/Heliotrope Purple Plum

Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Flat Fabio Caribbean Blue

Claudine Hellmuth - Pastel Yellow/Landscape Green
Prima Wishes and Dreams Stamp by Leeza Gibbons
Tim Holtz Scattered Straw ink