I’m concentrating on watercolor this month, trying to keep up with the daily prompts
The World Watercolor Month prompt for July 10 was Ocean Creatures
I took my inspiration from this book my daughter gave me, Living Coastal, flipping through the pages and drawing what caught my eye with simple ink sketches
You can certainly draw in pencil first if it makes you more comfortable
Be sure to use waterproof {archival} ink pens or you will have a mess when you add watercolor
I recommend Micron pens with a variety of nib sizes like this affordable set here
It wasn’t long before the page was full
Time to start painting!
I experimented with different techniques, painting the seahorse with wet into wet, letting the green from the spiny head and the blues blend into each other
I painted the highlights on the crab shell with shades of yellow, then continued to add deeper shades of orange and a touch of red in the darkest areas
For the jellyfish I played around with different colors, blending and trying to create the translucency of it’s body
I continued to work on the creatures, one at a time, moving around the page
I didn’t linger anywhere too long, laying down color freely
“Ocean Creatures” 9″ x 12″ watercolor on paper
For the shell below, I did the opposite, starting with paint and ending with ink
I began with a quick and loose watercolor sketch
Then I deepened the shadows in the water
Then refined it with ink
“Shell on the Beach” 10″ x 8″ watercolor on paper
I like to work on a watercolor block, like Arches, but it is pricey, $1.70-$2.00 per 9″x 12″ sheet
For sketching and experimenting I bought this 2 pack, 32 pages each, Arteza watercolor pads from Amazon here
It’s about .50 per sheet and has a rough and a smooth side, so you can paint on either or both sides, but you do have to tape it down to keep in flat
It’s not too late to join the watercolor month this fun, even if you can’t paint everyday, just paint when you can
You can see my inspiration board here, and get the prompts from the sponsor Doodlewash here, or paint whatever you like
If you want to share on social media use #worldwatercolormonth
Draw, Paint, Create and be Fearless!
I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Meal Plan Monday Dishing it & Digging it, Between Naps on the Porch,
Merry Monday Make it Pretty Monday Celebrate and Decorate,
Tasty Tuesday Oh My Heartsie Girl Full Plate Thursday