Fearless Friday, Iris with ink and watercolor pencils

the Painted Apron

2 years ago

Today we are going to draw and color,

and then turn the drawing into a watercolor painting!

I have this Botanica book that I often get inspiration from

It is full of detailed ink drawings of flowers and plants

It is actually an adult coloring book

A book like this can really help you improve your skills

Copy the drawings and change the compositions,

and add color to make them your own

You can draw them realistically or abstract

Today’s drawing is realistic,

I copied the drawing from the book as closely as I could,

beginning with one petal

And then building from there

It is fun and satisfying to watch the flower come to life

You can download a printable to color here

Have you ever used watercolor pencils?

Watercolor can be scary because you only have limited control,

but with watercolor pencils,

you have the ability to place the color precisely where you want it

then blend it out in a controlled fashion

by the amount of water you apply

Magic!

I proceeded to add more color, blending as I went…

be careful not to use too much water,

a little goes a long way

Several colors of green pencil on the leaves

Then the greens are blended out with a wet brush

“April Iris” 9″ x 12″ ink & watercolor pencil on mixed media paper

Note: I did use mixed media paper, however it was for dry mixed media only, so when I added water, the paper did warp a bit, so I highly recommend getting a sketchbook or pad that can handle both dry and wet media so you have the option of creating art with anything that strikes your fancy!

Juicy Details

I have several brands of watercolor pencils, Derwent Inktense, Faber Castell, and General Kimberly Watercolor pencils which I used for “Spring Iris”

General Kimberly watercolor pencils blend out really well, and they are very affordable, a 24 color set is available for $25.62 on Amazon here

As with any colored media, I highly recommend making a color chart for reference