Transcripts
1. Introduction: Hi everyone. Welcome to those that
are joining me for the first time into
those returning. Thanks so much for
checking back. I'm Sharon Margolies,
a professional artist specializing
in watercolor, pet portraiture, and lettering. I've been a teacher here
on Skillshare since 2019. I Painted in several
different mediums such as charcoal, pastel, and oils. I also enjoy the Art of
lettering using brushes, markers in the traditional
calligraphy nibs. Over the past few years, I've painted mostly
in watercolor with my subject matter
or being flowers. Many of my floral
paintings had been done using a realistic style, but lately I've been enjoying a more loose style of
painting and watercolor. Oh, and did I mentioned
I like to paint flowers. I think of the quote by the
impressionist Claude Monet. I must have flowers
always and always. The focus of this
class is to paint in a loose and imaginative
way to let go of the idea that every
detail has to be Painted. Typically the Drawing comes
first before the Painting, but we'll be doing the opposite. Putting paint to paper first. Using this approach
forces us to let go of the idea that we have to
copy everything that we see. Be it from a photo reference
or from real life. This class I will
teach you how to paint a representation of
flowers and leaves. Instead of trying to achieve
a photo realistic painting. How to simplify your
subject matter. How to use watercolor in a
loose and imaginative way. If you've taken my class,
simple watercolor techniques, you will notice this class
is similar in that we will be creating a greeting
card with a floral theme. However, we'll be using
different painting techniques. This class is suitable for those with some
watercolor experience. However, if you're
just starting out and want to dive
into this class, you can check out my class titled Paint a Simple
Rose in Watercolor, specifically lessons 6.7 in, in my class,
whimsical watercolor flowers from drops
and splatters. Specifically less than three. You will find
in-depth instruction on simplifying various
botanical elements. You don't need a whole lot
of painting experience, just some creative enthusiasm, a few brushes and paints. Throughout the
class, there will be subtitles and helpful tips to keep you involved and on track as you create
your class project. This class is for you if
you've Used watercolor before, but want to try
different techniques, or maybe you've Gained a bit of watercolor skills and want
to improve upon them. Even if you have Painted in watercolor for
years and still continued to have a passion for painting in this magical medium. You may discover something
you haven't tried before. It's also for those that find themselves in a creator's block, which is becoming tired of what you are
currently painting. It could be the subject matter
or the current style of your painting and
you need something to get you back in the game. So follow me on this fund
and relaxing journey. And by the end of the class, you'll have Learned
a painting approach that is conducive in helping you simplify your subject matter and to paint in a loose style. And you'll have created a one of a kind greeting card or a
stand alone work of Art. And most importantly,
you'll have Gained confidence in your
watercolor painting ability. Before we begin the class, let's briefly discuss the
project that we'll be creating.
2. The Class Project: Today's class project will be a simple and easy
floral composition that can stand alone as a
work of Art to be displayed. Or what's a little added text
can make a greeting card. As we paint together, you will follow my thought
process as I envisioned, a floral composition using simple shapes to represent
the flowers and leaves. The goal of this class is
to teach you how to use watercolor in a loose style. I'd love to see your
finished projects. Just click on creative project in the projects and
resource section. Consider this class
and invitation to simply relax and have FUN through the joyful act
of painting with watercolor
3. Supplies: There is a detailed
list of supplies in the Projects and
Resources section. You will need a metal ruler, a plastic ruler to be
pencil or for B pencil, an exacto knife and
kneaded eraser. Some painters tape a cutting mat or a thick piece of mat board. And acrylic T-square and a
plastic triangle are optional. You will need quarter-inch
foam board on which to take the watercolor paper to
prevent it from buckling. 140 pound watercolor paper. I like this be watercolor paper, six by nine that folds nicely in half to make
the greeting card. A watercolor palette of your choosing in
two cups for water, one for dirty water and
one for clean water. You can use other brands
of watercolor brushes. But these are the
particular brands that I used for the painting. I recommend having
at least three sizes of the round brushes from small to medium and one large flat brush for
wetting the paper. The micron permanent
marker is good for outlining due to its permanent
when painting over it. Seen here are the
various brands are professional watercolor paints
and the colors I've used, don't feel that you have to adhere to these
particular brands. Have a spray bottle on hand, plenty of paper towels
and an old hand towel. Seen here are the supplies
that you will need to complete the card after the painting
has been completed. Cut a couple of pieces
of foam board large enough on which to tape
the watercolor paper. This piece of foam board
measures roughly 7-by-7. The thickness of this foam board will be sufficient enough for our size of watercolor paper to keep it from buckling. And like I said, best to cut to pieces in case you want to start over or have an extra one
to create another project. The piece of watercolor
paper you see here measures four-and-a-half
by four-and-a-half. The inside and painting
area measures four-by-four
4. Preparing The Paper: The first thing we will do is tape the paper to
the foam board. Place the tape along the
margins of the Painting area, which should measure 4 " by 4 ". The quarter-inch border
allows room for the tape. Prepare an extra one in
case you want to start over or want to start
another watercolor
5. The Painting: Now for the fund Part, begin by wetting the entire
surface of the paper. Don't be confused by the extra
painter's tape by habit. The bottom here, I
picked up a P site already prepared and it
had the extra tape on it. With an idea already
formed in my mind, I start applying a well
diluted opera rose. I envision three
different sized roses, with the large one being
slightly to the left of center. Painting simple circular
shapes for the roses. Adding less diluted opera rose, which is mostly pigment. The center of roses will
often appear dark in color. Applying Loose crescent shaped strokes to represent the petals. I envision a few
smaller flowers with oval shaped petals
in this composition. Applying a well diluted payne's gray with a size
eight round brush. This phase of the Painting works best if the paper is wet. If you find your paper
has dried a bit, you can always go
in with a clean, damp brush in the areas
you plan to put the paint. And now mostly pure pigment, brightening up the petals
with some Daniel Smith, you're destined
to electric blue. I love this color. Here. I'm using a damp, clean brush to soften
the edges of the petals. In a little more Payne's
gray, mostly pure pigment. Using a clean, wet
size eight brush. Staying clear of where
the paint already is, I'm re-wetting the paper
where I will be adding more elements such as the
leaves and the stems. Along the edges. I'm applying a well diluted perylene green. Here. I'm starting to create
a subtle border of color to the Painting. With the paper's still wet
and with a size eight brush, I'm creating leaf shapes with
a diluted perylene green. You can see here with
how my brushes moving, I'm deciding on
different sizes and pleasing placements for
the leaves as I go. Keep in mind, you can always
pause the video and if you like where I am placing
the leaves and stems, then you can put them exactly in the places that
I am choosing. I always love watching the bleed effect of putting
paint on the wet paper, a technique called wet on wet. When placing the stems, it is important to keep in
mind that they will always be originating from the
center of the flower. Re-wetting the edges
of the papers so I can add a bit more color to the
border of the painting. To give the Painting unity, I will be adding the same color of the flowers to the
border of the Painting. I'm doing this in a subtle way. The colors will blend slightly
with the other colors. I'm also being sure to
keep the colors light. This ensures that the focus of the Painting will
be the flowers. Using the edge of
the brush helps to avoid hard edges or lines. You can see here how I'm just touching that
edge of the leaf. So it softens at a bit. Adding a bit more color to the edges and letting
them mixed together. You may find as the painting
dries that there are hard edges and
they can sometimes create a distracting shape. Here the leaf edges create
a triangular white shape. This can be fixed by softening the edges with a
clean, damp brush. Now we will let
the painting dry. The time it takes to
dry will vary depending on the humidity and
how wet the paper is. But a good indicator
is when the surface is no longer cool to the touch
6. The Drawing: As we start the Drawing, try to remember to
keep it simple. I begin by drawing
crescent like shapes with irregular edges to
represent the rose petals. The petals will increase in size towards the outer
edge of the rows. When using photo references, such as I am doing here, remember it's not
necessary to copy every curve and point
you see on the petals. The photo references
I am using in this video are from Pixabay. For more interesting painting. I want the other
two Rose is to look like rose buds or roses
that are not in full bloom. I'm planning the placement of the center of the row is here. And sometimes it's
not so obvious. There are two dark areas that could easily become the
center of the rows. In the end, I actually
choose a spot in-between the two dark areas. Then now to outline
the other flowers. I've decided to
give these flowers a few more petals than the six you see in the photo
reference I'm using. Because there are no hard
edges to the shapes. You have the freedom to pick and choose the placement
of the petals. And sometimes it looks
more pleasing to put a pedal where there isn't
a Painted form to outline. And another flower here. Now, let's define the stems and leaves in the composition. Instead of one large
leaf in this area, I think it will look more
pleasing with two leaves. Here. A couple of long
slender leaves will add some variety to our
floral composition.
7. Outlining With Ink: This part is fairly
easy as it involves simply going over
the pencil outline with the permanent marker. I should mention that this
segment of the video was taken with a stronger
light source than the other
parts of the video. And because of this, the
colors appear much lighter. Then I'll speed things
up just a bit here. And remember you have the
option of pausing the video. You also have the
option more than likely to slow the speed down with whatever device that you are watching
this video on. Here are too distracting.
White shapes. Adding a bit more paint
will fix this problem. I'm adding opera rose to
just a few of these petals. At this point, you
may decide to make some areas more vibrant
or darker in color. To complete the blue flowers, I will be adding a few bold dots to the center of the flowers. I'll be using in this Daniel Smith iridescent
electric blue. But you can use
the Winsor Newton cerulean blue or another
color of your choosing. Using the paint
straight from the tube, I'm getting a blob on
the tip of my brush. I've found that the paint was just too thick to work with. So just using the cap
of the watercolor tube, I added the tiniest bit
of water to the paint. You'll notice here a drop of water on the edge of the brush, soaking it up with
a paper towel. And now I'll use a little bit of this cerulean blue for
some of the flowers. And keep in mind, it
will take some time for these little blobs
of paint to dry. So be careful not to smudge
them with your hand. Very carefully peel
that painter's tape off of the watercolor paper. Go slowly and keep the tape
in a folded light position, which will reduce the risk of lifting up the
surface of the paper. Using a straight edge. And your exacto knife cut along the marked edge of your
finished watercolor. Your finished piece of
artwork is now ready for framing or to be used to
complete the greeting card
8. Preparing The Card: This be watercolor paper has a rough side and a smooth side. This is the rough side. And this is the smooth side. If you are using another
type of watercolor paper, cut the paper out to 6 " by 9 ". Fold the paper in half so that the rough side is the
outside of the card. I first use the sides of my hands to crease
the edge of the Card. And then for a crisp edge, use the edge of your ruler, being careful not
to tear the paper
9. Completing The Card: In this lesson, we'll start by finding a pleasing placement for our watercolor and the texts that we have chosen
for our greeting. Once we are pleased with the placement of the
watercolor in a text, will mark the bottom edge of where the watercolor
will be placed, and then also the
baseline for the text. To ensure a straight
line for the text, I will make another mark equal distant from the bottom
edge of the card. You could also use a T-square pencil in
the lines lightly, as you will have to erase these lines when The
Card has completed. I also want the text
centered horizontally, so I will make a mark indicating
the center of the card. I have placed the marks
indicating exactly where I want the watercolor
and the text to appear. I'll be using the craft
bond permanent tape to adhere the
Watercolor to the card. You could also use double-sided tape or
even a glue stick. Here I am placing just
the very bottom edge of the Watercolor to the
guidelines that I have marked. And then I will go
ahead and press down once it's aligned properly. It's always a good idea to test out the rubber stamp
and the ink pad that you are using on a scrap piece of the
watercolor paper. And now carefully lining up the rubber stamp
along the baseline. Best to use a pencil eraser instead of the
kneaded eraser when erasing the pencil line for the text so as not
to smudge the Ink. Even if you are very careful
when using the rubber stamp, it can be easy to
shift the rubber stamp resulting in some
smudging of the ink. Here are a few smudge marks from the rubber stamp that
needs to be removed. This can be done by very gently scraping the paper
with the exacto blade. Use the knife edge that
is close to the tip. It may be better using
just the tip of the blade. This method with
the exacto knife may not work as well on
watercolor paper that is less than 140 pound as
the paper may be too thin. And there you have it. Your simple but expressive
Watercolor greeting card
10. Final Thoughts: Congratulations on finishing
the class project. I truly hope you enjoyed
the process and feel much more competent in your
watercolor painting ability. To review what we learned today, we started with an idea of a
simple floral composition. We imagined how we wanted to
finish painting to appear. We Painted simple shapes to represent the
botanical elements. Once the painting was completed, we outlined all the
botanical elements. We learned how to
look for and fix any distracting shapes
and are painting. With a rubber stamp. We added a bit of
texts that would complete our greeting card. I wonder who will be
the lucky recipient to receive your card? No doubt whoever receives
it will be touched that you took the time to make a
special card just for them. In addition to using your finished watercolor
as a nice display piece, you can also print your
painting on almost any product, such as pillows, tote
bags, to name a few. There are numerous
classes here on Skillshare on how to
digitize your works of Art. Once digitize, there are several print-on-demand
sites you can choose from. Please share your creations
in the project gallery. And if you have any
questions or comments, leave them in the
discussion section. I'm always happy to
help in any way I can. If you enjoyed this class
mixture to follow me. So you'll know when a
new class is published. I'm open to any ideas you
have for future classes. So please be sure
to let me know. You can also find
me on Instagram, YouTube, as well as my Website. All the links are provided
in my Skillshare profile. And thanks again for
joining me today. I hope to see you again soon. Until then, happy painting
Sharon Margolies, Artist | Watercolor + Lettering
