Gelatos - more on blending & layers

Today I wanted to share a bit more about blending & layering using Faber-Castell's Gelatos.

I figured since it's officially Spring even though it doesn't feel or look like it in some regions it would be fun to make a little canvas with hopes that it might bring about some nice weather.  A girl can dream can't she ???

Spring Dreams

The first thing I did was some really basic shapes and scribbled in some colors.  You'll notice how in various areas I used multiple colors of Gelatos (flowers, stems, sky) - when I begin blending with my watercolor brush these areas will create a nice depth to the image.

When I blend my gelatos together I like to start with the lighter colors and work towards the darker shades.  For example I started at the tops of the flowers with the light pink and worked my way towards the red. 

I did the same thing with the stems and worked from the lighter shade of green to the darker.  You'll notice how creamy and nice the colors spread around. 

Something to keep in mind when blending, the more water you use the more diluted and transparent your colors will be.  For more intense creamy opaque colors you'll want to use less water. 

For example, I used much more water to blend the sky area than I did the flowers or stems.  This excess water allowed me to play with texture a bit by pouncing a wadded up plastic bag into the water/gelato mixture.  As you can see it leaves an amazing pattern in the medium.

After the gelatos dried, which was very quick btw, I went back over the canvas and added additional details by simply drawing right over top the blended gelatos.  What is really amazing about these Gelatos is their ability to layer without any issues you might have with other mediums.  You'll see how the white covers up the red of the tulips!  Amazing as red is one of the hardest colors to cover up.  I like to use the white Gelatos to had highlights to some areas and make them pop off the canvas.

Next I wanted to share another amazing quality of the Gelatos...you can stamp right over the top of the dried Gelatos and get a superb impression!  I used a variety of background stamps here (from Just For Fun Rubber Stamps) paired with Archival Inks to show you just how easy it is to stamp over these fun little color sticks!

You can't really see it all that well but in the upper left hand corner I used a piece of punchenella as a stencil.  I rubbed some of the Gelatos over the stencil with my finger to make a thicker layer.  I then I stamped the "Dream" sentiment into that layer of Gelatos and restamped the sentiment over and over without reinking.  The stamp picked up some of the Gelatos each time I made an impression and carried a bit of it to the next stamping.  It turned out to be really quite a cool effect.

I came back and added a few collage butterfly images (from Altered Pages) and a little butterfly fairy to finish off the Spring canvas.

Would you like this canvas to brighten your walls?

Simply post a comment about your favorite part of Spring.

I'll select a winner sometime next week!

Good Luck Friends!

 

 

I'll have more Gelato fun to share with you next week along with photos from the ATC & Charm swap.

Tomorrow I've got a few last minute Easter cards and then on Saturday & Sunday I have several very old Easter Postcards to share as well. 

 

Hope to see you then but if you can't make it

please have a safe and happy Easter!