Ink Stains: 2016 Watercolor Calendar

Welcome to the 2016 Watercolor Technique Calendar!

I hope you're as excited as I am about the calendar this year. We're going to play with several different techniques and watercolor mediums but before I get to that I had a reoccurring question about what paint brush to use. You can use whatever brush you are comfortable with. I have several I like to use depending on what I'm doing but mostly I use a fluffy round brush that holds water well. I suggest just buying an assortment and playing with them to see which one you like the best. Everyone is different so different brushes work for everyone.

Here is the calendar page I made for January!

It's an easy one because in addition to the brush question a few people expressed their fear of beginning to use watercolors. They were afraid they were going to mess up the paper/calendar. No worries, I promise this is going to be fun! No worries please.

You can use any paints you have...from the inexpensive 8 color sets on up to the advanced set of colors. Remember...fun!

Supplies for this technique include: paints, brush, water, stamping block and paper (watercolor or cardstock).

1. We're going to wet the brush and pick up the paints in the brush...

2. Swish the paint around on the stamping block. You may apply one or more colors to the block - in my case I'm using 3 but if you feel more comfortable using one at a time, please feel free to do so.

3. Once you have your block painted up, smoosh it into the paper.

NOTE: if you are using watercolor paper it's best to spritz with a layer of water first. if you're using cardstock no additional water is needed.

4. Continue to press the block onto the paper until there is no more paint on the block. Repeat steps 1-3 until the entire paper has been covered.

5. (optional) if desired you can quickly dry the layers of paint before adding additional layers.

6. If you're feeling daring and would like to fill in certain areas you can load up your brush with paint and dab more color on here and there to help round out the design.

7. With each "stamping" of paint you'll notice how the layers begin to build up and create an amazing depth and dimension you don't get with acrylics or other similar mediums.

8. Once you are satisfied with the colors, set it aside to dry. Your very first watercolor pages is ready to use or if you like you're all set to add stamps, your calendar and any other embellishments you might want to incorporate!