Creative Watercolor & Mixed Media: A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving Stunning Effects
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About this ebook
In Creative Watercolor and Mixed Media, popular watercolor artist, instructor, and author Ana Victoria Calderon shares her simple step-by-step techniques for painting exciting and colorful motifs by combining watercolor with a variety of other user-friendly materials.
- Start with the essentials—paint, paper, and brushes—then learn about the featured mediums for mixing, including masking fluid, gold leaf, bleach, salt, and alcohol
- Take a step-by-step look at fundamental watercolor techniques
- Learn to paint a variety of striking organic motifs and surface effects, including stirring skies and clouds, sparkling galaxies, flowing oceans, and dazzling crystals
- Find great project ideas for stylish gifts and stationery
Whether you’re new to the medium or are looking to add new techniques to your watercolor practice, go grab a brush, paints, and some easy-to-use materials and take a beautiful creative journey with watercolor!
Perfect for all skill levels, the books in the Art for Modern Makers series take a fun, practical approach to learning about and working with paints and other art mediums to create beautiful DIY projects and crafts.
Ana Victoria Calderón
Ana Victoria Calderón es una acuarelista y profesora mexicoamericana. Tiene un grado universitario en Diseño de la Información y formación continuada en Bellas Artes. Sus ilustraciones pueden encontrarse en una amplia variedad de productos en tiendas minoristas de Estados Unidos y Europa, y también vende láminas de sus ilustraciones en Etsy. Ana imparte talleres y organiza los retiros creativos "Magic Jungle" en Tulum, México, y además guía a miles de alumnos online en la plataforma Skillshare y Domestika. Puedes seguir su trabajo en Instagram (@anavictoriana), YouTube (Ana Victoria Calderon) y Facebook (Ana Victoria Calderon Illustration).
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Book preview
Creative Watercolor & Mixed Media - Ana Victoria Calderón
CONTENTS
PREFACE
Why Watercolors Are So Great to Mix with Other Mediums
1 MIXED MEDIA: WATERCOLOR & MORE
WATERCOLOR
GOUACHE: Adding Opacity to Translucent Watercolors
ALL THAT SHIMMERS: Metallic, Pearlescent & Iridescent Watercolors
SPECIALTY WATERCOLORS: Neon, Multipigmented & Rare Pigments
INKS
BRUSHES
PAPER
OTHER TOOLS & SUPPLIES
2 BASIC TECHNIQUES & BEYOND
WATERCOLOR PROPERTIES
ESSENTIAL WATERCOLOR HOW-TO
EXPERIMENTING WITH MIXED MEDIA
GALLERY OF MIXED MEDIA EXPERIMENTS
3 HORIZONS
PREPARING YOUR SURFACE FOR PAINTING SKIES
OPEN SKIES
BILLOWING CLOUDS
OCEAN SUNRISE
LIGHTNING STORM
Project: Message Hidden in the Clouds
4 CELESTIAL SKIES
PHASES OF THE MOON
CONSTELLATIONS & COSMIC TEXTURES
SUNS & PLANETS
Project: Outer-Space Collage
5 GEMS & CRYSTALS
CRYSTAL SHAPES
AMETHYST CLUSTER
NATURAL EMERALD
LOOSE & EXPERIMENTAL HEALING CRYSTALS
Project: Birthstone Chart
6 EARTH & SACRED GEOMETRY
ANCIENT SHAPES
THE SEED OF LIFE
PRESSING FLOWERS & LEAVES
DECORATING PRESSED BOTANICALS
Project: Ultimate Mixed-Media Mandala Masterpiece
TEMPLATES
RESOURCES/REFERENCES
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
INDEX
PREFACE
I’ve never considered myself the type of artist who sticks to one specific brand of paint, or a certain type of paper. Sure, I have my favorites, but I’ve found that experimenting with all kinds of supplies is at the core of my creative journey. Walking the halls of art supply stores, going home and testing different materials, and being inspired by what a medium has to offer are all special moments for an artist. In fact, experimenting can be the source of inspiration for what can later turn into elaborate pieces. The medium itself becomes the place where ideas are born.
Before writing books and teaching online courses, I taught in-person watercolor workshops. In one of these programs, students would create a large swath of experiments by mixing watercolor in all forms with inks, salt, acetone, and household objects. I never grew tired of seeing the expression on their faces—filled with wonder—amazed at how a simple interaction between these mediums creates pure alchemy. This activity was called Little Planets and it became the staple activity for watercolor workshops and inspired hundreds of students to see beyond what they ever imagined they could do.
These two photos are examples of some of the work students make in my in-person workshops.
Unexpected effects, surprising textures, and magnificent results came from these experiments. Students went on to see if they could discover any of the circles taking on new form. Maybe this circle could be a jellyfish? Or, maybe it looks like bacteria through a microscope? How about the solar system? Their assignment was to create details to add to these experiments to give them new form. Year by year I was amazed at the ideas they came up with—many of which I never would have thought of myself!
Throughout the years, I’ve found that many watercolor enthusiasts are interested in the medium, even if they are not sure what they want to create with it. Drawing and painting are two very different things. You don’t have to be a gifted hyperrealist artist to appreciate the joys of painting. I’ve always thought of art as an intuitive process, where the experience is just as, if not more important, than the result.
This book will take you on a path of discovery through experimentation. Drawing prompts are mostly simple geometric shapes that anyone can do, and they leave room to create stunning pieces of art with the alchemy of watercolor and mixed media.
Why Watercolors Are So Great to Mix with Other Mediums
Watercolors are accessible, easy to use with some basic knowledge, and work well with a variety of other mediums. Because the formula is so pure, once activated with water the paints are quite easy to manipulate. Watercolor paints are made from a few simple ingredients—pigment, a binder formula, and water, which eventually evaporates. The pigments and formulas vary depending on the quality of the brand and type of watercolor. In general, watercolor is a great medium to work with because of its simplicity and water solubility. Unlike oil or acrylic paint, watercolor is translucent and blends easily with neighboring colors when applied with enough water. Watercolor is fluid, which means it flows in different directions once applied to paper. The amount of water used, and in this case other mediums, changes the reaction of your wash to create all kinds of textures that activate on their own without much intervention.
The medium offers numerous interesting tricks exclusive to this type of paint—from mixing watercolors with salt, to adding texture with plastic wrap, to applying iridescent effects, to being the foundational layer for opaque paints. You’re in for an exciting treat!
A NOTE ABOUT THE PROJECTS
Artists aren’t necessarily scientists. While the themes, effects, and projects in this book take many cues from nature, astronomy, and even gemology, the images aren’t intended to be accurate or scientific. For this book, creative exploration and artistic expression are what matter most.
1
MIXED MEDIA: WATERCOLOR & MORE
In this chapter I share a variety of supplies that you can use for the activities in this book. Because we’re working with mixed media as well as watercolor, there are many mediums that are optional or interchangeable. Don’t feel as though you need to use the exact supplies I use to achieve magical results; use the paints you have and experiment with what you can.