Step 1 ) I always begin my paintings by transferring my
sketch with clean lines and no smudges to my
Hot press Arches Watercolor paper, using a light h2 graphite
pencil.
Before i do this i make sure and tape down my
watercolor paper so no 'wrapping' occurs when
the painting process begins, i use masking tape for
artists.If you use water blocks pad to paint on
no need to use masking tape unless you are going
for a border effect.
Step 2 )
The painting process begins, when i paint i use different
kind of brands of watercolor paint i dont stick to one,
I started out by diluting a very light blue color
I used Grumbacher turquoise and applied a light coat
all over the painting,background and figure,
i was careful not to apply
color in the angels eyes.
Step 3 )
My original sketch had a lot more red roses which i later eliminated
to give the painting a more darker/Gothic look.
In this stage i added green and pinkish colors to the roses and
background.
Step 4 )
In step 4 I started work on the cross ,gate/fence
which was the most
challenging part of the painting,
I basically used black watercolor paint
for the gates and when i wanted really light
Grey color i diluted it with a lot
of water.To get the details of the fonts right
after my wash dried i used my
graphite pencil to outline
the letters and later used my watercolor black pencil
to define the letters.
Step 5 )
In step 5 work on the cross and
background was complete and i started work
on the main figure The Angel.
Step 6 )
I used my watercolor pencil and did
some light shading
on her hair and angel wing to
give me a better idea how it would look
painted.
For her skin tones i used a very light yellow orche
color and
for the white highlights i used white charcoal pencil
which i mixed a little
with white gouache over the watercolor,
but i wanted her skin to have a
glossy shine look to it and i used my prismacolor pencils
to achieve that
look.
Once i was happy with the skin tones/face
i moved on to finish
painting her hair and wing,
i did a couple of black watercolor washes
but i felt it was too light
and used black acrylic which tends to be
a bit thicker.
Step 7 )
In the final step you can view the
finished painting with the
additional changes i did to the background
eliminating some of the
red roses to give it a darker look,
i did that by painting over the roses
with a darker greenish color and using my
WC pencils for the Ivy/vine details
and going over them with
watercolor green paint and a very thin paint brush.
I can't stress enough how important it is
to let washes of paint
DRY first before you do any further work
especially if you are
planning on using pencils ,
make sure your paper is dry ,
you may end up marking/damaging the paper if it's still wet.
Art Materials used :
Arches Hotpress Watercolor Paper
Grumbacher , Winsor & newton watercolor paint.
Karat Aquarell watercolor pencils & Prismacolor pencils.
Painting Brushes
Masking Tape.
Hope the painting process i shared was helpful.
Watercolor tutorial is copyrighted to katerina koukiotis
(katerinaart.com) all rights reserved,2009.