SUPPLIES & TOOLS:
- Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Colors: Cadmium Yellow Hue, Permanent Rose, Cadmium Red Deep Hue, Emerald, Viridian Hue
- Winsor & Newton Art Masking Fluid, 2.5 fl. oz
- Winsor & Newton Cotman #6 Round Brush
- Winsor & Newton Cotman #2 Round Brush
- Winsor & Newton Watercolor Marker, Lamp Black
- 9"x 12" Cold Press Watercolor Paper (trim sheet to have one 8x 10 piece)
- Ceramic or Plastic Watercolor Palette Well (5 wells needed)
- Glass of Water
- Toothpick
- Paper Towel
DIRECTIONS:
To find the downloadable patterns click on the "GET PATTERNS" tab above.- Prepare Work Surface. Cover your work surface with a disposable covering and fill a glass or cup with water.
- Cut one sheet of 9in x 12in watercolor paper to create one 8x10 sheet of paper.
- Transfer or Freehand Draw Outline. Use a lightbox or well-lit window and a graphite pencil to transfer the provided outline, or freehand draw the outline by using the provided outline as a guide.
- Apply Masking Fluid to Strawberries. To create the seeds on the strawberries, place the tip of the toothpick into the masking fluid and then use the toothpick to transfer the masking fluid to the watercolor paper. Use this process to create several dots in varying shapes and sizes on each individual strawberry. Let the masking fluid fully dry before moving on to the next step. The masking fluid protects the watercolor paper from receiving paint, and it will be removed at the very end of this project.
- Mix Watercolor Paint. Place a pea-sized amount of Cadmium Yellow Hue into one well on the artist's palette. Then, place a pea-sized amount of Permanent Rose into a new well on the artist's palette. Repeat this process into three other wells on the palette with the Cadmium Red Deep Hue, Emerald, and Viridian Hue paint.
- Using the #6 brush, place enough water into each well on the palette to create paint mixtures that are equal paint to water ratio. Be sure to clean your brush after stirring water into each color.
- Apply Yellow to Strawberries. **The next three steps should be worked in their entirety one strawberry at a time using a wet into wet technique. However, to better understand this technique, the process is broken down in more detail over the next three steps with accompanying visuals.**
- Using the #6 round brush, apply Cadmium Yellow to approximately half of the overall strawberries on the artwork. Only apply this color to approximately one quarter of each individual strawberry. You can apply this color to the middle section of one strawberry, to the bottom tip of another strawberry, or to one side of a different strawberry. This color can be applied anywhere, but take care to apply it only to one quarter of each strawberry.
- Apply Pink to Strawberries. **Steps 6, 7, and 8 should be worked in their entirety one strawberry at a time.**
- While the yellow paint is still wet, apply Permanent Rose to approximately one third of what is remaining on each strawberry that had Cadmium Yellow applied to them. As with the yellow paint, this color can be applied to any part of the strawberry. Allow the still wet Permanent Rose paint to bleed into the Cadmium Yellow. A peach hue will be created in certain spots as the pink and yellow blend and merge into each other.
- Then, apply Permanent Rose to one third of every remaining strawberry that did not have any yellow applied to them. This color can be applied to any portion on each strawberry, and it will add movement to the overall piece if you apply it to a different section on each strawberry.
- Apply Red to Strawberries. **Steps 6, 7, and 8 should be worked in their entirety one strawberry at a time.**
- While both the yellow and pink paints are still wet, apply Cadmium Red Deep Hue to the remaining sections on each strawberry. Allow the Cadmium Red Deep Hue to bleed into both the Cadmium Yellow and Permanent Rose colors. Orange hues will be created in certain spots as the red and yellow colors blend and merge into each other, and a darker pink will be created as the pink and red colors blend and merge into each other.
- Allow the strawberries to dry before moving on to the next step.
- Paint on Leaves. Use the #2 round brush in this step.
- Apply Emerald to half of the leaves. On the strawberries with three leaves, apply it to one on some strawberries and to two on others. To the strawberries with four leaves, apply this color to two of them. On the strawberries with a stem and two leaves, apply it to just the stem on some strawberries and to the two leaves only on other strawberries.
- Now, apply Viridian Hue to the remaining leaves and stems that do not have any paint on them.
- Lettering: Using the small tip of the Lamp Black watercolor marker, carefully apply color to the lettering. Work one letter and even one section of lettering at a time to help maintain control. For the words "You're Berry", apply just one layer of color and try to keep the strokes thin. For "Sweet", go over the lettering one time as you did with the "You're Berry". Then, thicken up the strokes by going over them again. Finally, apply a few down strokes to the "Sweet" lettering. Down strokes are when strokes move in a downward motion when writing. The long curve of the "s", the left side of each arch that make up the "w", the left side of each "e", and the vertical part of the "t" should all be thickened.
- Remove Masking Fluid. Once the paint on the strawberries is fully dry, use a paper towel to gently rub away the masking fluid from the strawberries to reveal the seeds.