Gnome for the Holidays Greeting Card

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolors Sketchers' Pocket Box Colors:
• Cadmium Yellow
• Cadmium Red Pale Hue
• Alizarin Crimson
• Ultramarine Blue
• Cerulean Blue Hue
• Viridian Hue
• Sap Green
• Yellow Ochre
• Burnt Umber
• Chinese White
• Winsor & Newton Cotman #4 Round Brush
• Winsor & Newton Cotman #2 Round Brush
• Winsor & Newton Cotman #1 Round Brush
• 9"x 12" Cold Press Watercolor Paper
• Ceramic or Plastic Watercolor Palette Well (11 wells needed)
• Graphite Pencil
• Eraser
• Bone Folder or Butter Knife
• 5"x 7" Envelope
• Glass of Water
• Paper Towel

DIRECTIONS:

To find the downloadable patterns click on the "GET PATTERNS" tab above.

PREP WORK SURFACE:

1. Cover your work surface with a disposable covering and fill a glass or cup with water.

CUT WATERCOLOR PAPER:

1. Cut a 9in x 12in sheet of watercolour paper to measure 10x7 in size.

SCORE BACKSIDE OF WATERCOLOR PAPER:

1. With a graphite pencil and working on the backside of the watercolor paper, draw a small dot marking the 5" mark on the middle of the paper and on each long side of the paper. Then, using a ruler and the graphite pencil, draw a horizontal line to connect the three dots to mark the middle of the paper where the greeting card will be folded in half. Place a ruler along the line, and while pressing down on the ruler with one hand and using the other hand to control the bone folder or butter knife, use the bone folder or the non-sharp side of a butter knife and moderate pressure to score the paper by running it along one side to the other. This will create a nicer looking fold line when the project is finished, but do not fold the paper along the scored line now. This will happen at the very end to make it easier to work on the right side of the paper.

TRANSFER OUTLINE

1. Working on the bottom half of the right side of the watercolour paper, freehand draw the outline using a graphite pencil or use the provided outline as a guide. The outline can also be transferred onto the working paper by using a lightbox or a well-lit window.

MIX PAINT IN PALETTE

1. To mix the 9 paint colors, use a #4 brush as if it were a spoon. Place 3 scoops of water into 9 wells. Mix the following colors into those wells until you have an equal paint to water ratio for each color:
2. Yellow: Cadmium Yellow only
3. Red: Four parts Alizarin Crimson and one part Burnt Umber
4. Peach: One part Alizarin Crimson, one part Yellow Ochre, and three parts Chinese White
5. Light Green: Four parts Sap Green and one part Burnt Umber
6. Dark Green: Equal parts Viridian Hue, Ultramarine, and Burnt Umber
7. Turquoise: One part Ultramarine, one part Viridian Hue, and three parts Chinese White
8. Orange: Cadmium Red Pale Hue only
9. Blue: Ultramarine onlyBlack: Equal parts Ultramarine and Burnt Umber
10. To mix the 2 paint washes, use a #4 brush as if it were a spoon. Place 6 scoops of water into the last well on the 10-well palette as well as to the center well. Mix the following colors into these wells until you have a mixture with a ratio that is 20% paint and 80% water:
11. Blue Wash: Cerulean Blue only
12. Purple Wash: Equal parts Ultramarine and Alizarin Crimson
13. Apply First Section of Paint to GnomesDo not try to cover every part of the paper with paint color as a little negative space will add interest to the finished card. Use the #2 brush in this step.
14. All Gnomes: Apply Peach to the nose on the far left gnome. Immediately drop a small amount of Red onto the right side of the nose, and allow this color to bleed and merge into the Peach paint. Repeat this process to the other two noses.
15. Far Left Gnome: To the left mitten, apply Red to the right half of the mitten. Then, place the brush in the water for a second, wipe it several times on the rim of the water glass, and then apply what will now be a more diluted version of the Red paint to the rest of the mitten. Allow the pure Red and the diluted Red to blend and merge into each other organically. Repeat this process to the right mitten, but this time apply the pure Red paint to the left side of the mitten and the diluted version of Red to the right section of the mitten.
16. Apply Red to the pants on the gnome. Then, drop in a touch of Black to the top edges on each side of the pants and allow this color to merge organically into the Red paint.
17. Middle Gnome: Apply Light Green to the left side of the Christmas tree. Then, place the brush into the water for a second, wipe it several times along the rim of the water glass, and then apply this now diluted version of the Light Green paint to the rest of the tree. Allow the Light Green and the diluted version of the Light Green paint to merge and bleed into each other organically. Right Gnome: Apply Red just beneath the gift on the bottom half of the dress. Work Red about halfway down this section, then place the brush into the glass of water for a second, and then apply a now diluted version of the Red paint to the remainder to this section. Allow the Red and diluted Red to bleed and merge into each other organically. Then, apply Dark Green to the hair ties on the gnome’s hair.
18. Allow this step to fully dry before moving on to the next step.
19. Apply Second Section of Paint to Gnomes.
20. Use the #2 brush in this step.All Gnomes: Apply the washes to the beards on the left and center gnome and to the pigtails on the right gnome. To do this, apply the Blue Wash by using long single strokes that follow the curve of the beards and pigtails. Do not cover the entirety of the hair; leave a good amount of pure white from the paper. To the left gnome, focus this color to the left side, right side, and bottom of beard. To the middle gnome, apply paint to the left side, right side, and just beneath the nose. To the right gnome, Apply it to the entirety of the pigtails. Now apply Purple Wash over the same sections to add more intensity and interest, but apply about half the amount of the Purple Wash as with the Blue Wash. Left Gnome: Apply Black to the shoes.Middle Gnome: Apply Black to the shoes. Then, apply Blue to the ornaments on the tree. Do this by holding the brush straight up and down over the paper and place "dots" over the ornaments with the tip of the brush. Right Gnome: Apply Red to the top section of the dress. Then, apply Turquoise to the gift.
21. Allow this step to fully dry before moving on to the next step.
22. Apply Third Section of Paint to Gnomes.
23. Use #2 brush in this step unless otherwise noted.Left Gnomes: Apply Turquoise to the hat’s cuff. Then, apply Turquoise to the left edging of the hat. Now, place the brush in the water for a second, wipe it several times along the rim of the water container, and then apply what is now a diluted version of the Turquoise paint to the rest of the hat, other than to the cuff and to the upper right flap.
24. Now apply paint to the light bulbs using the #0 round brush. Apply the paint in this order from left to right:
25. Blue, Yellow, Light Green, Orange, Red, Blue, Yellow.
26. Return to the hat and apply Turquoise along the left edge of the flap. Place the brush in the water for a second, wipe it several times along the rim of the water container, and then apply what is now a diluted version of the Turquoise paint to the rest of the flap. Drop on more Turquoise if necessary to the left side of the flap.
27. Returning to the string of lights, apply Black using the #0 round brush to the string.Middle Gnomes: Apply Red to the hat. Start by applying it along the left edge and bottom edge of hat. Then, place the brush in the water for a second, wipe it several times along the rim of the water container, and then apply what is now a diluted version of the Red paint to the rest of the hat.
28. Now apply Yellow to the star above the Christmas tree. Then, apply Red to the garland on the Christmas tree.
29. Right Gnomes: Apply Light Green to the mittens holding the Christmas gift. Then, apply Blue to the ribbon above the gift.
30. Apply Dark Green by first apply it along the bottom edge and to the right side of the hat. Place the brush in the water for a second, wipe it several times along the rim of the water container, and then apply what is now a diluted version of the Dark Green paint to the rest of the hat.
31. Finally, apply Blue to the ribbon on the gift.

APPLY PAINT TO LETTERING:

1. Apply Black to the lettering using the #0 brush.
2. Allow this step to fully dry before moving on to the next step.

FOLD GREETING CARD:

1. Fold the greeting card where it was scored in step 3 to create a 5x7 greeting card. This greeting card will fit inside a 5x7 envelope.