9"x 12" Cold Press Watercolor Paper (trim sheet to have one 8x 10 piece)
Ceramic or Plastic Watercolor Palette Well (10 wells needed)
Container of Water
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 Watercolour Paper. Cut one sheet of 9"x 12" 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.
Mix and Apply White Paint and Light Grey Paint to Pot.
Place a pea-sized amount of Lamp Black into one well on the artist palette. This color will be left undiluted and will only be used throughout this project to darken other paint colors.
Into a new well on the artist palette, place a pea-sized amount of Chinese White, and using the #6 round brush as if it were a spoon, scoop and stir enough water into this well to achieve an equal paint to water ratio. Then, place just the very tip of the #6 round brush into the Lamp Black paint and then stir this color into the white paint mixture to turn it into a light grey paint color.
Now place another pea-sized amount of Chinese White into a new well on your palette, and once again add enough water to create an equal paint to water ratio. You should now have one well with light grey paint, one well with white paint, and one well with a pea-sized amount of undiluted black paint.
Apply the white paint to the entire pot. While the white paint is still wet, apply the light grey paint to the top, bottom, left, and right edges of the pot, and apply it also to the middle of the pot. Allow the white and grey paints to bleed into each other. This technique is called wet into wet.
Mix and Apply Dark Grey to Pot.
Place a pea-sized amount of Chinese White into a new well on your palette and add enough water to create an equal paint to water ratio. Place just tip of the #6 round brush into the undiluted black paint on the artist palette and stir this color into the white paint mixture to turn it into a dark grey paint color.
Using just the tip of your brush, add this dark grey color to the very top edge, bottom edge, left edge, and right edge of the pot. Then, apply this color to the cast shadow using wide sweeping horizontal strokes. After applying the cast shadow, place the brush into the water, swish it back and forth for a few seconds, wipe the bristles several times on the rim of the water container, and then use this clean but slightly damp brush to extend the cast shadow a bit to the left, right, and bottom.
Mix and Apply Orange to Geraniums.
Place a pea-sized amount of Cadmium Yellow as well as a half pea-sized amount of Alizarin Crimson into a new well on the artist palette. Add enough water to create an orange paint mixture with an equal paint to water ratio. This color will be applied to the top of each geranium flower. Create the tops of each geranium by painting connecting curved lines, or half circles. These strokes are performed as if you were a child painting the upper half of a cloud.
Mix and Apply Red to Geraniums.
Place a pea-sized amount of Alizarin Crimson into a new well on the artist palette and add enough water until there is an equal paint to water ratio. This color will be applied to the middle and bottom of each geranium flower, going over some but not all of the orange paint applied in the previous step. Preferably, the red paint should be applied while the orange paint is still wet so that the two colors can merge into each at certain point and create a red-orange color. Apply this new color by once again painting on connected curved lines or half circles. These strokes are performed as if you were a child painting an entire cloud.
Finally, apply a bit more of the dark grey paint to the upper edge of the pot as well as to the cast shadow in the same manner as in step 5.
Mix and Apply Yellow-Green to Leaves.
Place a pea-sized amount of Cadmium Yellow and a half pea-sized amount of Viridian into a new well on the artist palette to create a yellow-green paint mixture with an equal paint to water ratio. Apply this color to every leaf, working one leaf at a time.
Mix and Apply Green to Leaves.
Place a pea-sized amount of Viridian and a half pea-sized amount of Cadmium Yellow into a new well on the artist palette to create a green paint mixture with an equal paint to water ratio. This color will be applied to the spaces in-between the leaves, to the edges where two leaves meet, and to the upper right and lower right recessed leaves. Preferably, this new color should be applied while the yellow-green paint is still a bit wet so that these two colors can merge into each other. If they do not, you can use a clean and slightly damp brush to help transition the two colors into each other.
Add Black to Two Colors and Apply More Paint to Geraniums and Leaves.
Place the tip of the brush into the undiluted black paint on the artist palette and stir it into the red paint mixture. Clean your brush, place the tip of the brush once again into the undiluted black paint on the artist palette, and stir it into the green paint mixture. You should now have a dark red paint mixture and a dark green paint mixture.
Apply the dark red paint to the centers of each geranium. This color is to add a dark value, so do use so much that it overpowers the orange or red paint colors that were previously applied. Use the same connected curved lines or half circles as you apply this color.
Apply the dark green paint color to the same sections on the leaves and in the same manner as you applied the green paint color in step 9.
Mix Two Colors and One Wash and Apply Paint to Pot, Leaves, and Cast Shadow.
Place a pea-sized amount of Ultramarine into two different and new wells on the artist palette. Add enough water to each of them until there is an equal paint to water ratio. Then, place the tip of the brush into the undiluted black paint on the artist palette and stir it into one of the blue paint mixtures to create a navy paint color.
Apply both the blue and navy paint to the pattern on the pot. Use the navy paint on one half of each design and the blue paint to the other half. It doesn't matter if it's the right half, left half, top half, or bottom half, but the two different values will create some interest and form.
Create a wash of black. Do this by placing a few scoops of water into a new well on the artist palette. Then, place the tip of the brush into the undiluted black paint on the well, and then stir the brush into the scoops of water. A little black goes a long way, so adjust this wash by adding more water if needed. Apply this black wash to the cast shadow and to the darkest portions of the leaves.