Hello beautiful creative friend!

Welcome to the 2nd month on Life Book! :) We made it to February which heralds a new theme! :) This month we are going to be 'connecting with and celebrating that which we are close to in our community and close surroundings'.

Technique-wise we will be creating one of my 'signature' whimsical floral/ natural paintings. I hope you enjoy this week's lesson! :)

Supplies used in this week

• 140lbs watercolour paper• Collage papers of choice• Gel medium for gluing• Patterned napkins (optional)• Watersoluble Crayons• Water & Brushes• White Gesso & Brayer• Washi Tape (optional)• Fluid Acrylics (colours I used: quinacridone

magenta/ cobalt teal/ diarylide yellow)• Rubber Stamps • Ink pads (waterproof)• Black & white paint pens (posca or other) for

doodles & writing I used 1 medium sized one for each colour and 1 fine-nibbed one

The first step of this painting is to start some layering much like we did in the warm-up last month. Over time you can develop your own layering process, there isn't just one way to layer, but the key to effective layering is to alternate transparent materials with non-transparent materials.

Examples of transparent materials:

• Watersoluble/ water based paints like watercolours/ watercolour crayons/ pencils/ markers

• Tissue paper and patterned napkins• Fluid acrylics• Gesso applied with brayer• Rubber stamping with ink• Spray inks

Examples of non-transparent materials:

• Heavy bodied acrylics• Collage• Heavy layers of gesso• moulding paste

---> Layering <---

By building up layers you can make a quick and easy background that is pleasing to the eye and doesn't require a lot of technical skill perse. I took the following steps to create my layering this month (remember that you do not have to follow these steps in order, experiment with different ways of layering if you wish).

Layer 1. Collage. Choose a variety of different collage papers, like book pages, scrapbooking papers, music scores etc. Tear some pieces off and glue them down randomly. Overlap some of your pieces and make sure to remove any air bubbles under your collage by scraping over the glued down collage with a hard card. I also included washi tape in this step. Let dry.

Layer 2. Using a water based paint (either watercolour paint/ crayon/ pencil or markers) add a layer in your chosen colour scheme. I used watercolour crayons (you need to use a brush with water to 'activate' them). This layer will likely be a light layer with a faded feel to it. Don't worry about that, we're going to add more contrast later.

Layer 3. I used a brayer and white gesso to add an additional layer. This technique creates a faded/ distressed look while also still allowing the previous layers to 'shine through'. NB. If you don't have white gesso, you can also use white acrylics.

Layer 4. A this point I added some rubber stamping for a 4th layer. I used waterproof inks (Stazon).

---> Adding the Natural Elements <---

The whimsical natural shapes I like to draw are usually quirky and non-symmetrical in nature. Yours don't have to be like that of course, you can choose any kind of natural shapes you enjoy! :) I tend to start with 1 stalk and let 'off-shoots' and 'branches' come out of the main stalk. I also add single floral type shapes and different types of leaf shapes.

Step 1. Draw your natural shapes at first with a graphite pencil so you can erase if you want to change your shapes.

Step 2. With a waterbased supply (I used watersoluble crayon) start adding 'colour blocks' around your natural shapes. I started with my darkest colour first (magenta). Spread out your colour blocks over the page. Refer back to the value contrast video for more guidance on where to place the darker colour blocks. Aim for an even/ interesting/ dynamic spread.

Step 3. Activate the colour blocks with water/ brushes. Continue to work around your natural shapes.

Step 4. Add your second and third colour in colour blocks also – referring back to the value contrast video, add a medium light colour and then your lightest colour. I also leave some areas untouched by the colour blocks (they'll remain the lightest part of the painting).

Step 5. At this stage I like to give deeper and clearer definition to the natural shapes. I use a paint pen (like posca or a posterpaint sharpie) for this.

Step 6. Take a few scrap pieces of paper and concentrate on the people/ things/ animals/ elements in your community you want to celebrate. Write them down and glue them into some of the leaves. Integrate them by adding some paint or crayon over them.

Step 7. I then used Golden Fluid Acrylics to deepen the contrast in the background (in the colour blocked areas). You can also do this with normal acrylics (doesn't need to be golden fluids per se).

Step 8. Mix some complimentary colours together (eeeeep!) to make 'mud' (also known as: neutral tones like grey, brown, beige, browney/ greens). As explained in the first video, neutral tones can be added to a painting to make vibrant colours 'pop' even more.

Step 9. I continued to intensify the colour blocks with acrylics paint.

Step 10. At this point I noticed I wanted an extra colour and decided on adding a vibrant orange to my colour scheme (refer back to colour theory in the first month for colour theory info). I also started adding colour and depth to the leaves/ buds shapes now.

Step 11. If you have lost some of the detail of your line work, bring it back.

Step 12. Finishing touches in the form of little symbols and doodles. I like finishing a painting like this off by adding little doodle-type details in black and white. I add white doodles to the darker areas and black ones to the lighter areas. This adds more contrast/ dynamic and interest. I use fine-nibbed paint pens for this.

Doodle-wise I add all kinds. Hanging hearts and stars. Different doodle shapes like wonky circles, plus signs, dots, triangles, cubes, dashed lines, scallops etc. You can add zen-tangle type shapes to the leaves, add line-work etc.

As the final step I added a couple of words that embodied the message of the painting for me.

Here is the final complete page:

Here some more detail shots:

I hope you enjoyed playing the lesson today! Thanks for being here and trying out my suggestions. :)

Copyright Willowing Arts 2015 - www.willowing.org