Graded watercolour calligraphy
Taking inspiration from the abstract blue hues of a painting, I decided to give graded watercolour calligraphy a try. The plan was to start with very diluted colour (Cotman's Indigo: links to Amazon.co.uk) and gradually add more pigment over the course of the piece. I worked with a section of the moving James Arthur lyrics from his song, Say You Won't Let Goon Bockingford 300gsm watercolour paper at A3 size. I used flourished Copperplate script for a traditional style with a little flair. Satisfyingly, the gorgeous blue gradient ended up looking exactly as I planned — deepening dramatically with the words down the page. Before I started, I worked out that, for 23 lines, I would add more colour approximately every 3.5 lines, building up the hue six times over the course of the full piece.
My method of mixing was an inexact science, simply dipping my brush into the saturated watercolour pan and moving across into my diluted colour. Of course, the saturation could be decreased or increased, depending on how long your piece and the final look you're going for.
Watercolour calligraphy and botanical wreath
Forget adult colouring books; get over to The Postman's Knock and learn some easy watercolour and calligraphy skills to DIY art therapy the heck out of yourself. I recently spotted Lindsey's botanical watercolour wreath tutorial and had to give it a try. I'm using it to surround quotes for some newborn babies, and also to send a message of affirmation to my friend Beck, who is head deep in her university degree at the moment.
Here's how my wreath turned out on a watercolour postcard (I made a little video so you can see it come together). I don't even know if 'studier' is a word meaning 'someone who studies', but it is now! The best part about this process for me was realising a better technique for holding my paint brush (for some reason I have been wielding it like a wand rather than controlling it like a pencil...I think I was scared of the brush, so I was keeping my hands as far from the business end as possible).
Here's one of the watercolour calligraphy quotes for the newborn babe. I didn't really like the colour scheme (it was all I had in my diddy little travel watercolour set), so I headed to my local art store and grabbed a couple of other colours to work with (and what I used in the video for Beck's).
Lindsey has given me lots of ideas of where I could use these lovely motifs, so looking forward to plastering the world in tiny watercolour flora.