Watercolor Notecard and Envelope

Good Saturday morning. It’s Watercolor Weekend at Ellen Hutson and featuring Sandy Allnock and some of her favorite things for watercoloring. I decided to try my hand at painting a little tree scene using some of the Daniel Smith watercolors that I have collected. First let me say without a doubt I am no Sandy Allnock. I only wish I could watercolor like her. I am not exactly thrilled with how my tree scene and pitiful matching envelope turned out but I thought I would blog it in hopes that it may give other’s the courage to try. And since I am sharing my feeble attempt with you I hope none of you will let Sandy know how far off my tree is compared to the ones she is sharing in her video tutorial in the CLASSroom today. Deal!!

I signed up to take Sandy’s Exploring Watercolor class a while back and have all the lessons saved but haven’t been able to start them yet. I think it’s about time that I do. I treated myself to a special Exploring Watercolor with Sandy Allnock Bundle being offered at Ellen Hutson. It is a great savings compared to purchasing the items separately and you can get an additional 10% off this weekend. If you have been thinking of trying to play with watercolors this is a great way to get started.

Contents of the bundle:

DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolors, Essentials 5ml Set of 6
Canson Arches French Bound Cold Press Watercolor Paper Pad 9×12
Black Velvet Watercolor Brushes, Short Round 8
Black Velvet Watercolor Brushes, Short Round 12
Black Velvet Watercolor Brushes, Short Wide Wash Blender 1 in

I used the Daniel Smith Extra Fine Primatek Set of Six and a Fabriano note card that I have had in my stash for years. I started by applying a light wash of water to the corner of the card where I wanted to paint my scene. I painted the trunk of the tree first, allowed it to dry some and then applied the green to the ground area and tree top. Next I painted in the green sprigs and tiny pink flowers. I didn’t have the courage to watercolor a blue sky around the scene so I lightly sponged Tumbled Glass distress ink with an ink blending tool and then lightly brushed it with my brush. I have a problem getting too heavy handed with my paints and get the images too dark. I hope with practice I can get over that. I wish that a tiny bit of Sandy’s talent would come my way.