INSPIRATION

As the recent Riverside Arts Market approached, I knew I wanted to work with watercolor to create a new batch. So, I busted out my Colorburst watercolors because, well, they are my favorite! I decided that this time I would watercolor first, and then stamp the image using white paint after. Typically, I emboss with white embossing powder that acts as a resistance to the watercolor paints, but because life as a working mom never has enough hours in the day, I needed to get these cards done ASAP, so I made some changes to my process.

When I started “bursting” these colors, I loved the way it was looking. I actually couldn’t bear to stamp/paint on top of the watercolor image. The more I looked at it, the more I started to see galaxies, nebulas, outer space.

nasa.gov

As soon as the nebulas and galaxies were spinning around in my head, I could not shake them, nonetheless bring myself to stamp on top! So I added some Colorburst Liquid Metals and splatter gold paint across and voila – outer space. My inspiration came from the process which was pretty interesting and fun!

TECHNIQUE

For this batch, as stated above, I used Ken Oliver’s Colorburst watercolor. When I went to begin applying the watercolor powder to the paper (be sure to use watercolor paper for best results), I decided to use just one color – BLACK! I know, I know, my work is usually very colorful, but from my understanding, the black powder is made up of all the other colors, so when you spray it with the water… BOOM! You end up getting an amazing burst. And that is exactly what happened.

black colorburst can be seen in the bottom, left corner

It was really this black burst that got my mind thinking about outer space, and I decided to just go with it. Because I was now doing an outer space batch, it got me thinking about what the final product was going to be. I was immediately drawn to the idea of constellations and zodiac cards. I looked up the typical colors associated with the different zodiac signs and went from there. I ended up using Black, Chartreuse, Lime Green, Turquoise, Orchid, and Alizarin Crimson colors. For more information and techniques visit my watercolor page, as well as Batch No. 2.

In addition to the Colorburst watercolors, I also used the Colorburst Liquid Metals (Copper, Metallic Saffron, Metallic Jade, and Platinum). To create the galaxy look, I added a drop or two directly onto the watercolor paper on top of the burst while it was still wet. For some, I had to spritz a little more water so that it would flow easily. I allowed the liquid metal to flow over the parts of the paper that already had the existing watercolor, but left some of it with just the original color.

After letting the watercolors dry completely, I then splattered bright gold paint (add a few drops of water so that it splatters easily) across the center of each galaxy.

Once these stars were added, I was floating…

lime green colorburst, metallic jade liquid metals, and watered down gold paint

CREATION

I am pretty much “over the moon” for this batch 🙂

So much so that I created the one above especially for Juno’s first birthday. I was thinking about her the entire time I made this batch because her room is decorated with stars, moons, and outer space. The picture hanging above her bed is a constellation map. Space is such an exciting thing to think about. My hope is that Juno will continue to be curious, ask questions, and have the patience and will to try to figure out this crazy universe.

After adding the zodiac signs, this batch is pretty stellar. I am even thinking about making it one of my signature batches that I plan to create again each year. So many sold at the market that now I have people wondering why I didn’t make their sign… I promise there will be more like these in the future.