Painting with watercolor on canvas is possible. The main challenge is that the paint can lift off very easily even when dried. One technique you can try is to paint an abstract background with watercolor and then fix it before painting on top with mixed media.
Sometimes it can be difficult to find the inspiration to start a new painting. You can choose a theme to help you get started, for example my love for Japanese designs was an inspiration for a new mixed media flower painting with a Japanese flair.
Here are the steps you can take to paint flowers with watercolor on canvas
You will need
Canvas, I used 12 x 12 inches pre-streched canvas
Krylon workable fixative
Acrylic paint, I used Pebeo in titanium white and Payne’s grey
Prismacolor Art Stix in black
Krylon workable fixative
Blue Sakura Micron marker
White Oil Sharpie marker
Watercolor paint, I used Yarka watercolors.
Fluid Acrylic, I used Liquitex Ink in blue
An Ink Pen
Painting the abstract background with watercolors
It is way more easy to start from a background that is not plain white if you want to paint from imagination.
Here an abstract background is painted with watercolors that have be mixed wet into wet on the canvas.
Once the watercolor has dried, I spray it with Krylon workable fixative, so I will be able to paint on top of that watercolor layer with white acrylic without the watercolor paint tinting the white.
Looking for shapes in the abstract design.
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Same palette of traditional colors the great masters used a century ago. Liquid-poured means semi-moist pans respond instantly to a wet brush. 24 pans in plastic case. Also individual pans. – Master Set
Once you have a starting point, that is a background, think about your them and try to isolate shapes that fit that theme. For example with my Japanese theme I was looking for a shape that would more or less look like an orchid. I used a Prismacolor Art Stix to outline those shapes.
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Prismacolor Art Stix are artist-quality woodless colored pencils for every level of expertise. Especially suited for color coverage of large areas, Art Stix offer a bold, smooth laydown of color.
Painting the negative space in white Acrylic
Once you have outline the shapes that fit your theme, paint everything else (negative space) in white acrylic, or a color of your choice.
Your painting will look something like this after the first step.
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Gives lasting protection to pencil, charcoal and chalk, yet erases easily. Clear, matte fixative is easy to work with. Dries in seconds, doesn’t wrinkle, smudge or smear. Spray can.
Acrylic glazing with a touch of Payne’s grey
You can add a few more colors by painting over a few areas. Think about what colors would fit well with your theme and try to keep them a bit transparent so you can see a bit of the texture underneath.
Adding patterns with markers and pen and ink
Then start to add details to the shapes you kept, it will make it easier to guess what they are.
I am a Blick Art Materials affiliate and I receive a small compensation for sales. That does not effect in any way the cost of the purchaser’s order but it helps me keeping the content of this blog free.
Pigma Micron pens are acid-free and archival, making them ideal for any application requiring precision and permanance. Pigma ink is derived from a single pigment to ensure color consistency, and is fadeproof against sunlight or UV light. – Set of 6, Black
If like me you like patterns, you can also add them with markers.
You can also use a pen and ink or fluid acrylic to add patterns on top of the watercolor or the acrylic.
Try to keep your pattern designs consistent with the theme you chose.
A White oil sharpie marker can be used to add white highlights and designs.
I am a Blick Art Materials affiliate and I receive a small compensation for sales. That does not effect in any way the cost of the purchaser’s order but it helps me keeping the content of this blog free.
Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Markers are great for touching up wood and metal, personalizing belongings, or adding pizzazz to school projects. Decorate and add accents to a variety of items, even non-porous materials such as glassware and terracotta.
Diluted fluid acrylic ink can be applied with a brush on top of the marker designs.
Originally from France, I have been living in North Vancouver, Canada for the past 20 years.
My work has been collected and exhibited extensively in Canada and internationally. I am also part of the Art Rentals and sales program of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Many of my paintings have been published in Art books and magazines (Artist Magazine, Watercolor Artist Magazine, Acrylic Magazine, International Artist Magazine). I wrote 2 art instruction books with North Light/F+W Books.
I have been writing for the last 5 years for my blog: paintingdemos.com, that has a mailing list of about 10 000 subscribers and about 20 000 visitors per month.
I am an active member in the community, as a co-founder of the North Shore Art crawl, a co-founder of a weekly life drawing group, a board member of the North Vancouver Arts Council, and have been invited as a juror for public art, art grants and juried exhibitions. You can read more about my collaborations here.
