Dainty botanical illustrations in little windows, with quite soft colours used to bring them to life.
I cut a piece of Canson Moulin du Roy watercolour paper to approx 2″ x 6.75″; this would fit neatly across the 7″ x 5″ white card blank I wanted to use.
Next, I lightly drew some pencil lines for the margins I wanted to leave, before drawing the boxes using a 01 Sakura Pigma Micron Pen. I made sure I erased these pencil lines before adding colour. To do that, I used a water-brush and White Knight watercolours to add soft gradients to the windows.
Once dry, I could then draw in the botanicals with the same Sakura pen. I gave the drawings a chance to dry before adding layers of watercolour as well as dots of gold to the windows. Finally, I used a 0.3mm pencil to add some details.
While the panel was drying, I drew some of the botanicals around the bottom of the envelope, again using the 01 Sakura Pigma Micron pen.
I decided I wanted to put some kind of layer behind the watercolour panel. I thought of collaging some paper or card there, but I settled on adding a strip of soft colour there. I used some masking/washi tape to mark out the area I wanted to colour. Then, I used a mini foam blending tool along with Tumbled Glass and Peacock Feathers Distress Inks to softly colour the panel. Once I was sure the Distress Ink was dry, I carefully removed the washi tape.
Finally, I adhered the watercolour panel in place with 3-in-1 glue.
I’m quite happy with this card and envelope. It was a nice way to spend the hour or so before having breakfast this morning. It’s also a very practical way of using these little bits of art.
Angela Porter 