Monday

Inspire Me Monday with Kathy Racoosin

Hello Friends! Welcome to another Inspire Me Monday. My name is Kathy Racoosin from The Daily Marker and I am super excited to share with you today. 


Today I hope to inspire you grab a pencil and alter one of your stamps for a new look literally drawing a few lines. I am inking up this beautiful Amaryllis Bliss. 


Even though this is a holiday flower I love the wide open spaces on the petals for watercoloring. Tombow markers are super easy to watercolor with and awesome for on the go watercoloring. 
Gina K. Designs amalgam ink is great for "no line" watercoloring plus the ink can be used for alcohol markers. 


This card is pretty tall and narrow measuring at a pretty solid 10 inches. 


The paper that I prefer is cold pressed and 140 lbs . I love the texture of cold pressed paper instead of the hot pressed that is smooth and no texture. 


Cut your watercolor paper to it's desired size. Draw two lines from the top of the flower. If your lines are crooked that can be even better ... more natural so don't worry about how your lines might look. 


Sketch a vase and stamp the sentiment inside the vase. Stamp a leaf onto your stem. 


Start watercoloring on one of the flowers that doesn't stand out as much. I like to think of it as a warm up. Be sure to leave some areas white without any color. 


Start with a first layer of color and once it's all dry add another layer color on top of the first layer. 


To make the smaller flowers stand out I used some dark grey on the parts of the flowers that touch the main center flower. 



You can see how intense the color can be when you add a second layer. When I travel and talk about my coloring tips this is my mantra. 

Don't worry about what direction the light is coming from because that is to stressful. If you create a darker area and a lighter area on each petal or stem etc. that will please the eye and your coloring will look great. I like to say that I am faking it because I really don't know where the light is coming from but, it looks pretty good because I have those light and dark areas. Does that make sense? I sure hope so! 

Let's bring back the joy of coloring or painting. Step outside of your comfort zone and draw a stem for a tall and dramatic card. Don't be afraid to add those dark areas because that will really enhance your coloring. 

Thanks for your visit today and have a great week! Hugs, Kathy Racoosin

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Marisela Delgado said: Super card, Kathy. mariandmonsterd@yahoo.com

creatingincolors said...

Tall and dramatic, for sure! What a stunning card.

Lagene said...

I love your tall flower, gorgeous coloring!

Dana Joy said...

Kathy this flower is stunning. I totally agree with the stress of trying to place a light source. I just want to make pretty art! Love how you altered this flower as well. Your work always amazes me. Can’t wait to color with you in December.

I Card Everyone said...

Another magnificent specimen, Kathy! LOve that addition of gray in place of your signature black!
=]

Cyndi said...

The title of this post is very appropriate. Your amazing coloring always inspires me! I've been buying Tombow markers gradually as my local craft store puts them on sale, and I can't wait to try the no-line water coloring technique with them.

**** April **** said...

Beautiful job!

Robin Patrick said...

I get excited when I see there's another Kathy coloring piece. I'm trying to get my level of coloring up a notch (or two or three) and your work encourages me that it is possible! Your photos that show the progression of your coloring helps me to see how it's done. Your finished work makes me do a lot of WOWs!

Andrea Hastilow said...

Fantastic painting. Thank you for all the advice, when I'm well again will give this a go.

MarthaG said...

I've never seen your light source "philosophy" before but it's absolutely true for me. Light area and dark area on each flower is pleasing to the eye. I love to color and figuring out the light source often stressed me and diminished my enjoyment of coloring. Thanks for expressing so clearly how I color. Makes a crafter like me feel better to know an amazing artist like you simplifies light source also.

Karen B said...

Wonderful ideas. I'm going to try dark gray where my flowers overlap. One thing at a time!

WrinkleFreeDiva said...

Beautiful card Kathy! You make it look so easy. I like the idea of not worrying about light source and using the gray to add dimension.

KathyB said...

Gorgeous! You are soooo inspiring! Thank you so much!

Mary Lou Marshall said...

Beautiful, Kathy! I love the large format cards, too.

Deborah said...

Stunning as always Kathy! Love the tall card format 😍

MelissaF said...

Beautiful card, I love the tall format, so elegant! Thanks for the tips on water coloring - leave some white, start with one of the lesser seen flowers (LOVE that one!), don't stress about a light source just make some light and dark parts, etc.

Gab said...

This is just beautiful Kathy. Thanks for the detailed walk though of how you did it

BrendaLea, the Prpldy said...

Wow Kathy! Your coloring is always so amazing. You can make those two D-3 flowers look so realistic and so beautiful!

Teresa Doyle said...

This is absolutely stunning Kathy and YES, your light source tips do make sense. We need both dark and light areas for contrast. Really stunning!

LynnsLocker said...

Awesome card. Thanks for sponsoring the Blog Hop with Lawn Fawn.

Henriëtte Creatively Happy said...

Kathy your colouring is stunning, what a great card although I would love to hang it on my wall!
Thank you so much for sharing this awesome card and tutorial/tips.