Here is a departure from Stampin UP for a more traditional bit of Watercolor Joy. I tend to have very eclectic tastes in my crafting and reading. But for this blog my focus has been on my Stampin Up paper crafting. Today I want to show one of my more recent forays into the world of traditional watercolor.

Traditional Watercolor means…

For me traditional watercolor means using watercolor paint from a tube or a pan set.  I have the large Angora Watercolor Pan Set, the Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor – Set of 36, a few Windsor Newton tubes from my calligraphy days and some new Daniel Smith tubes. These are what I use to watercolor with these days.

In the past traditional watercolor also meant using only a brush or pencil to get my image on the paper. I have let that restriction go.  Joy comes from crating in a fun playful way. Frustration shows up quickly in my world when I have little to no control of the end results of my creations. I like to picture something in my mind and have a good chance of getting that result. Perfection is impossible. But a close approximation alway sparks joy.

Watercolor Joy my way…

The easiest way to achieve joy in a watercolor art piece for me is to start with rubber stamps.  When I first saw this Smile More set by Altenew I knew I had to have it. My family is always saying I need to to smile more. When I am concentrating and very focused – I forget – I get very intense. This is fine when I am alone but Smiles bring such joy even when you are alone. I have a friend who lights up the room when she comes in with the smiles on her face and the smiles she brings out on everyone around her. Judy makes me smile just thinking about her. She is also an awesome freehand watercolorist. So when I received this stamp set – I thought of Judy. Next I thought of watercoloring it.

I used Stampin’ Up! Archival Black Ink to stamp the images on some Hot press Arches 140# Watercolor Paper. I pulled out my Daniel Smith Essentials 6 pk and my Sandy Allnock Favorites dot sheet that I had just received. And I just started to play. When I finished I had a completed card that made me smile from start to finish. Even today looking at the card brings a smile. Someday I will send on to someone else. Until I will look at it and SMILE MORE!