Water of Life and Hiker Foundation by Karen Day

 Hello Ai Watercolour fans!

My first card is using one of the newly released Scenic Foundation sets that have more of a masculine feel to them.  This is the 6068 - Hiker Foundation set.

Using my Misti, I stamped the image onto my Canson XL watercolour paper using Tombows #969/565.  *With a larger image like this, it helps to use a stamping platform, as you can reink and stamp it a second time if your first impression isn't perfect.  Before stamping the foliage, I painted light shades of #565 on the mountains, getting a little darker for the hills in the foreground.  I was aiming for some striking contrast, so used #346 to paint in the two closest bits of land.  I wanted a bit of a sunset sky, so I started by mixing #991 and #856 to give me tones of yellow and peach.  I echoed the same colours in the water, reflecting both the mountains and the sunset.  I added streaks of darker tones to the water to make it look like ripples on the lake.

The grass in the foreground was painted with a wash of #177, and layers of #992 were painted on the pathway.  The two main trees were painted with streaks of #992/969/947, as were the edges of the pathway under the grass overhang.  After pulling out the colour of the rocks with my damp brush, I added more shades of N52/565/992 to the stones, creating contrast between the rocks.  I used the foliage stamp from 5373 - WC LG Tree Set and #177/249 to stamp the foliage on each of the trees, turning the stamp so that it would appear irregular.  I touched the foliage with a damp brush to soften it, and added in a few darker tones for shadows.  I used the tiny sprig from 5009 - WC Mini Flower Set and #177/346 to add a few low shrubs in and around the trees and rocks, then added a few branches from 4964 - WC Branches Set in #969.  A little grass was added in #177 using the small grass from Foliage Set - 4051.

I painted the hiker in coordinating colours #565/992/177/969, other than his bright hat in #856.  I hadn't painted in the sun before I added the foliage (should have!), so I just dabbed some white at the edge of the mountain, and then painted some white streaks into the water to indicate the sun.  White paint was also used to add in some flowers on the shrubs.  As a final touch, I used my paint brush and #346 to add a line of pine trees to one of the hillsides.  The image was die cut with the 5063 - A2 Rectangle Double Stitched Dies, matted with a warm brown, and adhered to my base with 3D foam adhesive.

My second card is using two of the new sets from the Bible Journaling line.

I die cut my Canson XL watercolour paper with the 5063 - A2 Rectangle Double Stitched Dies, and stamped the sleeping lamb from 6025 - Fear Not Set using #969/565.  After masking him, the stone well from 6055 - Water of Life Set was stamped behind him.  I pulled out the colour from the lines on the well, concentrating the colour where shadows would be - then added more N52/565 to darken the stones.  On the lamb, I added #850 to his ears and nose, and painted it as a wash over his fleece, to add a little warmth.  N52/565 were used for shadows, and to add some dabbled texture to indicate the fleece.

#126 was painted as a wash for the grass, and #493 done as a wash in the sky.  The two long grass stamps from 6025 were stamped around the well in #177, and two of the floral images were stamped in #177/856, on either side.  The small grass from Foliage Set - 4051 added a little texture in #177 around the bottom.  I used a light version of #565 to paint the bird, and touch some pale orange to his beak.  I used my black Twintone marker to darken the eye of the bird, and those of the lamb.  My grey Twintone marker was really helpful in redefining the lines of the well that had blurred a bit after painting, and for darkening the bird's legs.  Since I don't have a lot of luck in spattering paint on my images, I used the grey Twintone to add little dots around my image to suggest a little texture in my painting.

The sentiment is from the retired Exclusive Daisy set from several years ago.  I added a grey mat to my painting, and adhered it with 3D foam adhesive to my base which is paper from the 6011 - Basic Teal PP.

"Provider, Protector, Leader" and "Live Life in Full Bloom" Cards by Diane Mason

  Hello, and welcome back for Watercolor Weekend!

Hello Ai Watercolor friends, and Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing dads out there! Thanks for stopping by for Watercolor Weekend. I’ve got two fun projects to share with you today — one for Father’s Day and one for a birthday.

“Provider, Protector, Leader” Father’s Day Card:

Art Impressions recently released five new Watercolor Foundation stamp sets: 6065 – Lakehouse Foundation, 6066 – Classic Truck Foundation, 6067 – Wild Buck Foundation, 6068 – Hiker Foundation, and 6069 – Outdoorsmen. These Foundation stamps make it easy to create the perfect scene — just add some florals and foliage, and you’ve got a finished design in no time!

For today’s Father’s Day card, I used the 6068 – Hiker Foundation Set, but with a twist! When I inked it with 565/969, I left out the hiker. Instead, I thought it would be adorable to feature a Papa Bear and his cubs walking along the path. The bears are from the newly released 6064 – WC Bear Set.

To plan my scene, I started by creating a “road map.” I placed the Foundation stamp in my stamp platform and inked only the scene—leaving out the hiker—onto a sheet of plain paper. Then I stamped the bears into the layout. This road map helped me visualize stamp placement, identify areas that might need masking, and decide where to add pencil details.

With the road map still in my stamp platform, I positioned the two cubs over the stamped image. Then I swapped in my watercolor paper and inked the cubs with 565/969, stamping off once to remove excess ink before transferring them to the watercolor paper. Next, I referred back to my road map and placed the Foundation stamp accordingly. Since it's a clear stamp, aligning it is easy. I inked the areas indicated on my road map—leaving out the hiker and a few of the rear path lines that would overlap with the bear—using 565/969. To finish the scene, I stamped the Papa Bear. I masked a small section of the hill at the back left of the path so his leg wouldn’t stamp over it, then inked the bear with 565/969 and stamped him into place.

With all the elements of the scene in place, it was time to start painting. I began by brushing in the sky and water using a mix of 555 and 565, taking care to keep the areas near the trees light so I could add foliage later. Using a pencil, I lightly sketched the path in front of the bear and added a few lines behind him.

Next, I pulled color from the stamped lines to create contours and shadows. I painted the bears with 947 and 969, remembering to leave their faces lighter. For the rocks, I added color with 565, 969, and 947, and I used 565 and 969 again to paint shadows on the mountains. The two tree trunks in the background were painted with 977 and 969, while the fir tree was painted with 947 and 969.

The following stamps and colors were used to add the foliage and flowers:

• Tree leaves: 5372 – WC Mini Foliage Set (leaf bunch), 177, 133
• Large fir tree: 4960 – WC Fir Trees Set (fir branches), 249
• Branches near trees: 4964 – WC Branches Set (small branch), 177, 969
• Leafy vines near the trees: 5126 - WC Foliage Set 4 (vine), 177
• Flowers: 4868 - WC Flower Set 2 (blue flowers - small flowers), 555, 249; 5009 – WC Mini Flower Set (red flowers - dots), 856
• Small fir trees in the distance: WC Mini Foliage Set (fir tree), 249
• Grasses: 4051 – WC Foliage Set 1 (small and large grass), 177

For the path, shadows of 969 and 565 were added. The dirt edges of the path were painted with 969. I used a brown TwinTone marker to add details to the bears' faces and bodies, as well as details to the trees, rocks, and path. Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White was used to dot in the blue flower centers.

I die-cut the painting and green mat using dies from 5724 – Nested Rectangle Dies. The patterned paper on the card base is from 6072 – Father’s Day Paper Pack.

For the interior of the card, I used stamps from 6064 – WC Bear Set and 6063 – Just For Him Set. The sentiments and paw were inked with Versafine – Vintage Sepia.

And just for fun, I partially stamped a peeking bear on the back of the card and centered the “Fierce and Fearless!” sentiment at the bottom.

“Live Life in Full Bloom Card” Birthday Card:

For my second project, I painted a simple and elegant birthday card featuring a gold-matted hydrangea. It’s a softer design with a classic feel — perfect for someone who loves timeless florals.

For the hydrangea image, I used the newly released 6062 – Hydrangea Floral Set. I inked the flowers with 526 and 636, and the leaves with 177. After stamping, I used a damp brush to pull out the color and soften the lines, giving the painting a natural, blended look.

To add depth, I layered more 526 and 636 onto the petals, and dropped in touches of 177 to add shadows and shape to the leaves. I used a turquoise blue (84) TwinTone to dot the flower centers and added a few details to the petals. Finally, I pulled color from the stamped image to create a soft watercolor background, tying everything together.

I die-cut the painting and the gold mat using two square dies from 5725 – Nested Square Dies. To create the gold mat, I painted the edges of my watercolor paper with Gansai Tambi metallic Yellow Gold (#903) watercolor paint. The card base was covered with lilac cardstock and matted with patterned paper from 6051 – Mother’s Day Paper Pack. I die-cut a lilac scalloped square from 6047 – Scalloped Square Dies. The painting with the gold mat was popped up with foam tape onto the scalloped square and adhered to the card front.

I die-cut a scrap of watercolor paper with a tag die from 5952 – Portfolio Template Die Set. I needed the tag to have two holes, so I placed the die-cut back into the die, turning it so when I ran it through my die-cutting machine, it would cut the second hole (or I could have used an appropriately sized handheld hole punch to punch the hole). I carefully painted the decorative edge with the same metallic gold paint. To make a lilac mat for the tag, I traced around the outside edge of the tag die with a pencil and cut out the shape with scissors. Centering the tag onto the mat, I used a pencil to mark the holes and then used a hole punch to punch the holes. I stamped the sentiment from 6062 – Hydrangea Floral Set in Versafine Onyx black ink and popped it up on the mat with foam tape. Gold and white Baker’s twine was looped through the holes. The ends of the twine were wrapped around to the back side of the card front and secured in place with clear tape, and then covered with a rectangle of white cardstock to hide the ends.

For the interior of the card, I die-cut a rectangle from white cardstock using a die from 5063 – Rectangle A2 Double Stitched Dies and attached a decorative strip of patterned paper to the bottom edge to create a mat. Versafine Onyx Black ink was used to stamp the sentiment from 6061 – Tulip Floral Set and Happy Birthday from 6063 – Just For Him Set.

That’s all for now—thanks so much for stopping by for Watercolor Weekend! Until next time, Happy Painting!