USAQ Blog

MicaColor Palettes Make it Easy To Create Beautiful Art!

MicaColor Watercolor Palettes are handmade just for you!!!  Highly pigmented colors mixed with special binders which creates the hardened watercolor palette shape that magically comes to life when water is added.  Rich and creamy, better than regular watercolors because of the shimmer!

Back in the day (you’ll hear me say that a lot), we had to mix up our own watercolors.  The problem was that different hues of pigments reacted differently with the binders – some colors worked well, others left little floating, non-mixed particles.  I mention this because USAQ worked to find what works for each pigment and each palette is formulated and poured by hand.  Each color is creamy and the consistency is perfect.  So many companies have automated production lines.

Supplies:

MicaColor Watercolor Palettes

Studio Cloth (Note:  Link is to the table runner, check under canvas for roll and larger size)

Perfect Brushes

Crystal Effects – Opal

(Other items, water, graphite paper)

Preparing the Palette:  In other posts I mentioned preparing the palettes.  If I am using a lot of different palettes and colors, I either sprtiz water or let water drip from my Perfect Brushes onto the palette.  The colors soak up the water so when you are ready to paint, the colors are moist and creamy.  Really, just dripping some water into a color, counting to 5, swirling your brush is all you have to do in order to get a creamy consistency.  EASY!

Transferring Drawing to Studio Cloth:  I find a lot of my images from a Google search, although I draw many of my own ideas on sketch paper and add pre-drawn elements to it.  There are many digi stamps out there, but to start out; check out Sandi Miller Stamp Images - made perfectly to be stamped on Studio Cloth!  Use a permanent ink so the ink does not migrate as you paint.

Stamp, print, or draw you image onto sketch paper (except the stamp images can be stamped right onto the Studio Cloth).  Transfer the image with graphite paper following the instructions on the package.  You want the graphite to transfer the design but you do not want the graphite too heavy as to muddy the watercolors.  Don’t worry if you are heavy-handed, use a nylon or kneaded eraser to remove the excess graphite.

MicaColor Watercolor Palette - Stargazer Palette

Painting with MicaColor Watercolors – Wet On Wet:  A basic fundemental for watercolor painting is “wet on wet.”  This means the Studio Cloth is wet and of course the watercolor hue you put down is mixed with water and is wet.  Take your large Perfect Brush and wet the area you are going to paint.  Puddles of water are not necessary, just wet the surface so one color will flow into another.

The peaches show this effect very well.  The surface of where each peach is wetted, and yellow is the first color painted onto the designated area.  The yellow is brought past where I want the color to end.  Orange is painted in the opposite side and as the colors get closer together they merge together.  Watch them flow and mix.  Do not be concerned too much with how they mix, they are like nature forming unusual patterns.  When dry you see the highlight of the peach (where the light hits), the shadows (where the light doesn’t hit or not much), and the midtones – the colors together, a mix of light and dark!  I did the same with the leaves and the blue on the dragonfly.

Experiment, but if you are not ready to, just paint like a coloring book, and the results are glorious!  For brighter, more brilliant colors, do “wet to dry,” keeping the Studio Cloth dry and painting the watercolors directly on the cloth.  Also, do not be afraid to mix colors if you feel like it.  To make the light, lime green, I mixed yellow with a little green.  You can get all the shades of the rainbow this way – even add a little rust to orange, etc.  The dragonfly has rust-orange on it.

Wet on Wet lets the colors blend together

Interference Colors Look White but POP When Painted over color or backgrounds

Background and extra highlights:  Interference colors add to pure pigmented colors and are perfect for adding a subtle background.  These look like they are just white, but mingled within are colors which come up on dark surfaces, and over other colors.  The background was painted by using interference colors and a tiny bit of watered down colors from the palettes.  The interference colors look almost pearlized and glittery.  In addition, I added interference colors to further highlight areas of the leaves and other areas.  The mica shows through glimmering, and I sprinkled a little Crystal Effects to enhance the shimmer even more.  Crystal Effects is like fairy dust, almost powdered sugar but not quite.  The finest, dazzling accent to add to any works.

Finishing the Project:  I used a permanet, fine line black marker and outlined the areas and added little decorations.  This allows the colors to pop, and defines the space even more.  I am off to find a mat and frame so I can hang up my finished art.

Whether you work coloringbook style, or experiment with “wet on wet,” the results will be Fabulous!!!  MicaColor Watercolor Palettes takes watercolor painting to an easy level – if you want to try something even easier, use the Styline Stickers which have the outline of the design, adhere to light, dark, or colored cardstock and fill in the areas with MicaColor Watercolors!!!  Easy and fast.

Please Note:  Colors Look More Washed Out in Photos.  In real life – colors are rich and bright.

March is going to be a fun month…be watching!  Enjoy my team members art, and be sure to watch Sue on HSN March 6th and 20th!!!  All MicaColor Watercolor Palettes are available at the USAQ site and from HSN.

Creativelea Yours – Lea

USArtQuest, The Best Source for your Arting Supplies!