It's a Very Vivid...

...Mandala Monday, thanks to my Karin Markers, which are absolutely outstanding for both watercoloring* and also brush lettering! I often place analagous colors next to each other, so that they will blend harmoniously if there's a little cross-migration. Sharpies, Pitt Pens, Poscas and Ranger Letter It Fineliners are all fairly waterproof, so you can, if you like, create the lines first and then fill in with color. I often do the reverse, as on this piece: I paint all of the large shapes AND THEN outline them after they're dry. A heat gun will speed up the drying process; be sure to use it on both the front and the back of your watercolor paper, so that all the fibers are nice and dry.

Wishing you a colorful and productive week ahead!

♥♥♥

*There are two methods for watercoloring with markers: #1. Scribble one color at a time onto a plastic palette, pick up the color with a waterbrush, paint the design. #2. Use the markers directly to paper, to sort of outline the areas you want to fill, use the waterbrush to pull the outline color into the rest of the space, it will automatically lighten the further you pull it. For either method, you're best off using watercolor paper-- it's specially designed to stand up to being worked on wet-- and also working on a smallish section at a time. You can use the same method with alcohol ink markers or ink pads, if you fill the waterbrush with Isopropyl Alcohol.