Diamonds are a Mandala's best friend! This is my first attempt at a Diamond Window Mandala and it's maybe a 47% match to the idea that was in my head. So you'll probably be seeing something similar before too long. (I'll let you decide if that's a promise or a warning, lol!) :)
It's a splishy-splashy, super-colorful Mandala Monday thanks to my Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils from Ranger. My current favorite way to use them is to both draw and fill in the shapes with the DRY pencils (adding more color at the edges and lighter towards the center of each shape); then take a waterbrush and "activate" the awesome watercolor blendiness (yes, that IS a word!) taking care to work from light to dark and rinse the brush whenever it starts to overblend the shades.
At the end, it's fun to apply the wet brush directly to the pencils, create a little puddle of color, and then flick it onto the piece. As with most watercolor products, you get a lot of variation depending on: 1) how much color you pick up; 2) how big your brush/drop size is; 3) whether the piece is wet or dry when you flick at it; and 4) whether or not you blot the splatters off or let them dry on their own. With a bit of practice you can definitely learn to "steer" the piece, but there will always be a very fun serendipity factor that I love!
I used rainbow colors from Sets One, Two and Three of the Distress Watercolor Pencils; and added the outlines and details with three sizes of Letter It Fineliners after the panel was completely dry.
It's the twelfth Mandala Monday of 2024 and I've gone a bit grungy playing with my Distress Watercolor Pencils from Ranger. For this one I drew all the outlines first (using three sizes of Letter It Fineliners, which are impressively water-proof!) and then went crazy coloring, shading, flickling, brushing and blotting all of the blue and green Distress Watercolor Pencils from sets 1-3. At the very end, when the piece was thoroughly dry, I added a few details with a white paint pen, then made it into a 5.5" square card.
After two months of index card mandalas, it's always a little bit of a shock to go BIG again, but my Dina Wakley Blue Edition Journal and Distress Watercolor Pencils definitely help with the transition!
Join me at Paper Anthology for a new three-card class that’s BEACHY keen!
We’ll color images from Honey Bee’s Seashells stamp set with Distress Watercolor Pencils (wait until you try them!); and add sentiments from Honey Bee’s Flippin’ Fabulous set. Make a splash with papers from Photoplay’s Beach Vibes collection, fall in love again with old-school round eyelets when paired with May Arts Burlap String, then finish off with colorful diecut foliage and golden sequins. The only question is, will you send these sunkissed cards to your favorite folk, or be SHELLFISH and keep them?
Visit the Paper Anthology Blog for details of dates, times, etc.; I'd love to see you there!
Practicing shading with my Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils from Ranger. I love that if you start out fairly dark at the edges and pull the color inwards, this method basically does both shading and outlining for you! I was debating what additional details to add when I spotted half a jar of pink sequins on my worktable; I dumped a few onto the page with the intention of arranging them neatly around the edge, but then I thought, "Nope, I like them scattered" so I just grabbed the adhesive and stuck them on. This mandala created in my Dina Wakley Media Blue Journal which has denim and burlap pages as well as the sturdiest and most wonderful DWM Heavyweight Watercolor Paper, which is truly luxurious to work upon.
