Gina K Tutorial: Watercoloring with Spectrum Aquas

Hey There Peeps!  I know it's been awhile since I've posted a tutorial, but being gone for Spring Break is making the month of April a bit crazy!  But I'm back today with a new tutorial for Gina K Designs and Spectrum Noir using the new Spectrum Aqua Markers ~ which by the way, are now available at Gina K Designs!

This lovely butterfly image is from the Dogwood & Butterfly set by artist Theresa Momber and the sentiment is from the Elegant Florals 2 set.

After I selected my image, I picked my Spectrum Aqua colors ~ Charcoal, Bud Green, Kingfisher and Marine (colors are shown below).  

 I put the butterfly on an acrylic block and then started coloring with the brush tip directly on the rubber stamp.  I started with Charcoal in the center for the butterfly's body and antenna.  Next, I added the Bud Green & worked from the center outward. 

For the next color, I added Kingfisher and slightly overlapped the green and blue.  Then finally, I added the darker Marine blue along the outside edges of both wings.

Once the color was applied, I used a squirt bottle and sprayed a very light mist of water on the stamp.

Once the ink was moistened up with the spritz of water, I immediately stamped it on watercolor paper.   Look how beautifully the colors show up on the image below...

Although this butterfly looks very pretty as it is, I really wanted to fill in the color.  So I used a used a watercolor brush to blend the colors.  I blended each color one at a time so they wouldn't look muddy.  Below, I started with the Bud Green.

The waterbrush I use is from Tim Holtz and has the water built in the barrel; however, there are many other brands available.  You can easily use a regular brush and a small cup of water.  TIP: I usually keep a paper towel close by so I can dab off water or extra color before I move on to the next color.

Next I spread the lighter blue next to the green and then I blended the darker blue on the edges.  Don't saturate the image or you will lose some of the detail.   If you find that the colors are too washed out, scribble some color from the marker on your acrylic stamping block and then dip your watercolor brush in it and apply to your image to darken the area (I had to do that with the Kingfisher blue).

Here is the butterfly with one wing done and one not yet finished...

For the butterfly body, I added just a bit of Charcoal color with my watercolor brush.

Here are the 48 colors that are available for the Spectrum Aqua Markers.  They are sold in 12 packs ~ Nature, Primary, Essentials, and Floral.  I love them all!  They are super easy to use & are very forgiving if you make a mistake ~ just add more color and blend again.   They are dual tipped water based markers.

And here they are all lined up in the pretty storage trays!