Today was another day of just playing with tools techniques. I wanted to see what I could do with the Distress Markers that I purchased.
I originally purchased some of these Distress Makers to use with a couple Art Impression stamps that I wanted to try with a watercoloring technique I saw someone demonstrate. These markers are great for watercoloring techniques.
I decided to spend a day just playing with different ways of getting color on to the paper. I pulled out some old watercolor paper and stamped some flowers with permanent ink.
Then I played around with what it looked like to put the marker on dry paper, then on wet paper, then transferred from the craft mat and so forth. I just wanted to see the difference.
I made notes to along each so I would remember what I did so I could compare them later and use them to get just the technique I wanted. These aren’t neat and tidy, but when I look back at these I will know what to expect when I do a certain technique with these markers in the future.
One thing that I can absolutely say is that paper makes a difference! I hadn’t used this particular brand in a while and I realized that I don’t like this paper at all compared to some of the papers that I purchase to experiment with more recently. This particular paper actually pilled up quite a bit when I tried to color on it with the markers and my past experience on other papers did not have this same result. I have discovered that I really like the Arches and the Canson brands of watercolor paper.
I’m thinking that the next experiment will be to try this on different brands of paper to have that as a resource as well.
All in all, afternoons spent just playing with tools and techniques to see what works and what doesn’t tend to be the most relaxing.
The only drawback is that you end up spending some of your crafty cash of experimenting. But nobody tries something once and becomes an expert immediately. Part of the fun is practicing and watching your own crafting style and technique evolve to create a way of doing it that is uniquely your own.
A colleague of mine said that she wanted to learn to watercolor. I suggested some online classes and she said she wants an in-person instructor to tell her exactly what colors to use to get just the look she wants. She wanted to be told what to do and how to do it. I like to hear what several people have to say about how they do it and then I just want to practice and experiment until I find out what works for me and what I find easiest to do to get the look I want. I also wanted to start with the tools I already had until I used those up and then I purchased a few things that various instructors had recommended. Now I want to experiment with all of the tools to see the differences so I can get just the effect I’m looking for.
Paper crafting is an evolving effort! Practicing techniques is key as is experimenting with the tools that you have.
With that said, I’m off to practice! I can’t seem to get enough watercoloring lately!
Thank you for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!
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