Edited to add a photo of the final painting. Have a safe Memorial Day weekend!
Hi friends! We are going to have our first hot summer like day today in Maine and I am so excited! My husband suggested that I paint watermelon (see what a good idea it was to put him on the payroll!) and I thought it was a fine idea! I am going to show you how to use plastic wrap to create the crisp and icy texture of watermelon flesh but there is some drying time involved. I will show the entire demo in the live stream today but I have prepared another piece of paper that will be dry by then so after I show the plastic wrap technique I will have the dried version to continue on with. If you want to paint live with me you will also want to prepare your paper to that point. As always the replay will be available so you can follow along later and pause while things dry.
The first thing you want to do is transfer the pattern (or freehand the picture) on to your watercolor paper.
Then wet one of the slices with clear water and add in rose-red.
Then drop in a smidgen of yellow ocher here and there and outline the rind with sap green. You may need to blot out some white between the rind and the red flesh.
Then place a piece of plastic wrap on the wet paint and scrunch it if needed to make a texture like this. Let this try. You can remove it before it’s totally dry if you want a softer texture or let it dry with the plastic on it for a crisper texture. You can also weight it down and leave it overnight if you wanted a super dramatic texture but that is not necessary for this. You want to repeat these steps for every slice of watermelon in the picture, refer to the first photo in this post as a guide.
You can watch the live broadcast or replay in the video player below but if you want to chat live be sure to tune in at 12:30 on the YouTube watch page.
Supplies available at sponsor Jerry’s Artarama! Use coupon code: frugal20FS49 for 20% off $49 + Free Shipping (Excludes: Sale, Super Sale, Egift Cards, Buy It Try It’s and Vendor restricted items. Look for the green coupon eligible icon on the product listing.
- Turner watercolors: Rose Red, Sap Green, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre
- Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolor Paper *I cut down a sheet but Jerry’s has great prices on the blocks as well as sheets!
- Brushes: Creative Mark Mimik faux squirrel *I have the value set
- Other household items: Plastic wrap, paper towels, pencil
- Pattern to trace or draw from
- Reference photos
Programming note…
No live show next week as I will be teaching at the Heirloom Paper Art Festival in W. Springfield MA! Will you be there? Join me for a class or say Howdy if you see me on the show floor!
Filed under: Painting, Uncategorized | Tagged: how to paintwatermelon, plastic wrap technique, watercolor, watermelon | 10 Comments »
