Poppies Watercolour Plus Tissue Paper Part 1

Tissue paper glued onto watercolour paper provides extra texture and is ideal for representing the delicate crumpled texture of poppy petals.
This is what I have given my watercolour classes for the last couple of weeks, as a topic to explore.

This is part of an article I wrote for Leisure Painter magazine Sept 2012, it may still be available to buy from the publisher as a back copy or digital file.

Watercolour paper and acid free tissue paper

The watercolour paper was painted with a 1 to 1 mix of PVA glue and water.
The wrinkled tissue paper was glued in place.

Painted with watercolour either while still wet or when it has dried. above
When dry a white oil pastel was gently used on it's side to leave some white highlights on the wrinkles on the poppy petals. below

For the next study the tissue was used on the petals only. below

Below, this time  the watercolour paper was painted first wet in wet. When dry the tissue petals were glued on and some painted.

Red Poppy flower close up below

Painting Lee Bay

Lee Bay watercolour (c) Tessa Spanton

I have just finished this today. It's a hidden part of Lee Bay near Lynton in North Devon. You have to climb over rocks to get there from the main beach and is one of my favourite beaches. Years ago I painted and sketched on that beach several times.

 It's painted on a hot pressed paper that has a lot of size on it which make the washes slip around on the paper so it won't take many layers without lifting the paint underneath. I made a start on it a long time ago and got it out this week to do a bit of work on the rocks as a demonstration for my classes. They are on that topic at the moment. I went on to finish it after they had gone home.

 The rocks and pebbles on that beach are a range of colours  from blue greys, green greys and pinkish greys. I have heightened the colours.

#NorthDevon  #Leebay #Leeabbey #watercolourclasses