Tropicalwatercolours

materials: Giotto Watercolour Palette (24 colours)

No. 6 Blue Prime Art brush No. 000 Blue Prime Art brush

Jar fi lled with clean water Prime Art 300 gsm Multimedia Paper

Polychromos colour pencils White Winsor and Newton ink

Black and brown Sharpie

instructions:

1 Trace the tropical image - using the fruit references

provided - with a light brown Polychromos pencil because Polychromos pencils do not contaminate watercolours. Remember, watercolours are transparent, so try to draw as lightly as possible.

2 Mark your Giotto watercolour palette

according to the image listed. Start with the pineapple. First paint the whole fruit with colour 8 using the ‘dry on wet’ technique. Add colours 14 and 18 using the ‘wet on wet’ technique.

3 Paint the crown of the pineapple with ‘dry on wet’

technique using colour 5, and then add shades of colours 6, 7 and 12 using the ‘wet on wet’ technique.

4 Paint the triangle part of the watermelon with the

colour 14 using the ‘wet on dry’ technique. Use the ‘wet on wet’ technique to add colours 15 and 20. This will create natural shading. Apply colour 22 for the remaining part of the watermelon, and 5 for the outer parts, using the ‘dry on wet’ technique.

For commissioned art or painted wallpaper contact Anri at artbyanri@gmail.com

5 To paint the leaves, start by painting the stem with

colour 12, then paint the leaves using a combination of colours 12 and 7. Paint the fl ower with water, after the fl ower is covered, start by using the colour 14 to outline the outside of the petals. Using colour 23, make a dot in the centre. The paint will blend by itself.

6 For the orange, start by painting the outer circle

and segments with colour 18, and then add colour 14 using the ‘wet on wet’ technique while the colour 18 is still wet.

7 Using colour 23, paint the lemon yellow, and then use

colour 2 too, and dab some of the brown to create natural shading. Use colour 5 to paint the leaves.

8 To paint the kiwi fruit, start by painting the outer circle

colour 3. Paint the inside colour 2. Using the ‘wet on wet’ technique, apply green on the outline of the inside circle.

9 Paint the cherry with colour 19, and the stem and leaves

with colour 5 using the ‘wet on dry’ technique. Use the ‘wet on dry’ technique to paint the blueberries colour 10. Using the ‘wet on wet’ technique add shading using colours 11 and 15.

10 For the pawpaw, paint the inside colour 18, and

then, while this colour is still wet, apply colour 20. This will blend to create the orange transition. Use colour 5 to paint the outside part, which forms part of the peel. To add some dimension, add drops of colours 3 and 6.

11 Paint the ice-cream. Paint the 2 centre shapes

colour 11 and then the rest of the drawing colours 10 and 15. Paint the little stem 12. To paint the strawberry use colour 20, and for the leaves use colour 5-7.

12 Once your painting is fi nished wait for it

to dry. Tip it if you want to know if your artwork is dry, or you can check by feeling the paper. If it is cold your paint is not yet dry.

13 Remember some watercolours cannot

be painted over afterwards because the moment they get contaminated with water again, they activate. Use colour pencils to fi nish off your artwork and add shading and little details. To complete your artwork, use a little bit of white to add intense highlights. Use a brown and white Sharpie for the seeds. CH

Watercolour made easy.Watercolour painting is something I really love doing. There are a couple of tips I have learned which makes painting with this medium so much fun and so easy. There are 2 basic watercolour painting techniques. By mastering them you can combine them to create masterpieces.

The first technique is ‘wet on wet’ painting ... Start by using clean water to paint a shape on paper. Wet your brush again and use it to activate a colour on your palette. Mix the colour with the water. Keep in mind that the amount of water used to activate the colour will determine the intensity of the colour. Dip your brush on the shape. You will notice the water will absorb the colour. This technique is ideal for blending multiple colours. However, you do not have a lot of control over the paint.

The second is ‘wet on dry’ painting ...This is very similar to traditional painting. You activate the palette with water and then you paint. With this technique you have control of the colour and flow.

Lastly you can combine the two techniques by starting with applying activated colour onto the paper, and then dabbling the other colour on it.

step 5b

step 6a - wet-on-wet painting

step 9a

step 3a - pineapple

step 9b

step 10step 4

step 5a

step 13.3step 6b - wet-on-wet painting

step 8

step 3b - pineapple

step 2

step 7

step 3c - pineapple

step 11

step 13.1

step 13.2

step 9c

step-by-step

Giotto Watercolour paint -Review by artist, Anri Erasmus

Recently I was introduced to Giotto’s art and craft ranges. Some of my favorite products are the Turbo Glitter Pens, however I had the wonderful opportunity of testing Giotto’s 24 Watercolour Paint Palette. At fi rst, I was quite skeptical, mainly because I have certain paint products which I prefer to use. But, as I started playing around with the paint, I was pleasantly surprised.

The palette has a range of 24 vibrant colours which dry beautifully. The quality of Giotto’s paint is clearly visible; mainly because the colours do not have that typical chalk consistency we fi nd with normal watercolour palettes. I found that 24 colour palettes like Giotto’s, are ideal for people who want to learn to paint, because they have selected and combined a good variety of colours which do not require the artist to mix.

They blend well with one another when using the ‘wet on wet’ painting technique. Plus, one can paint effortlessly using the ‘wet on dry’ technique. I have found that even when Giotto’s watercolour paint dries, it has a smooth superior fi nish.

The only downside to this watercolour paint palette is that one cannot rework one’s artwork. This is due to the fact that whenever the dried painted surface gets contaminated with water, the paint becomes activated. Overall, I would recommend Giotto’s 24 Colour Watercolour Palette to anyone who wants to start experimenting in watercolour art. Not only do you get good watercolour paint, but it is really affordable as well.

Anri ErasmusKunsvlyt winner 2017