HOW TO CREATE A SNOWFLAKE PAINTING USING A WATERCOLOR MASKING TECHNIQUE
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Learn how to create a snowflake painting using a watercolor masking technique this winter. The perfect painting to get you excited for snow this winter while staying warm inside your home.
When the weather outside is cold but there is not a snowflake in sight you can create your own with this snowflake painting that uses a watercolor masking technique. Right now I am experiencing a mild winter with no snow in the forecast. So to get me in the spirit of winter I thought of creating this snowflake painting that I can look at and remember fondly all the good times I had playing in the snow.
Here’s how I did it…
HOW TO CREATE A SNOWFLAKE PAINTING USING A WATERCOLOR MASKING TECHNIQUE
STEP 1- GATHER NECESSARY SUPPLIES
I used…
- Aqvarelle Arches Watercolor Block Cold Pressed Paper in 12 1/8” x 16 1/8”
- Pencil
- Eraser
- Ruler- I like to use the stainless steel from Aselart.com
- Scissors
- Duck Tape
- Foam Board about 16”x 24”
- Stapler
- Staples
- Artist Tape
- Paint Brush- I like to use Silver Black Velvet Oval brush in size ¾”
- Cup
- Watercolor Palette
- Watercolor Paint Tubes- For this painting I used Van Gogh mainly in the colors Quinacridone Rose and Cobalt Blue but I also experimented with Madder Lake Deep and Phthalo Blue.
- Table Salt
STEP 2- CUT PAPER INTO SQUARE
For this project I used Aqvarelle Arches Watercolor Block Cold Pressed Paper in size 12 1/8”x 16 1/8”. To start I carefully pulled apart a single sheet of paper from the block.
Then to turn my paper from a rectangle into a square I measured my paper and then cut it to be 12 1/8” width, to match the height of my paper. To measure my paper I used a stainless steel ruler to first line up the zero on the bottom left edge of my paper, making sure my ruler is level to the bottom of my paper. Then with a pencil I made a small mark at 12 1/8”. I repeated these two steps for the top of my paper before lining up my ruler to the two marks I had made. Then I ran my pencil straight down the edge of the ruler creating a line. Using the line as a guide I then cut along it with scissors.
STEP 3- PUT PAPER ON FOAM BOARD
To prepare my paper for watercolor, minimizing it from getting wrinkled when wet, I taped and then stapled my paper down onto the foam board. I first centered my paper on the foam board before I duck taped about ½” from the edge of my paper to the foam board. Once my paper was securely taped down I then stapled my paper along the taped edge.
STEP 4- PREPARE PAPER FOR WATERCOLOR MASKING TECHNIQUE
Now I am ready to start preparing my paper for the watercolor masking technique. I started by first drawing a hexagon in the middle of my paper. This is going to be my guide when I use tape to make the snowflakes body. For this step remember to draw lightly so that when the paint is dry you can easily go back and erase your lines.
After drawing my hexagon I then covered each side with Artist Tape. I cut the tape off the roll to make the edge straight before adding it to one of the sides of my hexagon. As I was adding each piece of tape I tried to make sure all the edges overlapped one another to prevent paint from getting into the gaps.
Once I was done making the snowflakes body out of tape I then started making the decorative arms. To make an arm I cut off a long strip of tape and then attached it to the middle of one side of my hexagon. I repeated these two steps five more times before going on to the next step.
After I had attached all the arms to the body of the snowflake I then added the little decorative pieces to the arms. I cut off a piece of tape about half the size of the arm and then attached it at an angle about half way down the arm. I repeated these two steps attaching another decorative piece to the same arm directly across from the first. Then I repeated these steps until all the arms had two decorative pieces attached.
STEP 5- PAINT AROUND THE SNOWFLAKE
Before I started painting I had decided ahead of time to do a wet on wet watercolor technique because the paint looks soft around the edges and the colors blend together. I wanted to use this technique to make it look like the snowflake is in the sky.
To prepare my paper for the technique I got it damp with water. I dipped my paintbrush into a cup filled half way with water, and then brushed it against the edge of the cup to prevent water from dripping. Then I brushed the water onto my paper until the paintbrush got dry. I repeated these three steps until my whole paper was damp with water.
Then I started adding paint to the background. I dipped my paintbrush back into the cup and then dipped it into Quinacridone Rose in my watercolor palette. I swirled my paintbrush around to get the paint wet and to also coat it generously with paint. Then I brushed the paint onto a section of my paper, this gave my paper a pink tint when it dried.
To change colors I dipped my paintbrush into the cup, swirling it around gently to get any left over paint off. Then I dipped my paintbrush into Cobalt Blue and brushed it onto my paper right beside the color I just laid down. This allowed the two colors to touch and mix together. I continued these steps of cleaning my brush before dipping it into a new paint color and then brushing it onto my paper right beside the paint I had just brushed on until my whole paper was covered in paint.
To get the red/purple color I used Madder Lake Deep and for the dark blue spots on my paper I used Phthalo Blue. The only colors that I mixed together were Madder Lake Deep with Cobalt Blue to get a blue/purple color. To mix these two colors I first brushed on Madder Lake Deep onto my paper and then right on top added Cobalt Blue.
STEP 6- ADD SALT
As soon as I had finished painting the background I then carefully sprinkled salt onto the wet paint. I used a saltshaker to sprinkle salt onto my paper and when the paint dried it left a crystal pattern in the painting adding to my paintings design.
STEP 7- TAKE OFF THE TAPE
I waited a whole day to make sure my painting was dry before removing the tape on my paper. Remember to be gentle during this process so you don’t rip your paper. First I removed the Artist Tape from my paper revealing a white snowflake underneath.
Then I erased the hexagon that I had drawn as a guide for the tape. To remove my painting from the foam board I first removed the staples with the help of a flat screwdriver before gently removing the tape from the watercolor paper.
STEP 8- ENJOY
So that’s how I created a snowflake painting using a watercolor masking technique. Now you can create your own snowflake painting that you can later look at it and remember fondly all the good times you had playing in the snow. If you’re looking for a snowflake painting using a watercolor masking technique I hope this tutorial was helpful!
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Thanks so much for following along! Have a wonderful week!
