Author Topic: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe  (Read 10428 times)

Offline Erica McPhee

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Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« on: January 16, 2014, 12:57:31 PM »
This is a really well done video with a cute project by Molly Suber Thorpe of Plurabelle Calligraphy. She has a couple other videos on vimeo to check out as well.

Watercolor & Calligraphy
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Offline NikkiB

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2014, 03:19:10 PM »
Gorgeous! I guess wetting both sides of the paper prevents it from warping?
Nikki x

Offline Erica McPhee

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2014, 03:45:41 PM »
Yes, essentially. This is a technique called wet-into-wet where both sides of the paper are wet and then the watercolor is done into the wet surface. It removes the sizing from the paper and allows the paper to better absorb the color and creates a certain look once dried. Wetting the back of the paper helps the paper dry more consistently so it dries taut and flat and also prevents the dry back from pulling the pigment further into the paper.

I am not a watercolor expert so if I am wrong, someone correct me. It's funny though, I have taken many water color classes at various schools and with various teachers and not one has ever had us wet both sides of the paper!

But, it is a well-known technique. I have read that you should not wet the back side of a very heavy watercolor paper (300 pound) because it will dry faster than the front. You also want to try to wet both sides evenly. Some artists soak the paper in a tub of water then remove the excess.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2014, 03:47:34 PM by Erica McPhee »
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Offline Sherry Lu

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2014, 12:31:00 AM »
Oh wow! This is beautiful <3

Offline heyjayel

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2014, 10:51:56 PM »
Wow this is such an interesting technique! Thank you for sharing  :D
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Offline Gem.perry

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #5 on: June 05, 2014, 03:54:26 PM »
I love this video...quite mesmerizing to watch it again and again...

Can anyone tell me what nib she is using here? and would that be specific watercolor paper?

Thanks!

Gemma

Offline Linda Y.

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #6 on: June 05, 2014, 05:48:28 PM »
Can anyone tell me what nib she is using here? and would that be specific watercolor paper?


Hi Gemma,

I believe Molly uses the Brause 66EF. It suits her style really well. As for watercolor, I'd stick with anything hot press, as cold press is too textured and may catch a sharp nib like the 66EF.

-Linda

Offline Sam L

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #7 on: June 12, 2014, 06:53:59 AM »
I could watch that over and over it was beautiful! Going to try that wet both sides technique to see how it goes.

Offline JanisTX

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #8 on: July 23, 2014, 04:35:14 PM »
That's a wonderful video!!

Offline silverswirlstudios

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #9 on: July 23, 2014, 04:47:27 PM »
Fun video! Thanks for sharing  :D :D
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Offline Suzie L

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #10 on: August 12, 2014, 04:17:21 PM »
Just wanted to update this thread as I've tried this project a few times  - looks beautiful but one problem I ran into is that the salt is difficult to get completely off the watercolor paper. For smaller cards I've been successful but for a larger frameable project (I was trying to calligraph a quote on top of a watercolor background), it was difficult to get all the salt off the paper - and as I tried to rub the salt off, some of the pigment came off too. Could be differences in the type of salt she used vs. mine - I used regular table salt but hers looks fancier. I'm also not sure about the "archival" quality of salted paper.

Also I should have paid more attention to Linda Y's advice above and used hot press watercolor - the 140 lb cold press watercolor paper I used really catches in the nib!

If anyone else has tried this project and has any specific advice, please share!

 

Offline Erica McPhee

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #11 on: August 12, 2014, 05:15:47 PM »
Thank you for sharing your experience! Yes, definitely use hot press because the paper is smoother and you may want to try again with large rock salt or sea salt. I still find salt as a whole difficult to remove but the larger grain does come off better than the regular table salt.
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Offline desireeann

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #12 on: November 09, 2014, 05:41:44 AM »
I'm not a watercolor master but I do love painting with watercolor. Salt is used to add texture to your watercolor because it absorbs water and as it absorbs water, it absorbs some of the watercolor pigment along with it too, hence once you remove it, the color also gets removed. If you don't want the effect and would like to write over the part that has watercolor, I suggest to just do away with the salt and just try wet-on-wet technique. It still gives off a nice effect. Or you can try other texturing techniques. :)

On another note, the artist wet both sides of the watercolor paper to stretch it. This is usually done for light papers (70-90 lbs) so it won't curl or bulge when you use wet on wet technique. But if you were to use the heavy watercolor papers (about 140 lbs), then there's no need to stretch or wet both sides of the paper. :)

Hope this helps!

Sincerely,

Desiree

Offline ElysseA

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #13 on: November 10, 2014, 01:24:43 AM »
I like that wet-both-sides trick... I've been using a lot of watercolor and gouache in my holiday card experiments and finding my Paper Source cards really buckle as a result. Gotta try this!

I have Molly's book and it's my current go-to for new letters, so seeing her write them out is very cool! Ah, wonders of the internet!

Offline CattD

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Re: Watercolor Placecards by Molly Suber Thorpe
« Reply #14 on: November 10, 2014, 01:57:45 PM »
This is lovely! I could watch it over and over again. I wish I knew about the wet-on-wet technique last week — it would have saved me a lot of trouble!!