Snapshot Watercoloured Portrait with Loose Painting

A project from our live show CREATE AND CRAFT - Join Carley Duff for her brand new IMALA Launch - Broadcast 23rd July 22 · 23/07/2022 · watch it from 30:45

A stunning artistic card using the Snapshot stamp, which features a sketchy photographic portrait style. The image is enhanced with loose watercolour painting, white gel pen highlights, and layered with a stencilled background for a contemporary art journal effect.

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Step by step

1. Stamp the Snapshot image onto white card stock using black dye ink, pressing firmly and evenly. ▶ watch 30:45
2. Heat set the stamped image to prevent smudging when you add wet media. ▶ watch 31:00
3. Apply loose watercolour painting to the face, starting with light pink on the skin tone and building up layers gradually. ▶ watch 31:15
4. Add darker shading around the cheekbones, hairline and chin using a deeper colour, blending downwards to create contour and dimension. ▶ watch 32:00
5. Paint the lips with mid-pink, then add a darker shade to the lower lip and blend upwards, following the shading lines already in the stamp. ▶ watch 32:30
6. Accentuate the eyes and eyelashes with black, adding white gel pen highlights to bring the features to life. ▶ watch 33:00
7. Add white gel pen flicks around the lips and other light-catching areas to enhance the artwork. ▶ watch 33:30
8. Create a background by spraying through a stencil, then pick up the reverse side of the stencil to create a coordinating background layer. ▶ watch 37:00
9. Add loose watercolour washes to the background in complementary colours, keeping it light and airy. ▶ watch 38:00
10. Mount the coloured portrait onto the background using foam pads, then add a light stencilled overlay using tea dye ink to tie everything together. ▶ watch 39:00

Tips from the show

• The Snapshot stamp has beautiful shading lines built in – use these as your guide for where to place highlights and shadows.
• Watercolour dries lighter, so apply colour generously and build up layers gradually.
• Use contour techniques from makeup application to add dimension to the face – darker shades around the edges, lighter in the centre.

More from this show

• Typical Me Coloured Portrait Card with Watercolour Background
• Heart Art Ombre Ink Layered Card
• Tick Tock Timepiece Background Card with White Gel Details
• Rickety House Mixed Media Card with White Gel Accents
• Heart Art and Cocktails Layered Aperture Card

Written up from the show itself. See every guide from our shows · free how-to guides · watch live on My Telly