How to Fix a Watercolor Painting with Colored Pencils

[@kmscheid3303]

You are so generous! with your time and expertise.

[@bdelpesco]

Thanks for stopping by, Km! I'm glad you liked the video :)

[@ColleenM61]

GREAT tip! I never thought to do this, going to take another look at ones I wasn't too happy with and see what I can salvage!

[@bdelpesco]

That's excellent, +Colleen M ! I hope you have great success with yours! Thanks for the feedback!

[@donnaeturner]

Exactly what I needed to see! Thanks!

[@bdelpesco]

You're welcome! Have so much fun with your colored pencils!

[@ghosttownsentinel5288]

The video settings give viewers the option to speed it up just the same way they can slow it down, and so logically, the videos are better presented in real time and let whomever is in a rush to speed them up. Real time is better for learning. Why rush a good thing! This video was great!!!

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Ghost Town - Thanks for the compliment! And I agree with you, except for one thing: many people don't know how to control the speed, quality or volume on the videos. They're watching on all manner of desktops, phones, pads and smart devices, and the controls are accessed in different ways on each platform, so it's worth an Ask just to see what those folks prefer. :)

[@Freedaaa]

Beautiful way of approaching the goal with much control and love for details ... Thank you very much!

[@bdelpesco]

You are welcome, Freedaaa! I hope it works for you in your own art-repair projects!

[@lindawitherspoon446]

That is gorgeous and amazing. Love it.

[@bdelpesco]

Thank you, Linda! I appreciate your encouragement!

[@vlarralv]

You have such a great teaching method, thank you so much for sharing yourself and your knowledge ❤️

[@bdelpesco]

Thank you, Sasha!

[@mariapellegrino4815]

I'm so glad I have found your channel Belinda. This has helped me so much I have subscribed 😊

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Maria - thanks for the feedback, and welcome! I hope you find the videos on this channel to be useful. Happy painting!

[@Kandicookheller]

Thank you so much. My friend does this and told me about it. I can't wait to try it.

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Kandice, Yes, do give it a go - you may find that it transforms a lost painting into a beautiful painting! Have fun!

[@eileenpeat2259]

Thank you so much!!! Now I can rescue a water colour I thought was for the recycle bin xxx

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Eileen! Thanks for your visit, and have great fun with those colored pencils!

[@susanschmitz4110]

Thank you for sharing! Beautiful! Can’t wait to try it

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Susan - Thanks for the feedback! I hope you have so much fun when you try colored pencil on watercolor! :)

[@cloroxbleach8232]

You deserve more subs!! Gorgeous work of art, references are always helpful, useful, and recommended!!

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Annabella! What a sweet note! Thanks for your encouragement, and feedback! I wish you many happy hours of art-making! :)

[@valeriegehling4358]

Thanks may try soon.

[@bdelpesco]

Hope you enjoy your adventures, Valerie!

[@tinsandwichwithhobomunchie648]

Hey lady this an awsome video I stopped water color because I'm not good at it but I'm pretty good with colored pencils so I wanted to try underpainting I have wax based pencils but use them only them in sketchbook does this also work with oil based pencils such as polychomos thanks for a great video

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Tin, yes, the whole globe of colored pencils works beautifully on watercolors, so the world is your oyster! Have fun!

[@Sadin15]

Thank you so much for making this video

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Sadin15, Thanks for stopping by. I hope the video was useful for you. 😀

[@Chickenfoothomestead]

Fantastic! Thank you.

[@bdelpesco]

Hi TOH! Thanks for the feedback and happy creating to you!

[@clovatryx4218]

Hadn't ever thought of doing this! It looks beautiful! I'm going to try it myself now! :D

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Caleigh, I hope you have fun, ad the results are a great success!

[@ignaciovalverde8929]

Fantastic artwork, very helpful, and good commentary; thank you very much.

[@bdelpesco]

Thank you for the feedback, Ignacio! I hope your colored pencil over watercolor adventures are fun and fruitful!

[@narayastein8638]

Really inspiring work! Question: Are watercolor and prisma color pencils mixed together archival?

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Naraya, I'm glad you feel inspired! If you purchased and use watercolors & colored pencils that are lightfast, they are indeed archival. Mixing them together does not alter archival materials. And for what it's worth, I find that Prismacolor's Lightfast line is smoother and blends better than their non-lightfast pencils. Have you tried them?

[@valeriegehling4358]

Like your sketches v.much!

[@bdelpesco]

Thank you, Valerie!

[@carlaa.1617]

I can't believe I never found your channel before. I'm so glad I did. This is a great tutorial. I am new to watercolour but love my coloured pencils so this is just perfect if I mess up my paintings:) Thank you for this video and also the great tip about slowing down the speed of youtube tutorials. I never knew about this. I've subscribed to your channel and look forward to seeing your other tutorials.

[@bdelpesco]

Hi +Carla A. - welcome! I'm glad you stopped by, and I hope you have great success using colored pencil to enhance your watercolors. It's a nice little magic trick. :)

[@cherylpeckham8088]

very nice....and fun...I will give it a go. just discovered watercolor pencils and having some fun with it as well.

[@bdelpesco]

Hi +Cheryl Peckham - I hope you post them somewhere so we can all see! :) Give us a link to have a peek.

[@francoisederocher]

Super helpful! I have MANY watercolors that need to be rescued. :)

[@bdelpesco]

Hi +Francoise de Rocher - Send in the rescue squad! :) Have fun with your watercolors & colored pencils! :)

[@appleknocker56]

I used to use Prisma colored pencils but last ones purchased just didn’t perform well. You use them very well.

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Apple, Thanks for your compliment…. Have you tried some of the other brands that have come out recently?

[@appleknocker56]

@@bdelpesco Yes but not higher quality but did like these they have a smaller kind called “l did like their ”Verithin” ones 😊.

[@crystalrosado6771]

It's beautiful!

[@bdelpesco]

Thank you, Crystal ! 🎉👋🏼🎨

[@maryannechapman3200]

Hi thanks for the tips m=Iam trying my first one right now

[@bdelpesco]

Hi MaryAnne - good luck with it and have FUN!

[@AsiaZawadzkaLazuchiewicz]

Very informative ,Thank you for sharing

[@bdelpesco]

Thanks for that, +Asia Zawadzka-Lazuchiewicz

[@ItsMrFresh]

Very nice! I'm impressed! It's funny I never tried this before. Thanks for this great tutorial :)

[@bdelpesco]

Hi +Richard Robertson - I'm glad you liked the video. I hope your colored pencil experiments work out for you!

[@Yimengh]

Thank you for the great demo. I wonder why there are not more artists using this method? Seems such a great technique. I am learning colored pencil drawing. I thought watercolor can be great for background, under painting, skin color and shades for portraits. Do some artists think it’s cheating?

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Yimengh - I think a lot of artist do use this method. There are plenty of artists who might enjoy using it, but they may not know about it. Hence this demo. Some artists are very rule-based, and may not want to mix their media, so those folks might not try it, but overall, I know lots of artists who do, and it's great fun, so I hope you enjoy yourself with it!

[@Yimengh]

@@bdelpesco Hi Naraya, thank you so much for your quick reply. Your insider view is very helpful. I will definitely learn to paint & draw exactly as you demonstrated here. Thank you.

[@bdelpesco]

I wish you hours of joyful creating and I hope you post your painting progress where you’ll get feedback and encourage. 🤓

[@deyodie]

Very helpful,thank you

[@bdelpesco]

Thanks for stopping by, Debbie! :)

[@wewin4624]

Thank you so much you give me hope because you are teaching. I am 60 years old and have been very ill but I am feeling better and I want to do something with my life. I love to draw and paint. I want to get it to marketing my art but scared .I am learning watercolors and I love colored pencils.

[@bdelpesco]

Hi concernedmia - welcome to art! You can do this. Don't worry about marketing yet - just make lots and lots of art. Practice. It's just like cooking, gardening or sewing; the more you make, the better you get, and at the very least, you are creating something with your hands. Making things is restorative and good for you. Keep going. You'll be great. :)

[@erictaylor5854]

I love the way this brush looks. What size are you using in this video?

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Eric, The flat brush used to lay in the first washes is a Rosemary 16 Pure Sable Series 77, and the round used to add details is a Rosemary 12 Kolinsky Sable Series 33. Links to supplies on each video on my channel are in the Show More section under the video window. Happy painting!

[@erictaylor5854]

Belinda Del Pesco thank you so much for responding.

[@bdelpesco]

It's my pleasure, Eric. Rosemary & Co makes beautiful brushes! Nice family run business too. :)

[@TravelSmallLiveBig]

Super gorgeous!

[@bdelpesco]

Thanks! :)

[@intothemystic3374]

Thought it might work on my paper but didn't work on my very nubby watercolor paper. I tried both tissue blending and stub blender but "nubs" of paper showing through too much. Using prismacolor pencils.

[@bdelpesco]

Hi KR, I’m sorry to hear that. Can you tell me what weight, surface and manufacturer of WC paper you’re using?

[@intothemystic3374]

Hi Belinda. Its 100% cotton, cold pressed, 140 lb., Double sided, acid free by arteza "expert". Im a beginner and thinking the colored pencils are waxy enough. Can i watercolor over the the pencils?

[@intothemystic3374]

PS im not sure about surface other than its nubby not smooth.

[@bdelpesco]

@@intothemystic3374 I think I have some of that paper I purchased to test it with different media. I'll try to duplicate the issue and let you know what I find. And yes, you can watercolor over colored pencils - they're wax, pigment and oil bound, so the watercolor will just "bead" over them and sink into any exposed paper underneath.

[@bdelpesco]

@@intothemystic3374 OK, I'll check the pad I ordered, and see if our descriptions match.

[@carlaa.1617]

Thank you Belinda :)

[@novemberrain2184]

Hii belinda! Wanted to ask you , what cheaper colored pencils work better over watercolors? Prisma are very expensive .. i was wondering if fable castle does the trick?what do you recommend?

[@bdelpesco]

I was just writing about this! Have a look at the story linked in this post that reviews colored pencils! Perfect timing! wp.me/p5WQio-37x

[@novemberrain2184]

@@bdelpesco thank you!!

[@bdelpesco]

@@novemberrain2184 Good luck selecting colored pencils, and have so much fun!

[@intuitiveinspiredart4366]

Love this. Thank you for sharing. LINDA

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Linda, Thanks for the compliment! Happy Making! :)

[@intuitiveinspiredart4366]

I've been doing this on adult coloring books. It looks even better on actual art. : )

[@fiyahh13]

still helpful even in 2020. will do this! thank you :D

[@bdelpesco]

Thanks, Abby! I hope you do give it a twirl, and come back to let us know how much fun you had!

[@fiyahh13]

@@bdelpesco it was very fun! I painted a birch forest :) I'm glad I was able to really bring out details with the colored pencils. I'll definitely use this technique again :D

[@bdelpesco]

@@fiyahh13 Yayyyy! It worked for you! I'm so glad. And the more you do it, the better you'll get at layering soft color so it blends seamlessly into the watercolor. I've been using colored pencil and watercolors together for a few decades, and I *still* learn something new, every time! Happy Creating!

[@lisab.patterson9682]

love it!

[@bdelpesco]

Thanks, Lisa!

[@francoisederocher]

I have never used hot press paper, and I see that the paint flows differently, more smoothly than on cold press. Do you like it better than cold press or does it depend on what you are painting? I have the book" Making color sing " and it is soooo gorgeous.

[@bdelpesco]

Hello Francoise, yes, hot press and also plate finish bristol paper are *very* different from cold press. I recommend getting a sample pack so you can test each one. I use them all, depending on what I'm painting (subject) and the style I'm aiming for. Happy art-making & art-reading! :)

[@MissNausicaa87]

Hi Belinda, loved the tutorial, the final result looks great! I have a question regarding printmaking, I would really like to try it after watching your videos, but I'm not sure about the supplies. I don't want to spend a fortune off course, but I also don't want to buy the cheapest option (in my opinion it's rarely a good option). So based on your experience could you recommend to me some of the basic materials to try out printmaking? Thanks a lot, always looking forward to your videos :)

[@bdelpesco]

Hi MissNausicaa87 - thanks for the nice comments - I'm glad you're enjoying the video tutorials. Which kind of printmaking do you want to try; block printing, or intaglio printing?

[@MissNausicaa87]

Hi again Belinda, I'm thinking to start with block printing seems to be more simple for a beginner. Thank you for answering :)

[@bdelpesco]

Hi @MissNausicaa87 - there isn't a complete kit for relief printmaking available, which is unfortunate, but you can piece one together to give it a try: Speedball makes a "super value" block printing kit for just under $20, and you can supplement that with a packet of printmaking paper. There are links to those items in the 'show more' section of my linocut set up video: bit.ly/1HHoJ1Z. You'll need a block to carve, a knife to carve with, a brayer to roll out your ink & apply it to the carved block, paper to lay over the inked block, and a spoon from your kitchen to rub the back of the paper. Note: Try to get ink that washes up with water, but dries permanent *if* you plan to paint your print with watercolor. Some water-clean up inks will re-wet when you paint them, which makes a muddy mess. :)

[@MissNausicaa87]

+Belinda Del Pesco Thanks! I have found a nice kit from Speedball in store online, I think I will go for that one first. Thanks a lot for tip on the ink, I hand't thought about it.

[@glorialacoma9735]

I can't see well because the camera angle. But it's beautiful.

[@bdelpesco]

Hi Gloria - Thanks for the compliment and the feedback!

[@dorapasour7238]

Going to try this with a sailboat painting that details are not working for me. I'll post results.

[@bdelpesco]

+Dora Pasour that sounds great! I look forward to seeing your results!

[@Skinnychelle48]

I'm a newbie. Why do u tape down ur work?

[@bdelpesco]

Hi +Yvette Williams - watercolor is a wet medium & will buckle good quality watercolor paper (made from cotton fiber, so it shrinks) The paper was taped down before the painting was started to reduce the rippling. :)

[@jocelyne6600]

Like it! Thank you!!!!

[@bdelpesco]

Thanks, Jocelyne! :)

[@chainsawkitten3321]

You use a lot of Rosemary brushes, don't you?

[@bdelpesco]

Hi chainsawkitten - they are the best brushes I've ever used. :) I still have a smorgasbord of other types and brands, but these days, they have been my Go-To brush for everything watercolor related.

[@chainsawkitten3766]

I work less in WC than any other medium....but being the art supply addict that I am, have plenty of brushes anyway, find myself using Silver Black Velvet and Dick Blick's Masterstroke red sable. The Rosemary brushes look great..are you using the synthetic sable mix, and why that over the Rosemary pure sable?

[@bdelpesco]

+Chainsaw Kitten I just saw a review of the Silver Black Velvet on Steve Mitchell's channel (the World of Watercolor) so I might have to check that one out. Dick Blick Masterstroke appears to be out of stock. And I prefer the red sable mix because it has equal carrying capacity to the pure red sable, but just a bit more "spring" in the brush.

[@bdelpesco]

Thanks for the recommendation, +Edward Gee - I'll check them out at my next art supply shopping excursion! :)

[@jillellen2631]

Nice video but i think you need to get closer to your microphone. I could barely hear you so I watched most of the video on mute. Thanks

[@bdelpesco]

Sorry about that, Jill. Thanks for the feedback.