Embroidered Collage

I had really enjoyed making these watercolor atcs for a swap, so I decided to play with the technique again, using what I had learned about dabbing the bits of color on top of each other.  I started with yellow and went darker, varying how much of each color was on each card, also adding a wash for the ground along the way.  I did all six at once.  If you think the sky is a little blue then you're right, that's the actual color of the watercolor paper that I was using.

The interesting part for me was next - for three atcs I added some extra water, smoothing the little dabs into each other for a wall of color.  But for one I blotted the entire piece with a paper towel, achieving more of a ghost-like effect, or perhaps as if mist was obscuring the view.  I left two of the cards alone so the dabs could dry as they had been applied.  I really enjoyed seeing how these turned out.

After the cards were fully dry I used Pitt artist brush pens with India ink to draw in the tree trunks.  I played a bit here too, trying out different shapes and branchings.  I was afraid that the trunks done this way were going to look childish and ruin the cards but they fit well.  It's certainly not realistic that a line of trees would look this way, but that wasn't really the point.  The effect was the point and I was able to create something similar to what I envisioned.  I'm really starting to like watercolors more...