ScrawlrTips: #107 ScrawlrBox

Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolours Sketchers' Pocket Box

Featured In  #107 ScrawlrBox

We realise you may have never seen or used products like this before so we have put together a few hints and tips and techniques to test out and get the best from these supplies. 

Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolours Sketchers' Pocket Box (Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red Pale Hue, Crimson Alizarin, Ultramarine, Intense Blue, Emerald Green, Sap Green, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber and China White)

Your new bestie for painting on the go! There is 170 years of expertise invested in the Cotman collection coming together to form this popular pocket sized box. The set features 12 half pans of stunning Winsor and Newton watercolours plus an integrated mixing palette in the lid and a travel friendly paintbrush. Handy. These paints possess good transparency, excellent tinting strength and good working properties.

Watch The Tips & Tricks Video Here

Top Tip From Chris
ScrawlrBox Founder

Wet-on-Wet

Watercolour Touch: as the name suggests, this is two wet areas of paint coming together on the page to form a bloom. Wet the areas you want first, then apply the pigment to watch them bloom together.

Top Tip From Kat
ScrawlrBox Creative Designer

Mixing

This palette contains 12 colours however you can make an abundance of new colours with these.

Something fun to try: choose two colours and mix them together in varying levels.

Start with a circle of your pure colour one end of your paper, and work your second colour in bit by bit on your palette, applying to your page as you do so. Keep adding more until you’re at full strength of the second colour.

Artist Advice 

Rosemary Baker
Featured Artist, 107 ScrawlrBox

Behind The Artwork 

I started the painting by sketching it out on plain paper, with lots of erasing and starting over.

Once I finalized my sketch, I used a lightbox to transfer the image onto watercolor paper with a fineliner ink pen.

 I applied blue painter’s tape to mask the edges. After the ink dried, I carefully covered the flowers and the mouse with masking fluid to preserve them, using a brush and a dip pen.

 Next, I painted the background and leaves, first wet on wet, and then additional layers of glazing to create the depth in the leaves.

Then I removed the masking fluid, and painted the mouse and the flowers. Each bloom just needed a tiny bit of shading to bring it to life.

 Finally, the satisfying tape peel and the painting was complete.