A unique feature that can be seen in some of Kelly's artwork is a stroke of rainbow color on an otherwise black and white sketch. Read more about Kelly and her artistic background here. Keep reading to see how to add a fun pop of color to your artwork in three steps with Arteza's Watercolor Paint and a few paintbrushes!
Supplies Needed:
Smaller Paint Brush
Large Paint Brush (Or as wide as you want your rainbow to be)
Watercolor Paint
Optional: Waterproof Pen/Pencil Sketch
Preparation
First, decide how wide you'd like the rainbow stroke on your paper to be, and grab a paintbrush that can create that. You don't need a super wide brush if you don't have one handy. However, a smaller brush will have difficulty achieving the same effect depending on how large you want your rainbow to be. Next, saturate the paintbrush of your choice with clean water so that the watercolors will glide on smoothly. Now that the paintbrush is prepared, you can move on to the next step!
Painting the Paint Brush
Choose the watercolor you'll start with, and gently paint the paintbrush in sections. In this demonstration, Kelly begins with red, but you can start with any color you like. You'll want to apply the watercolors quickly, so the water doesn't dry. Kelly notes that the rainbow paint stroke you create will probably be pretty light, so if you've added a lot of paint and it's 'too much,' it is likely just the right amount. Another tip Kelly suggests is to paint both sides of the paintbrush to ensure the color is saturated. Additionally, if you have watercolor in tubes, you can use those for this technique.
Continue applying the sections color by color until the rainbow is finished. In addition to a rainbow, this technique can also be used for any gradient you like!
Applying the Rainbow
Before you put the rainbow on your artwork, Kelly highly suggests trying it out on a blank piece of paper. A lot of the time, there will be some bleeding between colors at the tip of the brush, which is OK, but it is better to test to ensure you like the effect before adding it to your artwork. This is also an excellent option if you don't have a waterproof work of art ready but still want to try this technique!
Once you are satisfied with the effect, you can add the rainbow to your work of art! Simply position the rainbow where you want it and slowly move the stroke in whatever direction. It is important that whatever medium you have used is waterproof, whether it be a pencil or pen. Otherwise, despite the medium being dry, it may smudge with the addition of water.
Voila! Now you can add a pop of color to any of your artwork. We encourage you to try making rainbows and gradients and experiment with different widths of overlay in your next work of art! Be sure to share your work with us on Instagram!
