In the Studio

  • In the Studio

    Commissioned Watercolor: Start to Finish

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    Yesterday I showed you one way I work from photos, and today I’m showing you the more literal way I sometimes work from photos for commissioned watercolors. In my commissioned watercolors, I start with a pencil sketch. If a client wants me to crop out sections of the photograph or zoom into an portion, that is even more fun! While I was lucky in the case above in that the photo was gorgeous to begin with, there may be instances where a beloved photo did not turn out as you intended, or has a distracting element in it that you’d rather have removed. Turning not so good photos into watercolors is a great way to showcase the reason you love a photo and turn it into a piece of artwork that will last for generations to come.

    To view the work in progress post for this painting, go here.

    Top photo by Maryanna Scarpato. Painting by Hand-Painted Weddings.

  • In the Studio

    In the Studio: Custom Peacock Invitation

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    I recently worked with a couple who was interested in a custom peacock invitation design. The couple came to me with a decided theme, but I am happy to work through a few ideas or ask a series of questions to help create a great concept for your invitations!

    This custom theme was a lot of fun because I was able to work from a still life…the peacock feather (shown above). The bride shared with me a few details about their wedding plans, which helped me in the creation of this invitation, such as the bridesmaids’ dress color (turquoise), the wedding venue wall colors (soft teal), and the couple’s overall desired color combination (jewel tones). I love hearing about all the details of a wedding!

    The couple decided to print their invitations on a warm white/cream paper instead of a bright white.

    Please see the Custom Invitations link to view the details of the Custom Invitation Process.