If you are looking for the Life Imitates Doodles Weekly Wednesday Giveaway #16 , you can find it here.
Doodlewash prompt ‘Baby Blues’.
Pencil to Paint is a bit misleading for today’s mini-tutorial because I didn’t use either pencil or paint, lol.
Using tea or coffee to stain your paper is well-known technique for achieving gorgeous golden browns but now we have butterfly pea flower tea, which turns a beautiful blue.
I decided to see what kind of effect I could get from this tea. A little research showed that it is used as a natural food and clothing dye, so I thought it should be great for paper, too.
Once my tea had steeped for about 8 minutes (going from a clear light blue to midnight blue) I put the wet flowers onto my paper and pushed it around with a cheap brush. Gotta say – I love the color!
I kept squeezing the flowers to release more tea, and I discovered that I achieved a lovely indigo color. However, I found that in some lights it looks almost violet.
Is there a drawback to using this tea? Um. Yeah. Remember I said it was used for a clothing dye? Well, the color bleed right through the paper and onto the photo backdrop I use for my videos. Waaaah! I haven’t been able to get it out. So don’t wear your party clothes or use it around your good furniture! That probably goes for drinking it too, if you are the klutz I am.
I decided to try the tea on a more absorbent paper. The flowers from the tea were still wet (hours later!) and still had lots of color, so I used the same flowers on IndigoArts Hot Pressed mixed media paper.
I saw what looked like an eye, and immediately saw the drawing for today’s prompt.
THUNDERBIRD HATCHES!!!!
Isn’t he the cutest little baby? Not! Thunderbird is serious business right out of the egg!
Artwork-Blue Tea and Zebra PM-701 on IndigoArts Hot Pressed Watercolor paper
On the Cézanne piece, where I’d left the pea flowers on for much longer, there were all sorts of shapes from the outline of the flowers. I’ve been working in Charlie O’Shields Sketching Stuff Activity book, and I decided that I’d use the outline shapes and just draw separate little images (lots of birds in there!). It’s rather busy, but was great fun. I may or may not paint over this are some point and create something else entirely.
Artwork-Blue Tea and Zebra Pen Technical Pen on Hahnemühle Cézanne Cold Pressed Watercolor paper
Wanna buy some of these cool toys now?
Hahnemühle Cézanne Watercolor Blocks (Review)
- DaVinci Artist Supply
- Cheap Joes
- Hyatt’s All Things Creative
- Rochester Art Supply FineArtStore
- Acuity Papers
Life Imitates Doodles 
Now this is right up my alley it is blue, it is free (after you buy the tea which might be delicious) and it is different. I have been experimenting with plain old food coloring and I like it also found a recipe for home made gesso which I am enjoying. Fun stuff!
Oh, the gesso sounds interesting! The tea has a very mild flavor. Very different from the actual tea leaf.
http://www.ourdailycraft.com/2015/02/10/gesso-make-gesso/ I am definitely going to keep trying this. It is fun trying to make your own materials.
Now I am wondering about the flowers in my yard and even some grass. Might be interesting!
I’m sure that many of them would be dyes. I’d research though, because some might be toxic!
PS Happy Birthday!
Thank you so much!
Um, I may have to go shopping for tea now … 🙂
It’s an interesting tea. Very mild flavor.
Neat info about the tea. Love the colour. Hmmmm might be great for dyeing cloth, too, and thread (I’m also an embroiderer). As always, your art is so much fun!
It would be great for dyeing cloth and thread – it’s used for that purpose and it is a beautiful color.
Such a fantastic idea, ill be on the look out for some special teas. Must say your art pieces are stunning.
Don’t color over it. It is so great the way it is. Happy Birthday
Thank you, Susie! I suspect I will end painting over it – it keeps calling to me!
Wow happy birthday sandra and you sure are amazingly creative.
Its amazing how the. Shapes just pop out to you. I think it takes creativity, experience and talent to create like this.
Its beautiful and fantastic
Thank you, Lynne! I do seem to have an eye for finding shapes. I keep meaning to do a tutorial for that. It’s on the list – honest!