I have finally completed painting the calla lilies for the wedding invitation set! They did take a little longer than expected (hence the gap in time since my last post!) however, I am very pleased with the outcome. All 60 have also been cut out and are ready for mounting! 
Check back soon for the next step and more pictures! Also, I will be posting shortly about my hand painted/hand cut Mother's Day cards...if interested, place your orders ASAP! :)
Yay! It's time for my favorite part of the invitation process....PAINTING! I love the challenge of painting an image like this calla lily multiple times. It's amazing to me every time how it begins to take on a life of it's own and each painting ends up similar, yet different. I have created a time-lapse video featuring one sheet of five invites being painted. Check it out below!
As you can see I work in layers, building up the color with each one. I start with the lightest color and go darker each time. Watercolor is a great medium for wedding invitations--I like how they provide a delicate yet striking look and can be manipulated so easily to create a dreamy and soft feel. I do have to work primarily wet-on-dry (rather than wet-on-wet, wet paint on wet paper) due to the fact that I have chosen not to stretch this watercolor paper--I have to keep the paint as dry as possible to avoid buckling in the paper. Once this sheet is done I still have many more to go!
For a better quality version of the video, visit www.facebook.com/BeckySorrentinoStudio
I line up the template, pencil lead side down, to one of the invites and begin tracing over the drawing. By applying pressure while tracing, the lead transfers the image to the watercolor paper, leaving me a faint impression for painting.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Transfer the image as many times as needed. Over time, my templates tend to wear out and the paper begins to tear slightly or the image gradually becomes distorted too much for my liking. In that case, I just create a new one.
These pictures are faint, I know, but that is good for me! The lighter the lines that transfer, the less erasing and 'cleaning' up I have to do in the end. To get a better look, click on an image to enlarge. Next step is to begin painting!
Usually after sketching things out this way and that, I end up with a good idea of which direction to take but it will not be clear until I try out the ideas hands-on. Then, more decisions need to be made: What color do I want the flower to be? Do I only want there to be one flower for sure? Orange-ish? Red-ish? Should it be centered? Shifted right or left? Larger? Smaller? I like the idea of using a transparent vellum overlay to print the invitation wording on...so how will the painting look best underneath that and how bold should it be painted to convey the appropriate feel both with and without that vellum?? The best way to sift through these options is to actually try painting and layering it.
Mind boggling, I know.
But then there's more!
I will be mounting the painting to cardstock thus opening the door to a whole new slew of decisions to be made: this will be for an autumn wedding; golden oranges, browns, tans, earthy greens, deep eggplant and plum violets all make for great coordinating colors...but what looks best with the orange calla? And what are the actual colors of the wedding??
So, after some of those decisions are narrowed down, I can finally start creating!
Next step: MATH (yes, I said it) and transferring the image!
