Mike's Valentine

I'm posting this after Valentine's Day, because of course I didn't want Mike to see it before I gave it to him!  I used Lucy and Ricky from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps on hot press water color paper, and water coloured them with Twinkling H20's.
To make the black fur, I layered two colours alternately: Burnt Umber and Bolivian Blue.  I prefer to use two colours to make black (or really grey in this case) because with a mix of two colours, you avoid that flat appearance.  Theres a lot more vibrancy and life in the grey where you sometimes see the brown more dominant, and sometimes see the blue showing through.
For the grass, I first did a light wash of green and then while it was still damp, I added flicking brushstrokes, with a lot of pigment but not much water on my brush.

He loved his card!  It was a challenge to make a Valentine that wasn't too "frilly" or "flowery" for my guy.  I think it turned out all right!

Thanks for visiting and God bless you!