You Will Need

A stamp

Acrylic block

Versafine black ink

Good quality watercolour paper

Tim Holtz Distress Inks - click here to view a range of Distress Inks available for purchase at Pink Gem Designs

A water brush

A Spare peice of watercolour paper for cleaning the brush

Stamping the Image

Stamp the image onto good quality watercolour paper using versafine ink

The Skin

Using  ‘tattered rose’ pick up the ink from the pad with the waterbrush and apply to the outer edge of the face leaving the middle clean where the light is shining

Quickly clean the brush on the spare piece of paper  and blend the ink line so it gently fades to the middle of the face

Repeat ths process a few times as the ink dries to build up the the colour and do the same with the hands

Clean the brush again and using  ‘Worn Lipstick’ dab the cheeks with a little of the ink. Quickly clean the brush and soften the edges of the cheeks with the clear water.  I added a bit more ink than I would have liked here  as I was trying to take a photo at the same time so Milly does look a bit flushed lol!

The Hair

Clean the brush again and using  ‘Tea Dye’ add a light wash over the hair

Repeat the process of building the colour as the ink dries concentrating the colour more where you think the shadows would be. Don’t worry about scuffing the paper by wetting it too much as this does not happen with watercolour paper.........it will take all the wetting you want to give it!

Clothes

I want Milly’s Jumper to stay white but just to add a bit of shadowing I pick up a little ‘Broken China’ and paint it onto the spare paper until the ink is a very pale shade

I then apply it to the shadow areas on her white jumper

I complete Milly’s clothes in the same way as before by building the colour but leaving areas very pale where the light would be shining. Remember to keep cleaning the brush to soften the ink lines with clear water. This makes the darker areas fade gently into the lighter ones.

I used ‘Faded Jeans’ for Milly’s Jeans and ‘Shabby Shutters’  for the holly leaves