Prepare canvas with the watercolour ground. I find using a foam roller is the best way for a smooth finish. You will need 3 coats allowing about 2 hours between each coat to dry. You can use an old brush if you haven’t got a roller but it’s difficult to get rid of the brush marks.
Using a pencil, draw out a very simple snowdrop shape.
Mix up the watercolour paints, to the consistency of single cream, and start by applying the red, here and there, before adding the Lunar Black over the rest of the canvas. I find it helpful to rest my hand on a roll of masking tape to raise it up to the same level as the chunky canvas, rather than stretching my wrist all the time whilst painting.
Mix up some of the Aqua Bronze powder with a little water, (I put it in an old milk bottle top, not my palette). It will not harm your brush, but to be on the safe side, I’d use an older brush as some of the gold particles will remain in the bristles for the next few times that you use it. Paint on the gold mixture here and there on the canvas, going over the top of the red and black.
Using a clean wet brush (not dripping), gently touch the petals of the snowdrop, here and there, allowing the paint to drift onto the clean white areas. Encourage some of the Lunar Black to run in behind the little centre of the snowdrop to suggest shadow on the petal at the back. Don’t over do this as you still need to leave plenty of white showing.
When the paint is nearly dry, spatter some of the black and red paint by tapping the end of your brush into the damp paint. When painting in the ‘ovary’, (the very top of the flower), leave the right hand side a little lighter. Also, using the gold, paint in a stem coming out from the ovary and travelling down behind the right hand petal to the bottom of the canvas. Leave to dry completely. To protect the canvas from any moisture damage, I use Schmincke Aquarelle Fixative spray. If the sides of the canvas have paint on them, use a damp cloth to wipe it off. If it remains stained, paint round the edges with white gouache or acrylic.
