Stamping & Ink Painting: Andy Skinner's Our Favourite Place Stamp Tutorial

Stamp the image
Place mixed media card onto a stamping platform.
Ink the Our Favourite Place Rubber Stamp with Jet Black Archival Ink (permanent, so it won’t run when water and inks are applied).
Because mixed media card has texture, stamp firmly, then re-ink and stamp a second time for a crisp image.
Allow the stamped image to dry completely.

Prepare the card
Lightly mist the reverse of the card with water, then mist the front. This helps prevent warping.
Use a soft brush to spread the water evenly across the surface. The card should be damp but not soaked.

Paint the sky and sea
Add a drop of Turquoise Blue and Cobalt Blue Hue Cosmic Shimmer Water-Based Ink to your palette.
With a soft brush and plenty of water, wash Turquoise Blue into the sky area. The pre-dampened card will help the ink flow smoothly without harsh lines.
Mix Cobalt Blue Hue with a little Turquoise and wash this into the sea, blending down toward the sand.
Avoid painting directly over the two girls if possible – any stray colour can be removed later with bleach.

Add clouds with bleach
Using a soft brush dipped in thin household bleach, gently swirl in circular motions over the sky to lift colour and create subtle cloud shapes.
For this wet-into-wet technique, always use a heavy-duty card (e.g. 350gsm mixed media card) to prevent damage.

Create a wax resist for reflections
Rub clear wax from a candle across the reflection area on the sand.
This resist will preserve lighter areas where you’ll later add detail.

Paint the sand
Mix Mushroom Ink with a little French Mustard Ink, heavily diluted with water, for a sandy wash.
Paint across the beach area, letting the wax resist keep parts of the reflection light.
Deepen the colour near the waterline and softly fade out towards the bottom of the tag.
Add touches of the sandy colour into the sea to tie the tones together.

Colour the girls
Use Plum Ink (diluted) for the dress of the girl on the right.
Use a mix of Marigold Ink and Mushroom Ink for the girl on the left – this tones down the brightness of Marigold to match the muted palette.
Add shadows with slightly darker mixes where hair or folds would naturally cast shade.
Paint skin areas with Buff Ink.

Paint the reflections
With Turquoise, lightly wash into the puddles on the beach.
Use Plum for the reflection of the girl in the plum dress, and Marigold/Mushroom for the reflection of the other girl.

Add white details
Use Posca white paint pens (thick and fine nibs) to add highlights.
Add sea foam where waves meet the shore, white lines across wave breaks and small highlights on the girls’ shoulders.
Build up details gradually, switching between thicker and finer pens for variation.

Finishing touches
Round the tag corners with a corner punch.
Add a punched hole and finish with ribbon or sari silk.

Your watercolour-style tag is now complete, featuring the Our Favourite Place stamp with atmospheric sky, sea and reflections.