I use Arches 260lb, cold pressed paper that is taped on all sides to a corrugated plastic board. In the above image you can see that the entire painting has been drawn onto the paper and I have started painting the top section. I paint a section at a time to completion. I do this so that I can establish my values from the beginning. One of the first things I noticed with the QOR paints is that they dry almost exactly the way they look when they are wet. Most watercolor paints dry about 10% lighter but these held their saturated color on the first wash. 

my painting. 

Pyrole Red Light was used for the strong reds in the painting. It behaved beautifully and gave me a strong red. I usually glaze my reds with an orange to get the perfect shade but this was gorgeous straight out of the tube. Ardoise Gray mixed with a little Ultramarine Marine Blue was a good combo for the glass on the teapot. I usually prefer Payne's Gray, I didn't happen to have the QOR Payne's Gray so I used Ardoise and Ultramarine Blue.  I still prefer a Payne's Gray.  I will have to add the QOR Payne's Gray tube to my collection and see how it performs.

I used my ruling pen and ruler to achieve the straight lines and to get perfect text. A ruling pen is a graphic design tool that can be filled with ink, or in my case I filled it with watercolor paint, and applied like a pen to give a little more control. I use my ruling pen for an applicator for masking fluid as well. 

Ruling Pen

Isn’t the Cobalt Teal gorgeous in the middle of that teapot. The abstractions in this teapot make me so happy. I especially love the stacked books in the glass knob on the lid and the way the text was distorted in the spout of the teapot. The way the colors just split in the middle just made this composition magical. I again used the Cadmium Yellow Light for the bright yellows. Indian yellow was used to give it some depth around the edges. I can not say enough about how gorgeous the blues are in the QOR collection. Cerulean can be a very granulated color in other brands but the QOR Cerulean went on so smoothly. The Ultramarine Blue and Ultramarine Blue Violet are just stunning. Phtlalo Blue Green Shade is a new favorite of mine. It is gorgeous. I used it a lot in the Rubens book and the Sargent book. I also used it around the edges of the Cobalt Teal in the middle of the teapot. Burnt Sienna Natural and Sepia were used for the brown tones in the middle of the teapot. 

My QOR palette for the painting "Tea With Friends".

I am very excited to be traveling to Orlando, Florida this September to teach a 4 day workshop.  I will be going through my entire process from start to finish.  I love teaching and sharing all of the knowledge and tips I have picked up throughout my journey.  Join me and we will have a wonderful time.  www.floridawatercolorsociety.org.  There is also an amazing watercolor convention that FWS holds during the same time as my workshop.  I have never been and am super excited to attend, demo and check out the convention.  Hope to see you there!!