Double dipping

I really like the double dipping way of making flowers.
But somehow they usually don't turn out so well. They often seem to be too wet.
So the effect of double dipping is lost.

Does anyone has some technical advice how to improve them besides practising

Don't make them too wet?!

Sorry....
Had to practise this a lot, and it really helped not to wet the paint too much. Specially the second dip is almost dry. I do have enough 'wetness' in my brush to pick up the second colour.

I have practiced these a lot too. I have found the same as L!zzie - if my first colour loaded is wet enough, I don't even wet the second colour cake. Had a nightmare with flowers that dribbled down faces before that! Not a nice look!!!

Load your brush really well with CREAMY paint - not "wet". I never wet the secondary color, just stroke over it several times. It's definitely a matter of practice. Also, choose a darker secondary color than what you need... for example; for pink flowers, I always use my wine berry plum color.

I wipe the tip of the brush off after loading first color....just against side of container. Keeps colors a little more defined.

One thing that helped me (still not as nice as other painters though) was the thing that martha suggested (but I tap a towel), and then load more than you think you have to so there is enough accent color to last as long as the main color you just loaded.

If you want a cheater way to do a lot of blossoms, you can lay down a dot and then press flowers into it.

I forgot about those, but I like hem too!!

martha wrote:I wipe the tip of the brush off after loading first color....just against side of container. Keeps colors a little more defined.

That is something I didn't consider!
I usually wipe at the edge of the container after loading the first color.
But still often it is still too wet...

ooooo love the cheat!!

A New Face wrote:ooooo love the cheat!!

ME TOO!!!

Yes, me too. The cheat is great. Thanks Denise

Denise Cold wrote:One thing that helped me (still not as nice as other painters though) was the thing that martha suggested (but I tap a towel), and then load more than you think you have to so there is enough accent color to last as long as the main color you just loaded.

If you want a cheater way to do a lot of blossoms, you can lay down a dot and then press flowers into it.

I love your cheater way tip.... thanks Denise

Creabella wrote:

martha wrote:I wipe the tip of the brush off after loading first color....just against side of container. Keeps colors a little more defined.

That is something I didn't consider!
I usually wipe at the edge of the container after loading the first color.
But still often it is still too wet...

If your paint is still wet (as in dripping) on your brush, you need to cream it up a bit more, load your brush until you get the non drippy cream consistency, THEN double dip the tip. Either that or use less water. I'm grasping at straws here without knowing HOW you load your brush.

I love the cheat, my fp OCD keeps me from double dipping.. I can't stand to mess up the top of my paint... Arghhh I think i may need meds for it.

Densie I love them Cheater Flowers...brilliant!!

I love the Cheater Flowers too!!! Denise!!

Ella i test mine on my arm before using it. I too usually get it too wet. by the second flower it works well.

eva wrote:I love the cheat, my fp OCD keeps me from double dipping.. I can't stand to mess up the top of my paint... Arghhh I think i may need meds for it.

LOL I seriously am starting to think we are related!!! lol.

Hello everyone! I am new and this is my first post... oops... should have gone into the introductions thread first, (Kathy from Australia here) but I just wanted to ask a quick question... is there a way of cleaning up your paints after you have double dipped? I've just been practicing and my lovely red paint now looks pink with whitish smears all through it!! eek!! While it does give a beautiful effect for the flowers, I'm not sure it's worth losing the vibrance of the paints mixing them up like this... Or maybe my brush was too wet... I wish I'd read this thread before I tried this technique!!

Dear ambercat:
I wipe my paint with a baby wipe to clean the white paint off the top.

Oh thanks so much Lisa! My baby wipes are right here.. I never even thought to try them!! Thanks again!!

I have adopted the "dot first" method, which I learned from my good friend, Melina Kilpatrick (an amazing painter!) It is so much faster than the double loading method. The trick is to make sure your dots are moist enough so when you add the petals the dot color will bleed into the petals.

Could u post a picture Miss Ronnie if it is not too much to ask?

A New Face wrote:ooooo love the cheat!!

Me 3! What a great idea Thanks

I love the look of double dipping, I test a few petals on my arm first to make sure they're not dripping.
I never thought of dipping the secondary colour dry, that would solve my problem! Now to find my flower brush... I seem to have lost it...

Jobena1: I went to your website and I would like to know about the pictures on the board. Did you use plastic pockets? if so where do you get them.