This watercolor project is great for beginning watercolor artists. Making a custom project for yourself or a gift for anyone on your Christmas list. The painting skill level needed to complete this project ranges from beginner to advanced based upon the type of art that you feel comfortable starting.
The calendar consists of 12 pages, one for each month. An added feature to this project is that each page of the calendar is another gift. The space for the art that you create is roughly 4 x 6. At the end of the year, the art for each month could be cut out and placed in a standard 4 x 6 frame creating an additional gift. The art could also be placed in a 5 x 7 mat with a 4 x 6 opening and placed in a frame.
This is a calendar sheet before art is added.
Each sheet is made from a half - 9 x 12 sheet of watercolor paper or 9 x 6.
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The photos below are some examples of art that could be used for your project. A simple landscape, abstract design with a Bible verse written with a Sharpie, or an abstract with an interesting border.
The example below is a loose landscape design. This painting was done on a half - 9 x 12 piece of paper. To incorporate this painting into your calendar reduce the size of the painting to fit the space. You could also up the size of your calendar to a full 9 x 12 sheet of paper giving you more room to have a bigger painting.
The painting below shows the first layer. Water was applied to the paper then the colors were added. This work uses three paint colors: Sepia, Cerulean and Ultramarine Blue. The shades of blue were applied with a #10 flat brush to indicate clouds and a grove of trees. Sepia was added to indicate land.
In the above painting, a wash of plain water was added to the bottom of the painting to allow all of the colors to blend. The overall goal of this design is to create the indication of a landscape.
After the first layer dries, add the trees. Using the same paint colors that were used in the background to create the trees. A rigor brush was used to create the trees. A tip I learned for creating realistic trees is to use a photograph of a tree as reference while you are painting rather than trying to paint a tree from memory. The results are much better.
This next example is created using cadmium orange, yellow ocher, sepia and Indian red. Water was applied to the background, color was added creating the indication of a Fall sunset with a great orange sky. A layer of sepia was applied to create the indication of the land mass. An additional wash of water was added to blend the colors and bring them down to the end of the paper.
Trees were added using Indian red.
This is a great project for individuals or groups. The age range for this project would be teen to adult due to the detail needed in measuring and lining up the days of the month.
Supplies
The supplies needed are 6 - 9x12 watercolor sheets, watercolor paint, brushes, water basin, scissors, pencil, ruler, eraser, sharpie, hole punch, string and a 2019 calendar. I used 160 lb watercolor paper purchased at Michaels. The string used for this project was twine that I already had in my supply closet. Selecting ribbon, yarn or string could also be used. Depending upon the detail of the art that you create, a variety of brush sizes would be needed. The paint colors needed would also vary depending upon the subject matter.
Beginning the project....
As you cut your paper, cut an extra sheet to make a template and have an extra sheet in case you make a mistake. The days of the month need to be added to your calendar. I created a template with all the marks so that each page of your calendar has the same spacing. Creating the template makes adding the lines easier, you will not have to measure and mark the lines for each page of your project. Do the measuring once and use the template. It is probably a good idea to go back check the measurements with a ruler before you start added the permanent numbers and letters. Using a template will make the entire process go faster.
In the example below, notice the month is written at the bottom. The year is also at the bottom. This design allows the art to be the main focus of the calendar.
NOTE: Use light pencil marks for each step, this will make erasing them easier.
Beginning at the bottom of the page with your pencil mark a one inch up from the bottom and make a small mark on both sides of the paper to use as a guide to draw a line across the page. The spacing at the bottom for the name of the month is 1 inch up from the bottom. The next mark is up 2 inches up from the first line and put a mark on both sides as a guide. This will ensure that the letters for the month are uniform on the page. The letters are 2 inches tall.
The page is 6 inches wide, to center the name of the month on the line, divide the letters in half and begin with the center letter, put this letter at the 3 inch mark, which is the center of that line. If you are writing March, there are 5 letters in the word, R is the middle letter. On your line at the center, the 3 inch mark, write the letter R. Begin to add the remaining letters on either side of the R to create the correct spacing needed for each letter. You can use a pencil to create each letter and later use a sharpie to trace the letters for the final project. If hand written lettering is not for you try stencils, stamps, or stickers.
The columns for each week of the month are spaced 1 inch, allow for 5 weeks in a month make marks going up the left side of the paper and again on the right side. This will allow you to line up your ruler on the marks to make a light line to add the numbers.
You will also need to add marks across the top of the lines you created to create the columns for each day of the week to your calendar. You will need 7 columns. To create 7 evenly spaced columns on the 6 inch wide sheet of paper, you will begin by creating a 1/4 inch mark from each edge. At this mark measure out 1 inch, each mark will be 1 inch apart.
Your template is created and now you can use it to create each of the months of the year. Make sure you have a calendar for the year to use as reference This will ensure that you start each month out on the correct day.
In the example above, January 2019 has five weeks in that month. Notice that there are 7 columns, one for each day of the week. The 1st day of January 2019 is in the 3rd column, indicating that it begins on a Tuesday. I chose not to include the day of the week to this calendar, this detail could easily be added above the numbers. I chose not to include it so I would have more room for my art project.
Once the twelve pages are created for your project, the next step is to add your art. The examples above for art options could be used or check on youtube.com for more ideas. You could also create individual paintings on separate paper and add them to the calendar sheet. This method could also be used if your painting does not turn out the way you want and it could be covered up with a new painting. Make sure that you leave a top border above your artwork, you will use this space to hole punch the pages to hang your calendar. This will ensure that your artwork is not damaged to allow for framing.
We will now explore ways to hang the project.
My favorite way to hang this project is using a two-hole punch and jute string or twine. If you have access to a two hole punch the holes will be spaced evenly and the holes on each page will be uniform. The string is 12 inches, folded in half with a slip knot at the end.
Thread the string up from the back, through the hole, notice that the knot is in the back. Thread it across the top down through the hole. Then loop the end over the knot and hang.
You may also use a binder clip if you do not have a hole punch. Using an easel is another option, a variety of sizes may be purchased at Dollar Tree or even Hobby Lobby. You may decide to frame each sheet, use one frame and change out the sheet each month.
Hope you enjoy this project. Let me know how yours turned out. If you have any questions, please let me know how I can help.
Thanks for reading along,
Tanya
Prints of my artwork available at Fine Art America, here is the link:
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