This new art print is originally from my Envelopes of Joy project, so some of you may have seen it before, even though it is brand new to the shop. You can read more about Envelopes of Joy here.
The Design Process
I've had the idea of a flower as an illustration to go with this verse for a long time, but every time I tried to paint it, it was never quite right. So I put the idea to one side for a while. Fast forward over a year, and it was time to begin getting ready for the next Envelope of Joy design. Each month I spend time praying about what the verse should be and I really felt it was to be Colossians 2 v 7 with some red tulips. This design has actually ended up incredibly similar to the original paintings I tried, but this worked first time. Just shows that in God's timing, things work better!
To me, the splatters of red coming from the tulip show the 'overflowing' and the stem needs to be strong just like we need to be strengthened. (We'll ignore that fact that tulips are well known for becoming droopy quite quickly - then again, look what happens when they aren't connected to the roots!)
How It's Made
I usually create each print in parts - mainly because if I make a mistake with one thing, I don't have to start again! Sometimes the original piece is all one together, but if I'm making it as a product, I do it in sections to enable better editing digitally. I begin with the painting which is usually done with watercolours. I then draw out the text separately, although for this particular print it is more written than fancy writing. I do this separately to enable me to play about with layout and text size without damaging the painting with endless rubbing out. The next stage is to scan everything in and put it all together (I use photoshop). Here I can play about with the layout again and ensure that everything is neat and tidy. Finally, it's ready to print and send to it's new home.
This design is now available to purchase in various sizes in the shop.