Sunlit Coconuts Lesson 11

Quinicridone Gold becomes my focus color today. I have used it to glaze a gold wash over the coconuts and several other areas of the painting. This wash doesn't have to be terribly strong, but I still saved some of the white areas on the coconuts to show where the sun was hitting directly on the object.

It never ceases to amaze me how valuable one light glaze of a certain color can illuminate a painting! The sun here in Florida is really strong and it casts deep, dark shadows. The contrasts of warm, bright, sunlit areas against cool, blue, soft shadows are really striking. Quinicridone Gold is one of my favorite colors for producing this effect.

Here I have also used Prussian Blue, carefully to develop a few of the deep impressions on the trunk and here and there within the shadows. Prussian is a very intense, staining color, so use it with caution! A little goes a long way!

Sunlit Coconuts Lesson 8

Today I have added another wash of Aureolin Yellow to the coconuts. By leaving some of the sparkling white of the paper, I can show the crisp light shining on the coconuts. Glazing the yellow over several areas creates a subtle warmth and shower of sunlight to this piece.

I glazed some yellows onto vine areas above and below the coconuts. Vary the edges for interest and depth.

You can paint along with this lesson if you would like. To get the pdf file of the reference photo and the drawing, go to my etsy online store, click on the Online Class icon, and let me know you would like the coconuts lesson. For $5.00 you get the drawing and references, and you can follow along with the lesson as we go.

Sunlit Coconuts Lesson 7

Using the various colors that were implemented in the previous washes from the beginning, I begin to develop the darker values and details around the piece.

Look carefully at your reference and compare your painting so far with the reference. Search for areas that require warmth in color and add the Burnt Sienna, Winsor Red and VanDyke Brown. Look for areas that can be pushed cooler and use the greens and blues. You can introduce other colors here if you like. 
Pay attention to the shadow sides of the vines and paint in little half-moon and semi-circular shapes to indicate some of the intricate depressions in the vines. Soften edges with a clean, damp brush here and there to create depth and soft details.

When softening an edge, pull the clean, damp brush INTO the still-moist pigment. If you pull from the pigment to the clean paper, you will only pull the pigment out, dilute it, and create another crisp edge. If you pull the water INTO the pigment from the dry area, the edge will be softened without dragging the pigment out where it isn't desired.

Sunlit Coconuts Lesson 5

Burnt Sienna is glazed over the darker areas of the tree at this point. The blue under-painting must be totally dry before this application is made. When glazing colors be sure to use a very light touch. If you over-brush, or push too firmly on the brush, you will lift the first glaze, mixing the color applications together and creating mud. Use the Burnt Sienna here and there on a few select vines under the coconuts. Work over a very small area with jabbing-type strokes, then quickly rinse your brush clean, touch it to your paper toweling, and touch some of the edges of the still-wet strokes to soften them. Be sure to keep this non-uniform. It is supposed to look organic, not patterned or polka-dotted.

I used Winsor Red to add a few touches of light, warm tones to the flowers under the coconuts. VanDyke Brown was used in the tree trunk and on some of the viney branches to create shadows.
Take your time, be selective and practice the brushwork. It can make all the difference in the world when working on organic objects. Allow the edges to be "lost and found", but softening some edges with clear water, and other edges to remain crisp.

Sunflower Lesson 5

Using New Gamboge and Quinicridone Gold, I am beginning to add some color and texture to the sunflower head and petals. I use my Brush Dance and the Pull-Push Stroke for this technique. These are shown in detail on my DVD (http://watercolorworksart.com/Classes).

For both of these strokes I hold my number 10 round brush nearly straight up and down. The Brush Dance is just a bouncing, scribbling motion made while holding the brush with a very light touch.

The Pull-Push Stroke is executed by holding the brush close to the bristles, nearly straight up and down, and gently (light touch) pulling the brush, and then gently adding pressure while pulling it. These strokes are both fun ways to make beautiful marks on your paper!

Flamingos Lesson 12

This detail shows how beautifully glazes have subdued the leaves in the background. First glaze was of Olive Green, then with a thin mixture of Prussian Blue (after the green dried).

I have created recognizable suggestions of the plants behind the birds, without completely decribing them for the viewer.





I used some Indigo to further push back the details here and there. I also used Indigo in the beaks of the birds, and some of the darkest shadow areas along the shoreline.

Hibiscus Lesson Number 8

Sap Green, Aureolin Yellow, and New Gamboge combinations are used in light glazes to enhance the leaves. Glazing over the blue underpainting begins to soften the blue into simple, visual shadows of the top glaze of color. This glazing helps to unify the piece as well.


I have added some Burnt Sienna here and there in the background where stems appear and in very thin glazes on some of the leaves. This adds a bit of warmth to the entire area that surrounds the wildly warm flower.

I have also added another very light, watery glaze of Winsor Red to the flower head. I didn't cover every area, only those areas that needed a splash of warmth, especially in the shadowed areas.

Hibiscus Lesson Number 5

Here I have added a little wash of French Ultramarine Blue to enhance the shadow areas and give the flower some depth. Draw water from the white, dry area into the areas of deep pigment to create soft, clean edge transitions.

Hibiscus Lesson Number 4

Continuing on with the Hibiscus Lesson that I have been posting. Now I have mixed a puddle of Quinicridone Magenta and Ultramarine Violet.

I used varying mixtures of these two colors back and forth and I used my Number 10 Round brush to paint in the first wash of the flower head.



The wetter, more magenta washes were used to create the softer, higher value tones. The more violet mixture was used to create the shadowed areas.



To develop the darker detailed areas, I added some French Ultramarine blue. I held my brush straight up and down and barely touched the tip of the brush to the paper, so that as I pulled the pigment along, it would create lovely, delicate linework.

Parrot Study in Watercolor Number 8

I wanted to demonstrate how to add some foliage to the background. I used a number 10 round brush with a good point to produce these leaves. I call this a pull-push stroke. I start at the outer edge of the painting and press a little on the fully loaded, wet brush as I pull it into the painting with a curve motion. As the stroke is pulled I lift on the brush to create a varied width and then lift higher to bring it to a point.

This stroke is great for making calligraphic marks. To make that type of a mark, as you pull the brush toward you press down and lift up so the bristles deposit wider pigment, then thinner, then wider. The brush can be twisted while pushing and pulling also.

Once these leaves were dry, I added a touch of Perylene Green for shadow areas.

Hens and Chicks in Watercolor

Okay - an new painting in progress! Here we go.
First I worked on the drawing. After getting it composed the way I wanted it, I transferred the drawing to my 300 lb. Kilimanjaro watercolor paper with graphite and a tracing method. This piece is on a full sheet so it measures approximately 20 x 29, after taping the edges to a foam core stabilizing board. This prevents the paper from buckling while I am working on the piece.

Oddly enough, I will begin this painting starting with the darks. This is unusual for a watercolor painting, I know, but this helps me to navigate later when the painting seems more complex and my pencil lines become lifted into the wet pigment and disappear.


I wanted to get the shadow shapes established in this piece. I worked over the entire painting with French Ultramarine Blue, building the shadow areas with crisp and soft edges. I can't stress enough how important WATER is to this process. Paint wet. That is all there is to it. If you don't have enough water in your pigment mixture the paint won't flow, and it won't glow with color.
To soften an edge I apply a very wet area of pigment, then I clean my brush and while the pigment is still wet, I pull water into the pigment area from the white, unpainted area. Each stroke I make with a clean, damp brush. If I pull from the pigment area into the white area, I will just pull color and dilute the mixture that is already applied, and the color will move right out to the edge of the stroke. If I pull FROM the white area with water INTO the color, the plain, clean water at the edge will dry leaving no water mark or line. This makes the light to dark transition very smooth and soft with no funny edge. It works well for me.
For more about a painting in progress with this technique please visit my website: http://watercolorworksart.com/simpleviewer/index.html

More to come! Check back as I record my progress on this piece.