Flamingos Lesson 7

Using VanDyke Brown, I begin laying in soft washes in the water and in the background (only where the painting is bone-dry). Noticed how the softened edges, in horizontal bands begin to define the water.
The horizontal bands are very important. If you don’t keep your main brushwork on the water primarily horizontal, your water will not read as flat.





In this detail, you can see how the VanDyke Brown is touched in with a number 6 round brush near the legs of the smallest flamingo.

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.

River Scene In Watercolor No.7

Trees. I love to paint them! Here, I have used mixtures of many yellows and greens on my palette, and I have used a number 6 round brush with a fine point. I used the Brush Dance stroke on a small scale and carefully went over the tree areas to refine the leaves. This stage is fun and it can be very relaxing to just let your brush dance over the paper. I try to pay attention to the values created by the small clumps of leaves. Each clump has light, shadow, reflected light and various patterns throughout. I forget that these are clumps of leaves on branches, but I try to focus on the patterns and shapes.
I have also used the same colors to work on the details that appear in the focal area where the lily pads are. I add shadows and variations of colors and glazes to help the viewer understand what they are. I used the same colors to add shadow and texture to the reflections in the water.

River Scene In Watercolor No.1

You can paint along with this project by visiting my etsy shop (http://watercolorgirl.etsy.com) and choosing the icon for the online class. I will send you an email with the reference photo and a ready-to-use drawing for the project.

To Begin: Paint a wash in the background for the sky. You can either wet the area with water first, then use a stronger pigment, or you can just apply a very wet pigment to the paper using the Flat Wash method. Keep your paper tilted in different directions to keep the moisture flowing and thus allowing the paper to dry in a more even manner. You can also control the flow of the darker pigment toward the top of the paper, as most skies will appear lighter at the horizon line. I used a mixture of French Ultramarine Blue, Antwerp Blue and Cerulean Blue. I applied this wash to the entire background, then used a clean, crumpled, paper towel to lift areas where I know I want the lighter greens in the trees to shine through.

Allow to dry or dry with a hair dryer.

Next, apply a mixture of Antwerp Blue and French Ultramarine Blue to the water using a number 10 round brush. Be sure to use horizontal strokes to suggest the same types of values and lines that are suggested in the reference photo.