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 6

Today I am using French Ultramarine Blue and a bit of Ultramarine Violet to create the deep shadow underpainting for the background. I just applied very wet paint in varying values to create the foundation for the deep colors I want.


I am also using the French Ultramarine Blue to develop some of the initial details and shading in leaves. The subtle areas of light and dark with crisp and soft edges replicate what I see in the reference photos. I am not painting exactly what I see, but I am searching to create the "look" of the texture of the leaves. To develop these areas I apply a stroke of fairly strong color, very wet with a number six round brush. Then, quickly clean my brush, tamp it on my toweling next to my palette and touch the wet pigment on one side with the damp brush. This softens the edge. Then I dip the brush in clean water, drain a little off on the towel or the edge of my water container so that the brush is not dripping. I use this liquid, starting in the clear, dry, paint-free area, and pull the water into the pigment. This softens the edge, draws the pigment out a little, but the outer edge is only clear water, so it will dry without a line.


You can see the effect of the yellow underpainting on the leaves. It took several hours to work around the painting in this manner.

Palm Tree on Indian River Lesson 4

For this stage, I used a very wet mixture of Permanent Sap Green and a little Aureolin Yellow to create a lemon yellow wash for the first glaze on the trees and greenery. I applied the paint VERY WET. To the puddle, I dropped in a little Burnt Sienna here and there where the palm fronds will look more brown near the bottom of the tree. I also added a little Burnt Sienna, wet-in-wet, to some areas of the grasses in the foreground. I like to add this earthy color to my greens to keep them from being too garish. Usually in natural settings, you will see browns and golden colors within the greens. You can see how nicely the masking fluid is resisting the paint and holding the white areas. Allow to dry or dry with a hair dryer on the cool setting.
When this application is bone-dry, I apply more masking as I did in the number two lesson of this project. Do not apply masking to the damp or moist paper, as you will not be able to remove it and the lines created will not be crisp. I apply the masking to the next lightest value. For instance, the first application of masking was to protect the very lightest color of white. Now I am adding masking to protect this value of color that I just applied. I want to be frugal. If I add too much masking the painting will look contrived.
Look for the light values for this stage in the palm fronds and in the grassy areas in the foreground.
Visit previous posts to see the other stages of this painting in progress.

River Scene In Watercolor No.8

This is the final stage of this painting in progress.

Here is a detail of what the focal point looks like so far. I wanted to warm it up a little so I glazed some New Gamboge, very wet, over the area of the river bank, the greenery and the lily pads.

You can see how the glaze added warmth and life to the foreground and riverbank. Now it looks more like the sun is shining on it!

Below is the finished project!

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Thanks so much for visiting! Another project will be here soon.

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.6

To see how this painting began, please visit the last few postings.

Here is a detail of the lily pad area so far. This is where I want my focal point to be. To create the focal point I want to have the most detail, the most contrast of values and the most interesting shapes. This will draw the viewer's eye again and again, if I work the piece correctly.

Here I have added some color and a tiny bit more detail. I added Prussian Blue to the mixes on my palette at this point to create deeper values and enhance the glazes that already exist. I think it is important, when applying subsequent glazes, to allow some of the previous applications to show through. In other words, don't completely obliterate the previous layers when applying new glazes of detail. The tiny bits of under-glazes that show through will add sparkle and life to your work.

I have developed a booklet that I use to teach my workshop students how to paint trees. If you are interested, please visit my etsy shop (http://watercolorgirl.etsy.com) and you can purchase the booklet. I will either ship it to you, or if you have high-speed, I can send a pdf file of the booklet via email. Click here to visit my etsy shop.