Watercolor Lessons

An interesting foray into nighttime lighting effects using a nautical theme, the West Break Water Lighthouse in Cleveland, Ohio. Watch and see how things unfold as Greg paints his way through a dusky nautical theme. Materials used: Brushes #8 Kolonok Kolinsky Red Sable #5 Kolonok Kolinsky Red Sable #0 Winsor & Newton Series 7 Red Sable Paints Sap Green Hooker's Green Dark Burnt Umber Burnt Sienna Ultramarine Blue Cerulean Blue Alizarin Crimson Permanent Rose Indian Yellow Ivory Black Paper Cut sheet (5.5" x 7.5") Whatman #200 cold pressed, deteriorated. Miscellaneous #2 Pencil Kneaded Eraser Palettes - Robert E. Wood &...

Here's a close-up of pink lily flowers painted with wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry and splattering techniques. Video coming soon.

Some rather gaudy purple irises serve as willing subjects for working wet-in-wet and glazing for bright and colorful results. Materials used: Brushes 1 1/2" (381mm) Flat Winsor & Newton Series 965 1" Grumbacher Aquarelle Flat Red Sable #12 Winsor & Newton Series 7 Red Sable #10 Winsor & Newton Series 820 Red Sable #6 Grumbacher Watercolor Classic Paints Paints Sap Green Hooker's Green Dark Phthalocyanine Blue Cobalt Blue Dioxazine Purple Alizarin Crimson Permanent Rose Raw Sienna Burnt Umber Paper Spiral Pad (11" x 14") Canson #140 cold pressed Miscellaneous #2 Pencil Kneaded Eraser Palette - Your choice. Mine is an...

Step Six: Out of the shadows After thoroughly removing the frisket and redrawing lost areas, I painted the shadow areas on the lighthouse in the same blue as the sky. Next I used blues, grays, and greens to paint the causeway leading to the lighthouse. I fished these colors from the various mixtures already on my palette. While I had a clean mixture of Hooker's green in my #5 brush I invented some landscaping at the base of the building. I studied the forms at the base of the building and redrew them, a light colored rail and pier was...

Step Seven: Altering reality My original photo had a background of a sunlit brick wall. I decided the bricks would make the painting too busy and opted to use a dark mixture of Pthalocyanine Blue and Burnt Umber to indicate a deep shadow area behind the entire group of flowers and foliage. I varied the mixture as I painted the background. These two colors can give you deep dark blues, rich greens and warm dark browns as you mix them in different quantities. Step Eight: Chasing the light I started to work intensely on the patterns of light and dark...

Materials used: Brushes 1 1/2" (381mm) Flat Winsor & Newton Series 965 " Grumbacher Aquarelle Flat Red Sable #12 Winsor & Newton Series 7 Red Sable #10 Winsor & Newton Series 820 Red Sable #6 Grumbacher Watercolor Classic Paints Sap Green Hooker's Green Dark Pthalocyanine Blue Cobalt Blue Dioxazine Purple Alizarin Crimson Permanent Rose Raw Sienna Burnt Umber Paper Spiral Pad (11" x 14") Canson #140 cold pressed< Miscellaneous #2 Pencil Kneaded Eraser Palette - Your choice. Mine is an old Robert E. Wood model. Water container (2) and water Hair dryer (optional) Step One: Preparing reference art After developing...

In around 4 hours, you will create a beautiful watercolor showing an idyllic beach in the Mediterranean, where families are relaxing together in the summer sunshine. In between washes you may use a hair dryer to hasten the drying process for the next stage. Using a hair dryer can be useful. Without one, you'll literally be watching the paint dry for at least the next few minutes. I use a palette with deep wells for mixing my watercolor paints with lots of water. I also use a big water container (like a child’s seaside bucket). I prefer to work with my...