Technique Lessons

Watercolor Class Preview: How to tape down your watercolor paper without ripping paper later. How paint travels on wet paper versus dry paper and why that matters. How watercolor paper is different than regular paper. How to paint gradients and properly transition colors. How to paint layers the right way to influence colors. How to paint a leaf from A-to-Z, complete with sun and shadow. When to use a hair dryer. How to paint soft edges. How different levels of brush wetness affect your painting. How to "paint" whites properly.

Watercolor Class Preview: How to paint a gum tree Why it's important to closely examine the tree you're painting How to paint a pine tree How to paint a Christmas tree How to paint a fir tree How to mix different variations of green for highlights and shadows How to paint a palm tree How to hold your paintbrush in different ways to paint trees How to paint a eucalyptus tree How to be relaxed and loose with your paintbrush at first, then fill in details later How to paint a poplar tree How to paint an oak tree What...

Watercolor Class Preview: Learn some basic techniques and tricks you can use in your watercolor painting Learn about liquid frisket, how to prep your paintbrush to use frisket, and how apply frisket to your watercolor paper to preserve areas of white before you begin painting How to mix and apply a gradient wash to your watercolor paper Learn a wet on dry wash technique and a wet on wet wash technique and the different effects you can achieve Learn the advantages and disadvantages of using synthetic and natural hair brushes How to soften a hard edge of a section of...

Watercolor Class Preview: How to paint an abstract landscape Learn about the variegated wash technique and how to execute it effectively in your painting How to make a preliminary sketch of a landscape painting using a reference image What to capture in your initial sketch and what to avoid How to access the values in your painting using a reference image How to paint a dramatic sky using a wet-on-wet variegated wash technique How to paint hard to reach places or awkward angles in your painting Why it is important to paint light colors before darker colors How to control...

Watercolor Class Preview: What to look for when buying a watercolor palette. Why "tinting strength" makes the difference between mixing colors and mixing mud. How to select your paints for your palette. Why "paint personality" is more important than paint brand. Why a spray bottle is your most important color mixing tool. Why you shouldn't always clean out your palette. How to prepare your paints for painting. How to pick up paint on your paintbrush. Hint: most people get it wrong.

Watercolor Class Preview: How to practice painting washes, an essential and common technique. How to transition colors in a wash.

Watercolor Class Preview: Why most amateur painters only use 2 paint consistencies and how you can use 4. How to manipulate paint into 4 consistencies. When to consider changing your paint consistency as you're painting.

Watercolor Techniques Class Preview: How to copy an oil painting using watercolor. How to paint patterns. How to paint layers. How to sketch and color different sections of the whole art piece without being scattered. How to manipulate colors to give your painting more emotion. How to paint using primarily warm colors. How to fix mistakes and remove watercolor when you mess up. How to give your shadows depth and dimension. Paints: Holbein Artists’ Watercolors Indigo Cobalt Blue Cerulean Blue Cobalt Green Turquoise Blue Phthalo Blue Leaf Green Chromium Green Oxide Olive Green Cadmium Yellow Lemon Naples Yellow Quinacridone Gold Gamboge...