About Doris Joa

My name is Doris Joa and I am an artist from Germany.

My mediums are watercolor and oil. One of my special favorite subjects are Roses and figurative work. I paint roses and also other flowers in oil and watercolor. Beside Pansies, Rhododendron, Peonies, Daisies and Tulips, there are a lot of roses in my gallery on my website like Heidi Klum Rose, Sangerhauser Jubiläumsrose, Rose “Mein schöner Garten”, Rose Golden Celebration from David Austin, Rose Innocencia, Rose New Dawn, Rose Clair Renaissance, Rose Queen Mother, Rose Bonita Renaissance and more.

My goal is to paint in romantic realism. I am also doing figurative work, portraits, still lifes and in 2005 I have started a new series of colourful Horse paintings in oil. I also have started with doing postcard paintings in 4?x6? and other small studies .

I have a great passion for nature and her beauty and try to capture this in my paintings. The sunshine, the shadows, the light and the glittering of a raindrop I find most captivating.

I love it when people tell me that when they view my paintings they can smell the flowers, feel the velvet of the rose-petals and have the feeling of standing in a garden.

Please be sure to visit Dori’s website to learn more about her and to view more of her work.

Her websites:

http://www.dorisjoa.com/

http://romanticrosesinwatercolor.blogspot.com/

English is not this artists Native Language. She has tried her best to translate this demo to English, so please be patient and understanding. Thank you and thanks Doris for sharing this demo and for translating it to English!

Step by Step Watercolor Painting Lesson – “Heidi Klum Rose”

I have started with a new painting of the Heidi Klum Rose.

It needed some time with finding the right composition. This time I will have a lot of sunshine in the painting, especially later on in the leaves and in the background. Hopefully it works out the way I have envisioned it in my mind. I think it is always an adventure when you start a new painting and so exciting when you see the final result. I am often pleased and stunned by the outcome, but sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way I planned, but I always try for perfection.

Above are two photos . I was not able to paint very much and I needed to do a photo before it was too dark outside.
The first photo is the drawing, the photo is not the best. Sorry for that. The painting will be around 10″x14″ in high format. I paint on coldpressed 140 Lb Paper from Lanaquarelle (the same quality as Arches) and I paint directly on the block without stretching it. It works perfect.

The Heidi Klum Rose is a very pink/violet Rose. The petals in shadow have a dark violet/blue colour.

I am using the following colours:

Permanent Rose and Alizarin Crimson for the very warm areas, Purple Magenta is the “local” colour, which I also add to the warm and to the cool areas. Winsor Violet and a Mix of Purple Magenta for the cool areas and I add Helio Turqouise to this mix, when I want to have it darker. In the really dark areas I am using a mix of Alizarin Crimson/a bit of Purple Magenta/some Winsor Violet and a bit of Sap Green, these areas are not as cool so I leave out the Helio Turquoise there.

I must add here, that I am playing with the colours and when the colour is dry I often see, that it doesn’t look exactly as I intended it to look, so I may go over this area again and then add another colour from the colours above. I also do not always mix on the palette. ON some petals I simply wet the area and then drop the colours in that I want to have there and let them mix on the paper.

The leaves will bathe in sunshine later. There are leaves which are looking more green and some are looking really blue and for this green/blue I will use the Helio Turquoise. I love this Colour and since I know that I will use it on the leaves I am using it also in the Rose. I simply thought I would try it out.

When something doesn’t work, or the colours look terrible, I start over to try to make it better. Don’t be afraid to play with your colours – I cannot tell you how many times I started a painting over. But since I am not afraid to experiement, it makes painting much easier and more relaxing.

Not much has happened with this painting yet. I did have a visit from a very dear friend, which I have not seen for several years now and I took all the time for her which was possible. And the other day I was swimming with my kids and we all enjoyed this. Also I am still working on a figurative painting, which Work in Progress you may have seen on my other blog, so there was only a bit of time for this Rose.

I have painted more on the petals, using all the colours, which I mentioned before. But I wanted to spend some more time on the leaves. This gives me the feeling, that there is more happening on the white paper and I enjoy this. It also gives me a better feeling of what the painting will look like, so I am painting them here and there on the mainsubject and here and there on the leaves.

For the leaves I used aureolin yellow, indian yellow, sap green, phthalo green and helio turquoise. I also used some of the Winsor Violet in the leaves. I like the different colours on the leaves, to have some warm and some cool and some darker and some very light.

I was contacted by several people about my Demos of how I create my Rose paintings. I hope that my blog is helpful to YOU and gives you some inspiration. Please share it with your friends and link to my blog and when you have a moment, simply leave a comment. I love to hear what you think.

I have finally done more progress on this painting. This is the next step. I am still working on the background with all the leaves and I really like how the painting is developing.

I have worked more on this Heidi Klum Rose Painting. As you can see, I have made a lot of progress and I really love how the painting is coming along. I only hope I am pleased with the final painting. I started to add darks to the background. Within all the leaves (there are really many leaves) I think this works the best. The colors for the darks are Alizarin Crimson, Phthalo Green, Sap Green, Helio Turquoise, Winsor Violet, Ivory Black (but only mixed together with other colours) and here and there some Indian Yellow.

To integrate the leaves into the background I have at first wet the area, where I wanted to paint the darks around the leave and then I simply moistened my brush with clear water and wet the edges of the leaves. The result is that the still wet paint of the background runs over the leaves.

This eliminates hard edges and brings and blends the leaves into the background so that they are part of it.I really love the painting – the feeling of a hot summer day. So far, I have only worked with transparent watercolors and have not used any masking fluid. I have painted around the whites.But I also have to add when you loose some highlights it is always possible to add then maybe a hint of white gouache to save your painting.

Heidi Klum Rose, watercolor,
10″x16,5″, copyright: Doris Joa

SOLD

The painting of the Heidi Klum Rose is finished. I softened many of the edges, but I still need to take a closer look to see if I have forgotten any.

The greys in the background at the top are a mix of sap green with winsor violet.
When you compare this photo to the photo in the post before you will notice that I have painted over some leaves, which were too white, it didn’t work and my eyes were still wandering there, especially to the leaves on the right side at the bottom.

When I was finished with the painting I did at first a photo and looked to it at the monitor. This helped me to see how distracting the hard edges were. So I used a flat brush and softened them.

Here is a photo of this brush, this works really perfect.

In the next photo I just would like to show how the painting looks before with some hard edges and how it looks after softening them. This may help for the beginners to get a good suggestion.

You see in the left photo how distracting these edges are, here is a close up of the part which shows it much better. I think I should have done the photo then, before I softened the other edges and did think of showing this when the most were already softened. But I think you will get a good suggestion of what I mean.

About Doug

Doug Purdon was born in Toronto, Ontario. He is a full-time painter, teacher and writer. He is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists and Ontario Society of Artists. He currently lives in Toronto with his wife, the writer Rosemary Aubert.

He exhibits his work in galleries in Canada, the US and the UK and his paintings are in many private and corporate collections, including The Toronto Public Library, The City of Toronto, The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, Sears Canada, and The Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic CT, where his painting Tugboat Alley was awarded the Museum Purchase Award in 2005. A major retrospective of his work was held in October 2007 at the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto.

Doug believes that artists should continue the tradition of passing on their skills and knowledge to other artists and does this through his workshops, seminars and writing. He currently teaches courses at Loyalist College, Belleville, Ontario; Bridgewater Retreat, Tweed, Ontario; and the School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto and in workshops for art associations across Canada.

While he paints his native Ontario, he also enjoys travelling to different locations and has painted in Scotland, England, France, and the American Southwest and on the eastern and western seaboard of North America. He is represented by Studio 737, Tweed, Ontario; Arnold Fine Art, Newport RI; and the Gallery at Mystic Seaport, Mystic CT.

For the past eleven years Doug has been the Educational Advisor for Winsor & Newton in Canada. In that capacity he visits colleges and universities demonstrating the working properties of artist’s materials, their correct use and safe working practices. Winsor & Newton has arranged for him to visit major art museums including The Tate, National Gallery of Art Washington and to meet with curators and conservators to discuss the technical and historical aspects of painting and materials. He incorporates the knowledge of painting techniques and proper working practices that he has learned from these visits into his teaching programs.

To learn more about Doug and view more of his work, please visit his website by following the link below:

http://www.dougpurdon-artist.com/

Painting a Detailed Painting in Watercolor and Gouache

When painting complex subjects in watercolour, it is often hard to avoid losing some of the highlights and the details. While masking fluid can be used to cover areas that are to remain white, it is hard to remember to cover areas of colour that will become highlights within the darks. I also find masking fluid tends to create hard edges and can often damage the surface of the paper when it is left on for extended periods of time. In this article I will show you how I tackled a very complex subject using watercolour and gouache.

Painting from sketchbook – Lower Broadway – New
York 1982

When travelling, I always carry a sketch book and make studies of scenes that interest me and that I feel could be done as a painting when I return to the studio. I take photos as reference for details, especially when the subject is as complex as this one. When I returned from New York City in 1982, I had every intention of starting work on this painting, but I put the sketch book to one side and got busy with other paintings and the painting was never completed. In 2001 after the events of September 11, I remembered the little sketch I had done of New York and the World Trade Center in happier times. I decided to complete the process that had started on that September morning in 1982. Looking at the sketch, I found the picture needed more information on the right hand side so I knew I could move the twin towers from the centre of the painting for better composition. I also added an additional building. Luckily I had a reference photo of it on file.

Using the sketch and reference photos, I drew the image lightly on 300 lb. Winsor & Newton watercolour paper using a 2H pencil. When I was satisfied with the drawing, I went over the pencil with diluted India ink. Once the ink was dry I removed the pencil with a kneaded eraser. When painting a detailed image in watercolour, I use this method instead of graphite pencil alone as the ink will not smudge or mix into the washes as they are applied.

I applied a pale warm yellow wash to the paper the colour of the early morning light. Sunlight is seldom pure white, and as it is the prime source of illumination, its colour will effect all other colours in the painting. I use both pan and tube watercolours in my paintings, the pans being reserved for small amounts of colour and the tube colours used when I require a larger amount for washes. Once a large flat area such as the sky is complete, I cover it with paper to protect it from spatters or finger marks.

Flat washes were applied establishing local colour and then details were added. In this picture you can see the preliminary, intermediate and completed painting. On the drawing board is the butcher’s tray and various dishes I use to mix washes. Some of the best mixing dishes for watercolour are not to be found in the art store but in a kitchen utensils shop. Stainless steel is ideal for mixing colours as it won’t react with pigments, will not rust and is easy to clean and unbreakable.

I have now finished painting with transparent watercolour and am adding details, lights and cleaning up rough edges with gouache. The amount of gouache that I use depends on the individual painting and can range from a few details to a complete repainting of areas. I also darkened some areas more to increase the contrast, signed the painting and it was finished.

All content and images in this painting demonstration are copyright of Doug Purdon and may not be copied, reprinted, published, reengineered, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without explicit permission of Doug Purdon.

To learn more about Doug and view more of his work, please visit his website by following the link below:

http://www.dougpurdon-artist.com/

About Karen

I am a self taught artist who loves to paint, and, if you can learn from loving it, that’s what I did. I am now living in Northeast Oklahoma, but I was brought up in Northern Wisconsin. My favorite things to paint are snow scenes and trees. I really like to see a beginner paint one of my designs in their style even though they don’t even know they have a style.

I think painting is great therapy. I have also made many new friends through my painting. I frequently teach a watercolor class at the local Vocational Technical College. I have also taught at several decorative painting conventions and chapter events.

To learn more about Karen and to view more of her work, please visit her website below:

http://www.karenfrye.com/

Beginner Watercolor Lesson – Learn How to Paint a Bluebird From a Photo By Karen Frye

My Palette

My palette of colors for this painting is: Ultra Marine Blue, Burnt Sienna, Neutral Tint (neutral tint is a transparent black), and Raw Umber. You can use most any colors and it will work fine. The white on the bird is simply the white of the paper that is left white.

Below is the reference photo I used to create this painting:

The photo below is a simple sketch I created for the painting from the reference photo above:

Transfer sketch to your watercolor paper. For best results use 140# watercolor paper preferably paper that is bought in sheets and separated in smaller sheets to fit your frame.

Begin painting by wetting the whole bird with clean water. Wet, but not puddles. Base the bird with a light wash matching the colors in the picture.

Again wash the whole bird matching colors, this time using a darker value of each color. This time, wash in the fence post the bluebird is standing on with a light wash of raw umber.

In this step, you will define the areas of the bird again matching colors with again a darker value of the colors. The eye should have a small white highlight. The bluebirds’s feet are a
neutral tint and the post is detailed with neural tint. (see photo)

This is a very beginner project. Please enjoy painting it.

About Christine Kane

Christine Kane is a pastel and watercolor artist who is inspired by the Midwest landscape and it’s seasons. To find new ideas for her paintings, she hikes in the forest preserves during all seasons.

Christine began drawing at an early age. She focused her education on art and has a degree in Graphic Design. She is continuing her studies and is currently pursuing a degree in Natural Resources.

Translating weather is also evident in her work. “Weather makes a landscape painting come to life. How I love to show leaves blowing in the Autumn time, snow falling in winter, or a beautiful thunderstorm approaching in my summer paintings.”

Christine finds God’s handwork in all aspects of nature and tries to translate her awe and reverence in her artwork. Never disappointed, she relies on His creation for inspiration.

To learn more about Christine and to view more of her work, please visit her site by following the link below:

==> http://letspaintnature.com/

Christine’s work can be viewed at the LaGrange Art Gallery

Watercolor and Pastel Painting Demonstration – Let’s Paint Winter Woods!

About three years ago I went hiking at Bull Frog Lake, right before evening in January. I came upon a scene that made me pause for a moment and fall in love. Winter’s intense setting sun was casting long shadows from the trees in the woods. Right on que it seemed, three crows in the distance began to caw. I almost wanted to cry. Call me a fool for nature, but West Nile almost eliminated all the crows in my area and I haven’t heard that beautiful, “CAW, CAW, CAW”, in a very long time. They are my 2nd favorite bird in the world.

So here we go! Let’s remember that moment forever by painting the winter woods…

Step 1: I am using an Ampersand Pastelbord 16×20. This is going to be a watercolor and pastel painting. With charcoal, make a simple sketch before you paint. Remember the 3rd’s rule…great composition happens in thirds. Notice my horizon line is 1/3 from the top. My deer tracks will be 1/3rd from the left.

Here is my reference photo. I had it enlarged and printed at 8×10. Notice I have a clear plastic cover on it. This will help you greatly! I am a very messy painter and get junk all over the place (and I don’t care…it’s part of the process), if I didn’t protect the picture it would have been destroyed.

Step 2: Turn your board upside down. This will help the paint flow down with gravity. Spray the sky with clean water. Using watercolor paints, paint Naples yellow in the sky (remember we are upside down so it is at the bottom). Next, with a mixture of ultramarine blue and burnt umber, paint some distant trees using up and down strokes.

Step 3: When dry, paint some far trees using ultramarine blue and a lot of water so the mixture is not dark. Paint closer trees using a darker mixture of ultramarine blue and burnt umber.

Here is a close-up of the distant trees. I love how the watercolors spread out at the edges representing rough bark…YES! Effortless painting!

Step 4: When completely dry, turn your board right side up. In this step I am just laying down big blocks of color using watercolors. I am only using cobalt blue, ultramarine blue and alizarin in different mixtures. You might be thinking, “Are you nuts? Those colors are so dark!” Don’t worry, most of this will be covered by pastels.

Step 5: With sap green, ultramarine blue, and alizarin crimson, make a black mixture and paint the closest trees. Try to vary their sizes. That took me a long time to accomplish in my early years of painting. Your brain just wants to make trees, so after a while you realise they are all the same thickness. NO! In nature they are all different.

Step 6: We are done with watercolors. When everything is dry, start painting with pastels. I used a medium Unison purple for the tracks and shadows and a medium blue for snow.

Step 7 Final: Make layers and layers of snow, using three different light blues. I also used light purple for the snow as well. On the tree trunks I painted spots of deep dark purple and fuchsia. You can’t really see it, but it is there. I also painted tiny spots of yellow in the snow to reflect the setting sun.

Don’t worry if you do not paint with pastels. You can use the same principles to paint with oils. It’s all about layer upon layer.

“Before Dusk in Deep Snow”

16×20

This painting will be on display at the LaGrange Art Gallery March 2010. I hope you enjoyed this step by step painting demonstration on how to paint a winter scene in the woods using watercolors and pastels.

Watercolor painting is difficult enough all on its own, but there are some objects that people find particularly difficult to paint.  This post will hope to remedy that by showing you several videos that teach you how to paint believable clouds and skies with watercolors.  I found the videos below while searching this topic on YouTube and believe these to be the very best videos there on this topic  I do hope you find these landscape watercolor tips and techniques helpful.  Enjoy!

How To Paint A Blue Sky With Clouds in Watercolor

Big thanks to Patrick for making this watercolor painting lesson available!  You can view more of Patrick’s videos over at his YouTube page by clicking here.

Watercolor Sky For Beginners -- How To Paint a Variegated Wash

A big thanks to Bob Davies for making this watercolor painting tutorial available!   You can view more of Bob’s excellent video tutorials over at his YouTube page by clicking here.  He has a ton of great lessons there including more watercolor as well as acrylic painting and drawing.

How to Paint a Watercolor Sky with Wilson Bickford

A  big thanks to Wilson Bickford for making this watercolor painting lesson on skies available!  Wilson is a professional Artist and Art Instructor with 20 years experience in teaching.  Wilson has more great instructional videos over at his YouTube Page that cover more problem areas that artists often encounter.  Head on over to his page by clicking here.

Simple Skies in Watercolour

A big thanks to Grahame Booth for making this video lesson on painting the sky in watercolor available!  Grahame has a couple more videos over at his YouTube page, so be sure to head on over by clicking here.

Terry Madden’s Watercolor Workshop Painting Easy Clouds

A big thanks to Terry Madden for making this watercolor workshop on painting clouds available.  You can learn more about Terry and view more of his videos by following this link.

How to paint clouds the wet on wet way

A big thanks to Chad Marshall for sharing his watercolor techniques for painting clouds wet on wet!  Chad is a certified oil painting instructor with Alexander Art. You can learn more about him and watch more of his videos here.