How to Paint a Landscape in Watercolor
About John Fisher
I was born and educated in England, graduating from the Luton School of Arts (now Barnfield College) in 1945. It was my hope to become a graphic artist, but at the end of the Second World War returning service men and women had first crack at the few jobs available, and rightly so. I took a number of jobs while I tried to break into my chosen field, and ended up being a reluctant carpenter. Many years passed and I emigrated to Canada in 1952, married a Canadian woman, started a family, and in 1955 finally started on a career which took in graphic arts, owner of my own graphics arts company, art director at an advertising agency, and careers in marketing, advertising and public relations.
I wish I could claim that my passion for art burned brightly throughout those years, but alas, the need to make a living took prominence. As with many people, I always promised myself that when I retired I would get back to painting again. That time came in 1989, when my wife and I were living the winter months in our condo in Destin, Florida. Robert Long, a talented watercolour artist, was offering private lessons from his nearby condo. He was my mentor, and made my retirement years infinitely richer.
In those days Robert taught only technique, and there were rarely more than four to six of us in those early classes. From Robert I regained my interest in photography as an adjunct to painting, and as the cliche goes – I never looked back. I have had many paintings accepted and hung in exhibitions in Florida and Ontario, where I now live. I’ve won some prizes, come first in some exhibitions, and occasionally won the Citizens’ Choice awards. But I mainly paint for fun – hence the choice of name for this site.
How to Paint a Landscape in Watercolor Part 2
Step 17
Next we begin blocking in the background trees, using the same technique from our recent tree project. Begin by selecting areas for negative painting. Note we have left out the lower hedge for later work. Use a #4 or 6 round brush loaded with colour. As these trees are in the background they will contain more blue than our foreground mix. With the cottage protected with liquid masking, you can paint quite freely up to the edge.Next we begin blocking in the background trees, using the same technique from our recent tree project. Begin by selecting areas for negative painting. Note we have left out the lower hedge for later work. Use a #4 or 6 round brush loaded with colour. As these trees are in the background they will contain more blue than our foreground mix. With the cottage protected with liquid masking, you can paint quite freely up to the edge.
Step 18
How to Paint a Landscape in Watercolor Part 3
Step 34
Now we rough in the grassy areas using an initial wash of Aurolin Yellow, Sap Green and a touch of our shadow colour. Our middle-ground rocks are finished for now, and we may come back to them later once our water reflection are painted in. We may need more contrast.
Step 35
Pastel Painting for Beginners Step by Step
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.
Watercolor Painting Tutorial Variegated Sky Wash
In the following Watercolor Painting Tutorial you will learn how to create a Variegated Sky Wash. While similar to a graded or graduated wash, the purpose of the variegated wash is to create a smooth transition between multiple colors. This is the reason why this technique is so challenging for beginners. With more than one color involved, things can get messy if you are not careful.
In the following video, Bob Davies will demonstrate how to create this variegated sky wash. He will be using three different colors for this particular demonstration. The first color is a warm grey created from a mixture of light red and ultramarine blue. The second color is a light red and the last color is raw sienna. He is using a No.12 round brush and 140lb Bockingford Paper.
One particular problem that you may run into while painting your sky wash, are those annoying stripes, that can quickly ruin the illusion of the sky. If you would like to avoid those unwanted stripes while doing this kind of wash, Bob recommends that you dampen the paper first with clean water. This will enable your colors to blend much easier and help avoid the stripes. You will however need to make your colors stronger as they will be diluted somewhat with the addition of the water.
Palette Knife Landscape Painting Demonstration
About Patricia Elliot Seitz
Patricia Elliott Seitz was born in San Diego California, and spent most of her young adulthood living in Southern California. She came from an artistic background of art and music, and always knew that she wanted to be an artist. From age five until she was in her early teens, Seitz was mentored by her mother, an accomplished jewelry designer, and still life painter.
Her love for landscapes and seascapes has been heavily influenced by where she has lived through the years. Her painting approach is based on impressionism, and Tonalism. Painters that have inspired Patricia are Monet, Alexander Wyant, George Innless, Wyatt Eaton, Marjorie Reed, and Vernon Kerr. Her choices of mediums are oil and soft pastel. Her main subject matter is landscapes, and seascapes. On occasion, Patricia will paint still life and figurative work as well.
Her paintings are distinctive for their bold and simple brush strokes, luminescent light and unique color choices. Today she can be found in her studio, painting seasonal paintings of the Central New York area, and the California coast lines. She is an active member of Oil Painters of America, CNY Art Guild, and her work is represented by Local NY art Galleries. Read more
How to Paint Trees with Watercolors
Below are links to many online tutorials and demonstrations both static web pages as well as videos. I have also included links to excellent books and DVD’s should you want to further your studies.
If you want to become a good landscape painter, then you will have to learn how to paint trees. It doesn’t matter what scene you ultimately plan on painting, chances are it will contain at least one tree. There are an endless amount of trees in nature and there are also an endless amount of techniques that artist used to paint trees, which is why you will find so many different tutorials listed below.
I do hope you find the resources listed below helpful. Enjoy and happy painting! Read more
Watercolor Painting Tutorial – Tranquility Reflections
About Steve Fleming
Good art is the result of hard work and dedication. It only happens when the artist finds his or her own story to tell and then learns to do so with his or her own unique language.
I am an artist who works in watercolor and acrylic, and I teach both for The Art League in Alexandria, Virginia, as well as workshops across the country and abroad. My goal as an artist is to be creative; my goal as a teacher is to help my students learn to interpret the world around them, not to promote the belief the goal of art is the perfect rendering of a subject. One of my core messages: art is a creative process and is not just the sum total of the work we sell. In this era of digital cameras, I caution artists to look — really look both inside and outside — for the subject matter that lights our artistic fires. Otherwise, our work will be lacking everything but technique.
How to Draw an Oak Tree Step by Step
About Vincent Whitehead
My life has been influenced over the years by many things. First is my fundamental belief in God and second my family and the rural up-bringing that I have had. These two basic values have guided me and given me a love for nature, history, and the country life style.
I have always loved to draw and paint but, in 1996, I decided that it was more than just a hobby for me. I was not happy with the occasional sketch or quick scribble. I began seriously considering the world around me and then working out the God given talent toward a perfecting of a personal style so that I could render the scenes that I so dearly love. It is that perfecting process that has guided me to where I am now. No, I have not arrived. Nor have I attained perfection. On the contrary, I believe my journey has merely served to push me on toward the mark. It has given me feelings of accomplishment and greatened my respect for God’s creation.
Follow this link to visit Vincent’s Website
How to Begin a Landscape Painting in Oils
In this free oil painting video lesson by artist Dick Ensing you will learn a method for starting a landscape painting using oil paint. This is not the only way to start an oil painting, but it is an excellent method and one that every beginner should become familiar with.
The artist will be working from a photograph of a scene in Tennessee. He will begin with a value sketch using only one color, Cerulean Blue. He is using Charvin Oils for this particular lesson. He says he likes these oils because they have excellent pigment strength and when they dry, the color is very close to the color you start out with. He also points out that he likes to work with flat brushes with long bristles. He says the longer bristles last longer and they give you a nice chiseled edge to work with while you are painting.
He very lightly begins to sketch in his composition using the Cerulean Blue. He is just looking for shapes at this point. While he is laying out his composition, he is careful not to place his focal point directly in the center of the canvas as this will produce a boring painting. He places his focal point off to the left of the center.
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