Watercolor Techniques - Learn How To Paint with Watercolors

Watercolor painting is a very exciting medium. It’s easy to get started. All you really need is some paint, a few brushes, some water and paper and you are good to go. It is one of the most convenient painting mediums in existence to day. It is no wonder why it is such a popular option for beginners. Of course, you are going to need some advice and direction in order to get started, so I put together this post that covers some of the more basic watercolor techniques.

I have also included several excellent videos that demonstration watercolor painting techniques below.  Enjoy!

Basic Watercolor Techniques

Flat Wash Technique - The flat wash painting method is a common one. This technique is usually used when large areas of  your support need to be covered. It is important to  lay out the watercolor wash evenly and uniformly. First, you dampen the area of your paper where you will be applying the wash. Be sure  to have an adequate amount of water and pigment available before your begin. If you should have to stop for any reason, it will be rather difficult to match your layers. It is better to have more than less available. The angle at which you apply the watercolor wash is important. If the angle is too steep your wash will run down the paper. If the angle is too level, then there  won’t have enough movement. Use a large brush for this technique and start your first stroke at the top of the paper. Continue applying the watercolor wash going down the paper, but alternate sides as you move down.

Glazing - Glazing in watercolor is when you apply a thin transparent color over a completed dry layer of color. This technique creates unique and  interesting blends of new color. You will need to use a non-staining, transparent color for this watercolor technique. You will need to  use a soft brush and try not too apply that much pressure.

Wet In Wet - Wet in wet is simply applying a wet wash over a wet surface. You start by evenly wetting the paper with a brush or spray bottle. Have a sponge handy to absorb any excess water. You want your paper to be evenly saturated. Then apply your watercolor.

Dry Brush - With the dry brush technique, you begin with a dry piece of paper. Then pick up some dry pigment with just a touch of water and apply to your paper.

The dry brush method is only recommended when  you want to draw focus or create texture in your painting. It’s always a good idea to use different brush techniques in a single painting. This results in a more interesting painting.

Lifting Off - Artists use this technique when they want to remove watercolor from a certain area of the panting. It is usually done by first wetting the area that needs to be removed with a clean sponge and then absorb the color with a tissue. If you find that the color does not come off right away, then let the water soak in a bit longer and try again. If you still are unable to remove the color, dampen a bristle brush and gently scrub the area. Use extreme care when utilizing this method as it is possible to damage your paper.

Watercolor Painting Videos

Painting a Flat Wash in Watercolor

How to paint a flat wash in watercolor. Artist Debbie Johnson demonstrates her technique of a flat wash - to lay down a flat, even area of color with watercolor.

How to Stretch Your Paper

Here is an old method for stretching paper that also prevents hard edges.

Watercolor Dry Brush Painting

A dry brush technique in watercolor painting uses very little water. Learn how to paint with a dry brush in this free art lesson video.

Watercolor Salt Technique

Demonstration of salt application on watercolor paper.

Soft Focus Watercolor Techniques

Learn techniques to create beautiful, soft-focus watercolor paintings on damp paper. Techniques include positive painting, negative painting, lifting, and using gouache. Presented by Elizabeth Flue

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Introduction to Watercolor Painting Supplies For Beginners

Watercolor painting is probably the most convenient of all the painting mediums. All you really need to get started is a box of paint, a few brushes, water and some paper. There are no toxic solvents or mediums to be concerned about and your brushes can be cleaned with a little soap and water. This convenience makes watercolor one of the most economical painting mediums as well. This article will provide an introduction to the more popular supplies that a beginner should consider investing in.

PAINT

Watercolor paint is made by mixing powdered pigments along with a water soluble binding medium. In the beginning you will do fine by using a cheaper brand of paint, but you will definitely enjoy a much better painting experience if you use artist quality paints. Artist quality paints use more high quality pigment and are noticeably richer and more vibrant. After you become more comfortable working with watercolors, you should then consider upgrading to artist quality paint. Paint is available in both pan and tube form. The main difference between the tube and pan paints is that the tubes have more glycerine and they tend to be more water soluble.

BRUSHES

There are generally two types of brushes that are available to artists: your soft hair brushes like natural sable and squirrel hair and your hard hair bristle brushes. Soft hair brushes are the most popular choice amongst artists and highly recommended. Bristle brushes are sometimes used with techniques that require you to scrub the paint into your paper or other support. Among the soft brushes used by artists, sable is the most popular. These soft hair brushes are resilient and effective at holding a lot of paint. Because of the high quality of these brushes, they also come with a high price tag. This of course leads artists to seek a cheaper alternative. This cheaper alternative comes in the form of synthetic soft hair brushes. As the name implies, these brushes are not made with animal hairs. They are made from man made materials and consequently, are not of the same quality as the sables. They are still a pretty good alternative and many artists use them.

BRUSH SHAPES

Now that you are a little more familiar with the types of hair brushes are made with, lets us cover the shapes brushes are available in.

Round Brushes

As the name implies, the hair of these brushes are round and can be shaped into an excellent point. Depending on the size of the round brushes, they can be used for detailed work or for applying washes.

Wash Brushes (or Mop Brushes)

This is a brush that forms a mop like shape and is used primarily for applying washes.

Flat Wash Brush

The flat wash brushes are square and flat in shape and closely resemble the brushes you use for house painting. These brushes are made for applying washes over large areas and can also be used for modifying existing washes.

Large Flat Wash Brushes

The large flat wash brush looks very similar to the regular flat wash brush only its a little larger, usually about 2 inches wide. This brush is also excellent for laying down washes over large areas.

PAPER

Watercolor paper comes in a variety of different sizes, weights and textures in order to accommodate the various preferences artist have. Whatever paper you decide to use, it needs to be very strong and have a certain degree of absorbency to prevent breaking and tearing.

Absorbency

Watercolor paper is made to have certain degree of absorbency depending on the amount of sizing used in the manufacturing process. The more sizing used, the less absorbent your paper will be. If you are not happy with the level of absorbency in your paper, you can always purchase your own sizing and apply it yourself.

Acidity

You should look for papers that are acid free with a neutral PH. This will lessen the darkening of your paper as it ages.

Weight and Surface

Watercolor paper is available in three different surfaces: Hot pressed, cold pressed and rough. Hot pressed paper has a smooth surface, cold pressed paper has a semi-rough surface and rough paper has, you guessed it, a rough surface. The weight of the paper refers to the weight of a ream (480 sheets) of paper.

How to Paint Darks and Shadows in Watercolor by Mara Mattia

About Mara

I enjoy being an artist! And I’ve been at it longer than this internet blogging stuff. In fact, blogging is all new to me! So I will start by telling you a little about myself. Our nest is not quite empty because we still enjoy the presence of our college-aged kids at home. And because they are busy with work and school I am able to enjoy uninterrupted painting sessions during the day-light hours instead of in the middle of the night like I did when they were little. A bit here, a bit there and I keep my projects alive! One project I’m working on is a cookbook. Originally written for my husband and children, I re-structure classic recipes we love, to make them healthier. I’m also writing and illustrating a series of children’s books. Finding time to Draw, paint, and teach has been a challenge while raising a family but finishing a project is very rewarding to me. And I hope you like my artwork and lessons and enjoy watching my progress with various projects!

Please follow this link to visit Mara’s website to view more of her art lessons.

How to Paint Darks and Shadows in Watercolor

(Click images throughout this lesson to enlarge)

Painting darks and shadows in watercolor is really easy. It just takes practice.

I’ll start today with drawing a figure of a woman from my imagination (Don’t worry about this part because I’ll teach the basics of drawing people in another lesson).

You will need watercolor paint, paint brushes, paper plate (or watercolor palette), big mouth containers of water, paper towels or rags, #2 pencil, a soft pencil (#4, 5, or 6), eraser, Hair blower (optional), and the color wheel you made from my previous lesson.

Start by making a drawing of a stick figure on scratch paper. Add the contours of underlying muscle covered with skin, and crisscross marks on the head for placement of facial features. Draw indications of clothing. Then erase the stick lines of your figure.

Refine the lines of the clothing. When you are finished turn your paper over and scribble, covering the area under your drawing with a soft lead pencil (#4B, 5B, or 6B). Then take a wadded up tissue and smear it all over by rubbing it. Now you have a carbon transfer sheet.

I like to do all my preliminary drawings on a separate sheet of paper before transferring it to watercolor paper because I do a lot of adjusting, erasing, changing, etc. and all that business would ruin the surface of the watercolor paper.

Turn your carbon/drawing right side up and place it on top of a piece of watercolor paper or illustration board. Tape it down at the top. Now trace the lines of your drawing onto the watercolor paper with a ballpoint pen or hard pencil (#HB). Remove your drawing and you are ready to start painting! If some of your pencil lines are too dark take a kneaded eraser to lighten some of them up with a gentle blotting motion. Now, choose only one color to paint with. I have chosen yellow-orange (see my previous post on how to mix this color from the basic primary colors yellow and red). But you may choose any color you like!

Squirt a little paint on your plate and mix with a little water to make your desired color – not too thick or too thin. Wash out your brush. Set your paint mixture aside for a moment.

Now paint just the hat and dress with clear water on your drawing. Add more water if any part dries up. Gently squeeze out the water from your brush with a paper towel without scrunching or pulling the bristles and “suck” up any excess water with the dry bristles. I am doing this near the bottom of the dress here.

Now load your brush with some of your pre-mixed paint and begin applying it to the wet areas of your drawing. Just watch what it does…this is really fun!!

Let it dry completely (You may use a hair blower on low to speed things up a bit).

Now look at your color wheel and find your color. Now find the color straight across from it. Hurray! That is called its complimentary color (If you chose green its compliment would be red. If you chose purple its compliment would be yellow).

Now, on my paper plate, I’m going to mix just a little bit of bluish-purple to my mixture of yellow-orange (because that is it’s compliment) to make it darker. And I’m painting a little sample on a scrap piece of watercolor paper to see what it looks like.

Do you see where I’ve added a little sun up in the right-hand corner of my picture? I’m imagining the shadows from that light as I paint a little of my darker mixture on the under- side on her hat. Now, quickly clean your brush in clear water, dab it off a little on a paper towel and run the brush along the sharp edge you painted to soften it. Paint dark paint in other places where you imagine the sun casts a shadow. Rinse your brush, dab, and soften the paint edges with your damp brush. Turn your paper if you need too!

Right about now I’ll bet you notice that your painting is a bit rough and messy! There are streaks of paint that are too dark and streaks that are too light. That’s actually a very nice style! But if you want it smooth you can blot away the dark streaks.

Wet your brush with clean water, shake off the excess or touch the brush on a paper towel to remove the excess water, and “clear water” paint onto a dark area you want to make lighter. Take your paper towel and blot that spot. Notice that it’s removed some of the paint! Continue until you have it as smooth as you like. Add more paint if it becomes too light – back and forth.

Now pencil in and shade the woman’s features (or paint it if you’d like)!

Just keep practicing and you will get better. I’ll give you other lessons to practice, some easier, some more challenging. It’s nice to look at a photo also, so you can actually see how the sun shines down on the subject you are painting.

Free Step By Step Watercolor Lesson By Aileen McLeod

About Aileen

Aileen is a multi-medium artist/tutor. Her portraits have been included in major portrait exhibtions and she has been commissioned to paint VIP. Aileen has been a guest on national TV pertaining to her art and appeared in various leading magazines. Portraits are a great love and she welcomes commissions in this and other subjects/mediums.

Visit Aileen’s Site by Clicking Here.

Aileen offers lessons in other mediums and subjects are available on CD /DVD. She also offers personal critique via email . Please contact her for more information.

Step By Step Watercolor Painting Lesson

I love to share this SPONTANEOUS EXPERIENCE in WATER COLOUR.

This sweet face belongs to Harmoni and I was drawn to paint her portrait for her first birthday. The paper used was Canson 33.gms. a lovely surface for detail and a good weight to prevent buckling. No. 12 and 4 sable brush was my choice.

STEP 1. Sketch the features with a Light Red aquarelle pencil.

STEP 2. A wash of Burnt Sienna was used to establish the shadows.

STEP 3. Golden Red was washed into the hair.HINT: Try to hold the brush in a relaxed manner as in sample 2.

STEP 4. Flesh was painted in for the face tones and the cheek colour, Vermillion was then placed in, still using the same brush.

STEP 5. The eyes were painted in Brown with No 4 brush and the eyelashes were established with a Dark Brown tone. HINT: Do not paint the individual lashes.

STEP 6. Still using the No 4 brush the mouth is painted with Vermillion. some deeper tones were painted into the hair with Brown plus Burnt Sienna.

STEP 7. Decisions….decisions….I was not sure whether to leave the washes in the free-flowing technique…see sample 3:

I then decided to apply some Flesh plus White into the lighter areas of the face; this blended the edges of the shadows and formed some middle tones. With a No 4 brush and White I then established the reflected light on the side of the face and some highlights on the cheek, chin, nose and upper lip. The highlights on the lip, tongue and the eyes were painted in with the tip of the brush.

STEP 8 Golden Brown plus White was used for the highlights of the hair while some Brown indicated darker tones and tendrils. Brown plus Blue was used for the pupils of the eyes, corners of the mouth, and the nostrils.

STEP 9. Using a No 12 brush I washed White over the background, this gave “tooth” to the paper. I then painted Permanent Green with quick stroke coverage across the paper, taking it up to the hair and the face line. When the background was dry the tendrils of the hair were exaggerated. See sample 4.

STEP 10. Time for checking and I notice the cheek is just a tiny bit too full so I mix Permant Green plus White and with N0 4 brush I came up to the side of the cheeks and painted in the background. I also took some off the top of the hair.

STEP 11. The shadows were deepened on the side of the face. a Sienna wash was painted over the hair. The Green background was continued to the top and sides of the paper, with a wash of Yellow here and there. This painting has a spontaneous appearance and that is exactly what I set out to achieve. I hope you enjoy your “Spontaneous Experience” when you use this technique.

A Series of Drawing & Watercolor Painting Lessons by Mara Mattia

Here is a wonderful series of drawing and watercolor lessons I discovered from a very talented artist by the name of Mara Mattia. I have provided links to these drawing and watercolor lessons below for your convenience. I found these lessons to be very helpful and I am sure you will enjoy them as well.

Lesson #1 awareness (Lines)

Lesson #2 Lines Continued

Lesson #3 Shading and Dots

Lesson #4 Shading, Sun Dot & Grid Drawing

Lesson #5 Blending, Crosshatching & The Grid

Lesson #6 Draw a Face Using the Grid Method

Lesson #7 Continue Drawing of Keira Knightley

Lesson #8 Watercolor Wheel

Watercolor Brushwork Lesson By Steve Fleming

About Steve

I am an artist and teacher who primarily works in watercolor. I have been painting for nearly 35 years, and teaching for 14. I believe that the goal of art should be a creative interpretation of the world around us and not the perfect rendering of what we see. I also strongly hold that art is a process not just a product. We should spend more time involved in the making and experiencing our art and less time worrying about the successful marketing of the piece we are working on. Good art is the result of hard work and dedication, but it only happens when the artists finds their own story to tell.

Please click here to visit Steve’s website to learn more about him and to view his work.

Brushwork

Although it is sometimes not what we notice first about a great watercolor painting, expressive brushwork is one of the most important qualities of a good work. Due to the fact that watercolor is fairly hard to remove from the paper and is somewhat less workable than oils, pastels, graphite and to some extent acrylics through the use of overlaying opaque colors on top, it is critical that you begin and end the painting with solid and creative brushwork. It will be very difficult to correct sloppy and repetitive brushwork in those major areas of the painting. Think of the trees you have painted with brushwork that evoke the look of a broom, not an elm, or the water you
painted that has the feeling of a parking lot, not a tranquil pond or the light on the side of a model’s face that looks like an advertisement for a beard commercial and you will understand that your freedom with the brush is a critical factor is expressing your creative intent.

Now I must say that there are times when you apply paint in big washes or solid color forms without a major concern for the individual brushwork, but you still want the brushwork in these forms and pieces of color to be reflective of your intent for this area of the painting and not be cluttered movement, conflicting movement or unintentional texture. If brushwork is not an important consideration in your painting then your work will not have the finish or quality of a masterful painting.  Learn to apply your paint with a purposeful and deliberate brush stroke and try to avoid continual rubbing onto the painted surface with a wet and soggy brush.  Get in the habit of thinking about the brushwork before you touch the paper and then have a confident and direct approach when your brush is in contact with the paper. The brush is the extension of your creative intent — it is your partner in the process, not just a stick with hair on it. Until we get to the point of painting with our hands and feet, the brush is the major way that the paint will get on the paper and the painting will always record for the viewer the  skills you possess in brushwork. Neglecting the improvement of your brush skills will always hold back your painting progress.

Ways to Improve Your Brushwork

First it is important to understand the factors that control the expressive marks you want to learn to produce.

Type of Brush

If you are like me you have a multitude of brushes in your bag and you have your favorite few with which you have a relatively good relationship. Each brush type whether it be flat or round, natural or synthetic, big or small has a range of marks it is capable of producing.

There is quite a bit of overlap in the type of marks brushes will make for the painter who will take the time to practice with each of the brushes in the bag. Some of these strokes are very familiar to you but I am quite sure that most painters have not really experimented with all of the favorite brushes to really see what they will do.

I think it is amazing how many brushes some of my students have and how few they really use. The common statement I hear is “Gee I really don’t like a round brush, they don’t work for me” or “flat brushes always make the same type of mark” or “I don’t have any control with that big brush so I use this small one”. These statements or this type of thinking leads us to buy a special brush for each specific problem when it would be a better idea to develop a varied repertoire of expressive marks using only a few brushes.

I am convinced that John Singer Sergeant could come back from the dead and do quite well with just a few sable rounds. Take the time to bond with your 1” flat sabeline, your #12 sable or white sable round, a 1.5 inch white sable wash brush and maybe a #4 rigger and your paintings will definitely improve. Think of them as the main tools in your tool box and then get some real mileage out of them — don’t move to new brushes until you can make these few really do the job in your paintings.

Angle and Edge

Brushes are very creative tools in the painting process when they are used by an artist who thinks about a variety of contact possibilities for the brush. Each brush has several edges to use and by exploring the different marks that can be made by each, your paintings will have a much more enlivened application of paint.

Try not to use the same edge repeatedly because this will lead to a tired and boring style. Also experiment with the pressure or amount of brush surface you are using. To complement your understanding and exploration of the edge, put more focus into pushing the brush in and out when in contact with the paper. Most brushes can take a whole lot more abuse than we give them — just remember to not put so much pressure on the bristles that you permanently break the bristles at the ferrule.

One last word of caution, when you are using a round brush or for that matter a flat brush, try not to paint too much with just the point because this will prematurely wear down the point. It is a better idea to paint with the side of the brush pulling it to the point, which keeps the bristles longer and the edge or point more defined and perfect. You can definitely use the point for those moments when it is required but keep it to a minimum.

Amount of Water in Brush and on Paper

The secret of watercolor painting is understanding the relationship between the amount of water in the brush to the amount of water on the paper. When experimenting with your brushes is the time to really pay attention to this secret.

Any brush will make a completely different type of mark when it is fully charged with water than when it is dry. It will also make a totally different type of mark when it is stroked across a wet, damp, or dry piece of paper. The amount of pigment in the brush also factors into the quality or character of the brushstroke. To really get the brush working for you in your painting you have to feel totally comfortable painting on the ever changing surface of the paper.

For me it is not as desirable to wait for the paper to dry before I move from stage to stage in the painting — I want to be able to keep right on working. I have learned to do this by practicing using a brush and applying pigment continuously throughout the painting process whether it is on wet or dry paper. I have found I can regulate the amount of water or pigment in the brush and be fairly comfortable painting whether the paper is wet, dry or somewhere in between. But I have to pay attention to the conditions on the surface of the paper and regulate the brush accordingly. Variety and creativity will be the result in your paintings if you work on changing the amount of water and pigment in your brush and paint on different types of surfaces.

Speed and Direction of the Mark

The faster the brush moves across the paper the less time there is for the paint and water to come off onto the paper. Practice using a fast pass across the paper and you will begin to see the wonderful textural effects you can achieve. Also by moving the brush quickly you can highlight a damp or wet area with a color and not have the usual explosive blossoms that are so problematic. I have found I can use the speed of the brush to put glisten on water or to highlight the light in trees without having to wait for the paper to dry. This does take some practice.

Distance from Paper and Arm Movement

For me there is no way I can really get into the painting process and develop expressive brushwork if I am sitting down and I am too close to the paper. I need to be able to get back from the painting and really get my arm and wrist working for me. I never hold my brush like a pencil I hold it like an extension of my arm and I work on  achieving a fluid and rhythmic painting motion. I believe this keeps me involved on all levels when I paint and the movement is translated into my expressive brushwork.

If you are so close to the paper that you feel cramped your work will show it. Your brushwork will be tight and tedious and your painting will lack rhythm and  movement. If you can’t stand up for physical reasons at least try to get back from the painting when you work. I always keep in mind that the brush is one of my most important tools I can use to translate my creative intention to the paper so I want to give it the most freedom and possibilities I can.

Exercises

Make as many brush marks as you can with all of your favorite brushes. Think of all of the factors listed above. Work on dry and wet paper and keep working until there is no white paper left. This is not about making paintings — this is about learning how to make creative marks and to develop a mental library of things you can do to create texture and interest in your washes and shapes.

Visualize a subject and make all of the marks that evoke the essence of the subject. Remember some subjects will require overlaying of washes and marks to really describe the object. Be creative not literal.

Learn to use two brushes, one flat and one round, better. Make every type of mark with these two. Try to duplicate the same type of marks and shapes with each. It is possible to come close to painting exactly the same types of shapes and marks with a flat and a round but it takes practice.

Wet to Dry over lay. This is a great lesson to combine both brushwork, value control and movement across the paper. Begin on wet paper and just start making expressive color washes and splatter marks — “Prouts Marshes” leave some large varied pieces of white paper. Immediately follow this without letting the paper dry, using expressive and varied brushwork. Try to think only of movement and creative line. Begin to cut away at the white paper creating more interesting and dramatic shapes. Remember to watch the water content in your brush and don’t over rub the pigment into the paper. Finally using big flat and round brushes lay on some dark values creating exciting and expressive areas of focus and interest. Keep working until you are using extremely dark passages of color and have really forced the viewer to move all around the paper. This lesson if done enough times will produce fabulous abstract results and give increased confidence with your brushwork and ability to apply paint.

How To Paint a Rose in Watercolor Step By Step By Doris Joa

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/

How To Paint a Rose in Watercolor Step By Step

The Star of this painting and Demonstration will be the Rose painting “Open Arms”.
It is a beautiful climbing rose, which I bought new this year for my garden and I was lucky to see a lot of blooms.

I love the colours in this rose and I am looking forward to paint this rose.
Since I need time for doing a rose painting, I cannot paint from life, no rose would live such a long time.

Another reason is that I have two small kids, so I usually only have time to paint in the evening when they are sleeping - so I work from photos. Since this rose is in my own garden, I had enough time to really observe it and understand more about the colors.

I work only from my own reference photos.

I used a digital camera, Olympus C -750 Ultra Zoom to take the photos in this demo. It’s a great camera. I am able to see the details on the wings of a bee. I can zoom up to 40 times.

Now let us get started:

What do I need for a watercolor painting?

I need:

• watercolor paper
• brushes
• paints
• paper towels
• and of course water.

And I will show you later some helpfool tools.

I am using only hotpressed paper. Most of the time I use 300 g (140 Lb) Arches hotpressed watercolor paper, but I am also using Lanaquarelle, also 140 Lb (300 g) and also hotpressed.

I do not see a difference between both brands, only that one is more expensive than the other.
I like the surface of this paper, it is wonderful for describing the finest detail and it is possible to paint the whole spectrum of texture. Hotpressed paper allows you also to paint in layers without disturbing underlayers.

One thing: As you know, I am a german girl, so please be kind with me about my english. When I do not explain good enough or when you do not understand things, what I am saying, please let me know. Thank you.

Back to the first steps:

I always stretch my paper.

You will need: your paper, a board, stretching tape, jar of clear water and paper towels.

I wet my paper in the bath or shower , place it on the board and wet the measured pieces of tape by wetting them in the jar of clear water. I then place the tape around the sheet of paper (it is half over the paper and half over the board). With the paper towel I go along the stretching tape to absorb the moisture.

Do not worry if there are still some buckles in the paper. When the paper starts to dry they will disappear.

I have a lot of colour tubes in my paintbox, but I do not need them all. Also I work with different palettes.

In the next photo you see these small porcellain palettes. These are my favorite. I always use a small palette for my flower colours, one palette for the leaves and one for the background etc.

My favorite brushes are Da Vinci Maestro brushes. I have them in several sizes, but most of the time I work with sizes 2, 3, 4 and 6. The points of these brushes are excellent.

Before I start, I would like to show you some helpful tools. I am sure you know what masking fluid is. I prefer to not use it as I do not like the hard edges that you will get. Also it is easy to ruin your brushes with it. When you use masking fluid, use only old brushes. When I have tiny highlights in my painting, which are very hard to save, I prefer to use Masquepen. It has a very fine point applicator.

Another helpfool tool is Aquacover.

Here is the excact description: Aquacover is a revolutionary new product from Creative Mark! Aquacover is a versatile product that will provide new avenues of creativity and alleviate a problem that has plagued watercolorists since the beginning of time. It is available in 5 shades of white that perfectly match the most popular watercolor papers used today. Aquacover is the perfect cover up allowing you to fix small or large areas quickly and painlessly. Once applied it dries in seconds and is permanent, non-cracking and non-yellowing. You can then apply color directly over it without bleeding! Aquacover is sold in 1oz bottles with dropper caps and is sold with our unconditional guarantee of complete satisfaction. Get a bottle today. We know you’ll love it! (Due to its thick consistency, Aquacover is best applied with a brush. We do not recommend the included dropper for direct application.)

I use Aquacover rarely, but it helps me to get highlights back. You can use it with your brushes, it doesn’t ruin them.

The next helpful tool is an eraser from Faber Castell called the Perfection 7057. It is a very hard eraser, which helps you to get highlights back when you later decide to add dewdrops and you have not saved the highlights before. It is a great tool.

Click Here For Part 2 >>

How To Paint a Rose in Watercolor Step By Step - Part 2

I have started with the painting.

Here is a photo of the drawing. As you can see, the detail is not very good. I am sorry.

At first I wanted to do a square format, but I did not really like it, so I changed the composition and now it will be a high format.

There are several larger roses, some buds and leaves.

I also have decided for my palette. I am using:

• Naples Yellow (Winsor & Newton)
• Indian Yellow (Schmincke)
• Translucent orange (Schmincke)
• Permanent rose (Winsor & Newton)
• Alizarin Crimson (Schmincke)
• Phthalo blue (Schmincke)
• Brillant Purple (Schmincke)
• Sap Green (Daniel Smith)

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I do not like to use masking fluid, but in this painting I will go over all the stamens with the masquepen. It would be otherwise too complicated to paint around them. I have done small lines, so I am sure, I will have no hard edges there later, when I have removed the masking fluid and add the colour there.

The next photo will show you, how I have started with the first rose.

In this rose are areas of white. I do not like the raw white, so I did a very very fine wash with Naples Yellow over this rose. Then I added some Indian yellow where I saw more yellow in this reference photo.

I wanted to have the colours in this rose warm, so the next layers were a mix of permanent rose and translucent orange. Where it was not so warm, I added to this mix a bit of brillant purple. To the areas that seem to be more cold, I added a mix of brillant purple and phthalo blue.

So far I like what I have done , but there is one area which I do not really like. It is this blue area. I am sure you see it, so I will go over it. Maybe I will try to lighten the color a bit or simply add a touch of my warmer mix. I will try this carefully until I am pleased.
I paint petal for petal and when I am finished with them, I soften the edges. I am using a flat brush for this, it works perfect.

I hope to do more painting tomorrow. I will work on the stamens later - I usually do this when I am in the mood. First I will continue with the other roses and some buds.

In the next step I have painted on two buds and also on some leaves around them. The buds and leaves are not finished yet, as you will see.

I have start again with underlayers. On the buds I did a very fine wash of Naples Yellow - but where I saw more yellow I did an underlayer of Indian Yellow and where necessary I added a bit of Sap Green.
Then I worked with the same colours I used on the large rose - but I tried to make them a bit more cool (adding a bit more of brillant purple and/or phthalo blue).

On the leaves I also started with underlayers. One side of the leaves I did an underlayer of Indian yellow and on the other side I did an underlayer of phthalo blue, so I have a warm and a cool side on the leaves. In the next layer I added Sap Green. I will work more on the leaves and also add some of my petal-colour (permanent rose or brillant purple), because the leaves will be reflected from the roses and also the roses will be reflected from the leaves. I will also add sap green/ phthalo blue and/or alizarin crimson on the leaves, to make beautiful darker areas.

<< Part 1 | On To Part 3 >>

How To Paint a Rose in Watercolor Step By Step - Part 3

I have worked a bit more on this rose painting. I darkened the leaves more around the buds. I did this with using sap green, alizarin crimoson and phthalo blue. I mixed the colours on my palette. I also added some of the rose colour on the leaves, as I described this Part V. Then I removed the masking fluid of the first rose, because I do not like to leave the masking fluid on the painting too long. I am fearful that if I leave the masking fluid on the paper too long, I will not be able to remove it, so I simply removed it.

I then began working on the rose on the bottom of the painting. Since this rose is not in the center of interest, I made the colours cooler than the other rose. I worked more with permanent rose, brillant purple, sap green, alizarin crimson and phthalo blue. I also used Aureolin, which is a cool yellow. I also greyed down the colours a bit, so this rose will not be a competition to the other rose. I still have to soften the edges there. In the first photo you will see a close up and in the next photo you will see the whole painting, so you have a good idea where I am working.

At this point, I have not made as much as progress as I had hoped. It is going slowly, but I like what I have done so far. I am working around the painting, doing my layers with the same colours, which I have used before. I worked on another bloom and you can see, that this bloom is also a bit cooler than the first painted rose, which is really warm.

TIP: Although I am doing a light underdrawing I always erase the drawing lines before I start adding the first layer of colour. I do not like to see pencil lines later shining through the rose. When you have done your first layer of colour it is very difficult to erase the lines. So keep them fine and light. I will show a full version of the painting and some close ups. I still have to soften some edges and I have to add maybe more darks on the leaves. I will also look at the rosepetals again to see if I am satisfied with them, need more darks etc. There is still a lot to do and I hope to make a lot of progress in the coming days.

Here is an update of my rose painting. There is progress, but still a lot to do. I work in the same way I started and I am using the same colours.

<< Part 2 | On to Part 4 >>

How To Paint a Rose in Watercolor Step By Step - Part 4

I worked on the leaves more. I added more depth to them with a mix of alizarin crimson, phthalo blue and sap green. I also added more colour here and there to the roses. I also began painting some of the stems. Here I have started with an underlayer of indian yellow and then I added a wash of sap green and then I added alizarin crimson. I still have to paint some leaves, then I can finally with the stamens and adding the background. I love how this painting looks so far - hopefully you are liking it as well.

I have now begun painting the stamens and began to introduce some other colours to the palette:

Cadmium Yellow deep, Perm. red orange, Kadmiumorange deep, Burnt Sienna.

In the rose, which is in the Center of Interest, I wanted to have the stamens warm and glowing.

In my first layer I used Cadmium Yellow Deep, then I added a mix of Perm. red orange and Kadmiumorange deep. The next layer was a mix of Perm.red orange, Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine for the shadow areas.

On the other roses I wanted to have the stamens a bit different, because there they are older. The bloom has almost reached the end of blooming and the stamens will be more dark.
Here my first layer was a wash of Naples yellow. I then added Burnt sienna and then a mix of burnt sienna and Ultramarine for the shadow areas. Make sure, to keep a small highlight on each stamen.

I then did some more work on the background.

Here is what I did:

At first this area was completely white, there was no stem, no leaves … nothing.

I did an underwash of Indian Yellow and let it completely dry, before I touched this area again. My next wash included the colours Sap Green, Alizarin Crimson, Phthalo Blue and Phthalo Green. I layed the colours in, mixed a bit on the palette and/or let them mostly mix on the paper. For dark areas I used a mix of alizarin crimson, phthalo green and phthalo blue. This makes a wonderful colourful black. Do not use black from a tube, it doesn’t sing.

I used more red, when I painted the background beside a green leave, because red is the complimentary colour of green. And I used more green beside a rose petal.
To suggest a stem I only lifted some of the colour with my brush and voila it looks like a stem in the background. That is a great way to suggest things in the background and you will get soft edges, which is very important.

Of course I still have to check later all my other edges. The edges should be soft.

Here is another photo of the whole painting. I will go on with this painting tonight and hopefully post another update.

<< Part 3 | On to Part 5 >>

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