Plein Air Painting in Watercolor
By Sue Doucette
Once you have arrived at your location and found a subject you like, begin by making two or three “thumbnail” pencil sketches, being sure to state your values clearly. (Values are your lights and darks. Three to four shades between white and your darkest dark are enough. These quick drawings will guide you as you are painting.) This is the time to clarify your composition as well. These drawings are quick and spontaneous and should measure about 3″ or 4″ square. After you’ve completed your thumbnails choose the one you like the best, then set up your equipment. Now you are ready to paint.
Set up your work station so you are not looking directly into the sun. Clip your paper to your board in preparation for sudden gusts of wind and keep your thumbnail sketch handy. Remember when painting with watercolor, to leave the white paper where your whites will go, then sketch your subject matter onto your watercolor paper. It is helpful to spray the back of your paper with water before painting. This will keep it from curling up when the front becomes wet.
Watercolor Lesson – The Control of Water in Watercolour
About Arnold
Arnold Lowrey has been painting for 36 years. He has regular exhibitions of his paintings in the South Wales area and has had work accepted and exhibited in the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. He has won several prizes for his paintings in a number of Art Exhibitions.
He is a painting demonstrator for major art material suppliers e.g. Winsor & Newton, . and Art Profile and regularly provides painting demonstrations to Art Societies throughout South Wales and Southern England.
He has demonstrated for a number of years with Winsor & Newton in Zurich, Switzerland, and has tutored workshops and painting holidays in Portugal and Texas.
Over the past eighteen years, a considerable number of artists have attended these courses, which cover watercolour, acrylics, pastels and oils. The subjects of his paintings vary from landscapes to still life, portraiture, abstracts etc. The weekly courses are currently located at Taffs Well Rugby Club, Taffs Well, Near Cardiff.
His motivation is a desire for good shapes and texture in his paintings but foremost is his desire to interpret his feelings for each subject using colour and luminosity.
Follow this link to visit Arnold’s Website
Watercolor Painting Tutorial – Value Pattern
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 Mix Grays in Watercolor for Atmospheric Perspective
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.
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Watercolor Techniques – My Simple 3 Step Process
I developed my Priming Method over a period of many years, and I now teach this watercolor technique to all of my students. It is a simple but very effective 3 step process:
The first step is to apply water to the region you wish to paint and then allow the moisture to be absorbed into the paper.
Next, while the paper is still barely damp from step one, i.e. the sheen of the surface has just disappeared, lay in another light wash of clear water.
In the 3rd and final step of the Priming Method, while the previous wash is still wet and shiny, lay in your pigmented wash. Before moving on to apply further washes it is extremely important to ensure your watercolor paper is BONE DRY.
That’s it! 3 simple but extremely effective steps to mastering watercolors.
Watercolor Rose Painting Tutorial – Heidi Klum Rose
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 .
Painting Demonstration in Watercolor and Gouache
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.
Watercolor Techniques – Painting Trees
These quick exercises from world renowned architectural illustrator and fine art watercolorist Frank M. Costantino demonstrate different 
watercolor techniques for painting trees. Learn more about Frank and his seminars at www.fmcostantino.com
Many beginner watercolor artists have a great deal of trouble with painting believable trees in their landscape paintings. The following videos should help you a great deal as Frank really breaks things down in an easy to understand manner with the following watercolor painting technique videos.
Part 1
Watercolor and Pastel Painting Demonstration – Let’s Paint Winter Woods!
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 Drybrush Technique by Ottorino de Lucchi
About Ottorino
OTTORINO DE LUCCHI, born in Ferrara, works in Folgaria (Trento). In recent years, he has developed a painting technique based on watercolor drybrush which allows to mantain the brightness of the watercolor.
To learn more about Ottorino and to see more of his work, please visit his website by following the link below:
http://www.ottorinodelucchi.com
Watercolor Drybrush Technique by Ottorino de Lucchi
Watercolor drybrush is an unconventional artistic technique. It creates unique painting effects that are not produced by other methods. It requires practice and skill and a good deal of patience, perseverance and inclination to experiment .
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