Watercolor Painting Tutorial – Change Colors for a Different Effect
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.
Watercolor Painting Tutorial – Abstracting the Shapes, Simplifying the Message
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.
Watercolor Still Life Painting Step by Step
This lesson is courtesy of Rod Webb. Rod is a veteran Watercolorist from New Zealand. You can learn more about Rod and view more of his work by following this link to reach his Website.
Watercolour Painting My Way :Still Life
| Note from the author: Since authoring “Still Life Painting, My Way!” I have had a lot of emails, from folks all around the world thanking me for the demo. Some have asked for a line drawing. I have created a line drawing for folks who are interested in following along. It is a large image, so a good size printout is possible without becoming too pixelated. To view the actual line drawing, follow this link, or click on the thumbnail to the right. To save it to your hard drive, SHIFT-CLICK on the link, and save it out to your PC. Enjoy! |  |
 | Set up the still life study outside in the sun. Background and base are pieces of masking board. Adjust items for best composition and then photograph using a digital camera.You could use a normal camera and have the photo scanned at your local photo shop. |
 | Using your computer image software, first crop the image and then adjust contrast/brightness to give a faded image. When printed in mono this will use far less ink. |
 | Set up your printer to the size required for your watercolor paper you normally use. Mine is set to 34cms wide and 31cms high. As this is larger than A4 the poster and smooth resize will need to be ticked. Set to mono , we do not need a color print. |
 | This is the output from the printer. Four sheets of paper with image divided between them. |
 | We now trim and paste together. |
 | Glued and lined up, repeat and trim all four ready for tracing. |
 | I use “Graphite Transfer paper” which should be available from your local art shop. If not cover the back of the printed sheet with soft lead pencil or charcoal pencil. Then drawn around outlines you want transferred to your watercolor paper.Don’t press too hard or you will damage the paper! |
 | Here is the transferred image on “Saunders 300gm Not” paper stretched and held with gummed paper strip. We are now ready to start painting.We have our sketch and the original image can be displayed on the computer while we are painting. This has the advantage that you can now eat the apples while painting. |
 | Masking fluid is applied to the glass, apples and jar to save highlights. The brush shown is an old one. The bristles have been trimmed and washing liquid applied to protect by stopping the masking fluid collecting around the ferrule. With this brush, I can apply fines lines of fluid. |
 | Mix up plenty of wash for the background, mixture of ultramarine and touch of light red. With the painting upside down, I applied a flat wash around the objects and to the top of the painting. See the nice bead of paint collecting at the edge? This is typical when applying a fluid wash with the board tilted at 15 degrees. Don’t throw away the remaining background wash, save it you will need it later. Don’t worry if it dries in the palette, water can be added when required. |
 | We have applied the wash over the glass, as the background can be seen looking through it. |
 | Before the wash is dry. A piece of blotting paper is used to lift some of the paint, giving the reflective look of glass. |
 | Using some of the original wash, add Payne’s Grey to darken and paint the shadow between the jar and glass. Shadow of glass was painted using background wash and darkened at the bottom with Payne’s Grey. Shadow inside glass painted with background wash and Payne’s Grey dropped in while wet into the center portion. |
 | Using the edge of a piece of blotting paper lift lines of paint on glass shadow on a curve, to represent ripples of light. |
 | Dry thoroughly using a hairdryer and remove masking fluid from the glass. |
 | The white of the paper now shows through for highlights, and ripples show in the shadow where paint was lifted. |
 | Pencil marks erased using a putty rubber. |
 | Some edges are softened by brushing on clear water and dabbing with a tissue. |
 | Computer aid: if a part of your painting is easier to paint from the side, rotate the image on your computer to match. You can’t do this with a normal still life setup! |
 | The fine edge for the top of the glass is added with a sharpened watercolor pencil. The pencil is used dry, but can be softened if you wish by lightly brushing with clear water. Detail is added to the shadow using the original wash. Add the band around the top rim and random curves across from top to bottom. |
 | Shadow inside glass darkened slightly at the middle. |
 | Progress so far: background, glass, and shadows completed. The jar will be tackled next! |
 | First, we have to define the jar and give it some shape. |
 | The shading is added using a mixture of burnt umber, Payne’s Grey and a touch of light red. While it was still wet, some extra was added around lid edge to darken. Side handle shown simply by painting in the shadow. |
 | A light wash of raw sienna painted over all of the jar to give it an off-white china look. Masking fluid is visible on lid and front edge. |
 | A strong rich blue mix was made from winsor blue and ultramarine. The pattern is painted in and edging darkened before first paint dries. |
 | When painting detail, magnify the image on your computer. It helps! |
 | After painting the pattern on the side, the left was lightened slightly by lifting some paint with a tissue. |
 | Fine detail added after first was dry using a rigger brush. Masking fluid removed from jar, sparkle can be seen on lid and top edge, where the preserved white paper now shows. |
 | Progress so far. Next step is to paint the apples. By the way they were delicious. |
View Part 2 of this Watercolor Lesson >>
Watercolor Still Life Painting Step by Step – Part 2
This lesson is courtesy of Rod Webb. Rod is a veteran Watercolorist from New Zealand. You can learn more about Rod and view more of his work by following this link to reach his Website.
This is Part 2
<< Part 1 | >> Part 3
 | Masking fluid applied to save highlights. |
 | Wash of light yellow and a touch of sap green painted over apple. |
 | Before the wash dries, some areas are lifted with tissue, giving a lighter shade. |
 | Results after applying wash and lifting with tissue. |
 | Wet all of the apple with clear water. Using a mix of Alizarin Crimson and Light Red drop in some color wet into wet. |
 | Wash can be controlled, placed and moved around with your brush. If you get paint in the wrong place lift immediately using tissue or blotting paper. |
 | Always make sure paper is thoroughly dry before you re-wet the surface. Then it will not disturb the original washes. |
 | First glazes have been applied to both apples. |
 | The color was too weak, so I added another wash of yellow! |
 | Masking fluid painted on stems to preserve lighter shade. Shadows added showing core shape and shadow of stem. |
 | I re-wet the apple with clear water. Lower your head and look across the paper, you should see just a shine on the paper. No sign of surface water. |
 | While the paper was wet, I added a reddish brown wash to top of apple and around the core to get a bit more shape. If the paper starts to dry, stop! Let it completely dry the re-wet it and start again. If you continue to add wash to drying paper, you will get a cauliflower effect. |
 | A watercolor pencil can be used while the paper is wet. Fine red streaks added this way. Or you can use with paper dry and if necessary softened afterwards by lightly brushing with a soft wet brush. |
 | Shadow around stem darkened. I first applied pencil with paper wet then added final sharp lines when dry. The apple stem is also defined using pencils. |
 | The masking fluid was removed. Larger highlights had edges softened by wetting and dabbing with a tissue. |
 | Now I have two apples defying the laws of gravity. Lace cloth will be the next task. That should tie everything down! |
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Watercolor Still Life Painting Step by Step – Part 3
This lesson is courtesy of Rod Webb. Rod is a veteran Watercolorist from New Zealand. You can learn more about Rod and view more of his work by following this link to reach his Website.
This is Part 3
<< Part 2
 | Shadows added to show folds in cloth and holes in lace painted at the back. Light grey with a touch of green used.Whoops, I just spotted a mistake. I painted the blue background right down to the cloth over the table top. |
 | Soon corrected. I laid a plastic ruler along edge where table should be to protect the background wash. Then used a wet sponge to lift the paint, still left a slight stain but that will be covered with the green. |
 | Both sides were sponged off. |
 | Green table surface painted. Made darker at the back and lightened at front. |
 | Holes in lace painted with the grey/green mix. Remaining graphite sketch lines erased with the putty rubber. |
 | Lines following the folds and curves of the cloth painted in. |
 | Dots added over lines for weave effect. Strength and pattern varied. |
 | Stronger shadows placed around apples to anchor them down, up to now they appeared to be floating. |
 | Shadows on rear folds strengthened, pale yellow added to front fold to bring out the middle fold. |
 | Some dots were darkened in the weave, rear shadows touch of blue added, yellow shadow near apple and touch of red added to front shadow. There is only just a hint of each color, although it is difficult to see in the photo. |
 | Decision time, is it finished?. I usually wait a few days and have another look before deciding. |
 | Placing a tempory matt around painting makes a lot of difference. Find a nice spot for you signature. Don’t know what color matt or frame I will use, any suggestions?  The image to the left shows what I considered to be my “final painting”. However, after showing this piece to several of my fellow artists, I discovered that there were a few things I could do to improve this painting.Want to see those changes? Good, then keep reading! |
 | Added some color into the background to break up the solid blue. |
 | Left apple. |
Watercolor Painting Techniques – Watercolor Blooms
About Mary Ann
Raised in Mississippi, my interest in art began at an early age, but was secondary to my study of music until at the college level when I decided to pursue art as my major…..then studying Advertising Design, and not taking up watercolor painting until much later when my children were in school all day and I could devote long hours to the practice of painting. Eight to ten hours a day were spent trying to “catch up”. I was driven by the desire to learn the craft and excited when I began winning awards in both local and national shows.
My subjects have been so varied over the years, that I don’t know which is my favorite. As I tackle a challenging subject, and learn the ins and outs of painting it successfully, I move on to another challenge. I, perhaps will never be known for painting one thing all my life, as the world is so full of wonderful experiences that I want to paint them all!
At my ripe old age, I am really having fun learning new things about waterbased mediums, and my latest is painting in acrylics with a palette knife. Using blending mediums and retarders, I can make it feel as if I am painting with oils, yet they dry much faster. It is fun to get three-dimensional textures to my work. Another avenue, another adventure. I try to upload images frequently so that my students and the public can see what I am up to! It is fun, and I encourage your responses to what I produce… Read more
The Looser You Get, The More Real It Seems: Watercolor Demonstration
About Debi Watson
I showed talent with my drawing from an early age, but my parents discouraged me in the hope ‘that I would pursue something more productive’.
I spent much of my adult life working as a operating room nurse, but couldn’t abandon my love for painting. Working long hours and raising two children didn’t leave me with much free time, but I still managed to paint whenever I got the chance.
Starting Life As A Watercolor Artist
Artist Spotlite – Joe Cartwright
Artist Name: Joe Cartwright
Location: Sydney, Australia
Website: www.paintingwithwatercolors.com
Title of Artwork: Venice Sunset
Dimensions of Artwork: 22″ x 32″ unframed
Medium: Watercolor
Support: Paper
Describe this Piece: Venice Sunset – watercolour by Joe Cartwright. Venice is such a wonderful place with a painting around every corner! I spent two weeks there in May 2010 and loved every minute of it. I wanted to capture the beautiful sunset and people walking around enjoying the atmosphere.
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.
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