Spring 2018 Watercolor Class

Spring 2018 Watercolor Project: Magnolia Week 1

This semester both the Monday and Wednesday classes will be doing the same project, I will post photos from both classes so you can see the differences and the similarities. The beginning Wednesday class may take a bit longer to do than the Monday class but no one will be left behind.

I was asked about negative space last semester so I was looking for something with simple yet interesting negative space so my students could see and - hopefully - start to understand what negative space is and it's importance in a painting. Basically, negative space is the area around an object, in this case it is the background that you see through the branches and behind the flower but that is not the only negative space as you will see as we progress, it is just the most obvious.

We started out by putting the design on our paper. While it is okay to draw directly on the watercolor paper you need to remember that the surface of the paper can get damaged by erasing and once damaged, there is nothing you can do. It is better to work out your design on drawing paper then transfer that drawing by either using transfer paper (graphite paper) or using a light box.

In the Monday class we did mask out the flower and branches with masking fluid - the blue stuff on the one petal from Wednesday's class (see next image) - before we started painting, then wet everything around it with water then dropped color into the wet areas. When it dried, we removed the masking.


In the Wednesday class we wet areas as we went dropping color into each wet space. To mask or not to mask is up to the artist, I usually will use masking if I have small areas I want to protect or a background I want some continuity across the paper, however, it is important to know how to do both.


I do want you to note that my backgrounds are similar but different, they both look like they are in a swamp and that is because I am painting vertically so you can see what I am doing, while you may not want to paint vertically it is always good to have your paper elevated on one end so the paint moves otherwise it will just sit the and do nothing. Let gravity help you paint your picture.

In the Monday class we got a bit further and I added a very light wash of color to the branches, even those branches that look white towards the top have a light wash of color. Remember that we work from light to dark and the lightest thing on this painting will be parts of the flower (yes, only parts) so the flower will stand out when we are done, everything else needs to be darker.

Also, another thing to remember: Watercolor dries lighter so you end up doing layer or washes of color to get darker and richer values and colors. I may have to add a layer or two of wash over areas of the background depending on what I see as the painting develops.

Wednesday class I will go over how to paint the branches when I see you next so you do not need to paint them until then if you don't want to.

Keep painting and I will see you in class.