Summer 2018 Watercolor Class

Summer Watercolor Project: Marsh Madness Week 1


(Note: Apparently Google has added some kind of notice regarding the collecting of information, cookies and things of that nature, I only add links to the picture pages, if any other info is collected it is Google, not me, because I wouldn't know how to do it in the first place, let alone use it. Just an FYI.)

We started our watercolor project of the marsh this week and we got a lot done, I was surprised and pleased with what you were all doing, however, when I sat down to write the blog, I realized that I forgot to take photo of each step and without those steps you would be lost, so I did it again at home and photographed each step. It is a little different from the one I did in class but very similar and you will see how the painting developed.

The first thing we did was paint in the sky and start the water. 

First I wet the sky area all the way down to the bottom of the treeline, then I mixed a very thin mix of ultramarine blue and a tiny touch of burnt sienna to get a soft blue/gray then added this color to the wet paper. I was using my 2" wash brush to get it on quickly so use the largest brush you have for this first part.

When the sky was done, I wet the water area and used a slightly stronger mix of the blue and sienna applying that color in the areas of the water where I see the sky reflecting. (You will need to work fast because you don't want the paper to dry before you have your water completely in, spritz with your spray bottle if you need to but blend the spray in with your brush.) I then mixed a darker gray/green with the Hooker's green, blue and sienna to under paint some of the darker areas, I did this by just touching the brush to the wet paper and letting the color spread and do it's thing, you should also be working with a slight elevation to the back of your paper so gravity can help you otherwise you will have to stand your paper up so the colors will run together. The light green was sap green and yellow I just touched to the paper and let it run.

When the sky and water areas were dry I then under painted the the background trees. In watercolor we work from light to dark so I used thin washes of color for the first wash and I was using my 3/4" brush.

The lighter color was sap green, yellow and a touch of orange, the orange is to gray the color slightly because it is in the background, as things go into the distance they get lighter in value (dark to light), grayer in color and less detail. Plus water to thin it down. then let it dry for a couple minutes before painting in the tall tree. This time I used Hooker's green, yellow and orange, a little less water so it wasn't quite as thin and where the lighter trees and the big tree meet, I used the darker color to create the top of the lighter trees in front of it.

Another note: I was working on dry paper and was taping the color on rather than using a single direction to my strokes, this will create texture and you won't get strange streaks in your trees.

These next few images were done the same way as the above, with the same colors and techniques using just a little more color and a little less water but these layers should still be transparent and yo leave some of the previous lighter color as  the highlights in the trees.

In the darker shadows of the big tree, I did add blue to make the color a bit darker. I also let them dry completely in between washes of color.

This is a closer look at the detail of the big tree an the lighter trees in front. See how I use the dark to create the top of the front trees? That is negative painting, I am painting around the areas I want to keep light.

Next layer, same as the last layer, this time I am using the dark color from the big tree to create the over hanging branches near the water, again, that is negative painting.

I added just a little water to the dark color and started to create some of the closer over hanging leaves. Because they are close I can make them look more like leaves but these are just  quick marks to suggest leaves and clumps of leaves, you do not have to get out a one haired brush to create the perfect leaf.

Look closely, the marks go in all directions, sometimes I mad a blob of color and pulled leaf shapes out from it, then look at the photo and you will see practically the same things: just shapes.

The background, for all intents and purposes, is done, I may go back when I am close to finish to fine tune it but not my focus is on the foreground trees.

The trees on the left were filled in with the Hooker's green, blue and water but NO orange. These trees are closer so their colors will be truer. I used this color also in the water in the back ground being sure that the edges were soft by slightly going along the edge of the light streaks with a damp brush.

The trees on the right are a lighter color so I used sap green and yellow and while it was still wet, I just touched pure yellow along the top edge and let the color blend themselves. I also used this color to add to the water on the left to suggest some of the moss and duck weed in the water.

Close up of the tops of the near trees. Note the sky holes near the top of the trees.

 Notice how as the green gets closer to the ground it becomes denser and darker. I also negative painted around some of the  sticks.

Close up of the lighter trees on the right. I want you to note the shape of these trees, sort of a wedge, not good, I went back in and lifted out some of the background tree color and re-shaped the foreground tree.

Along with re-shaping the top edge of the tree I added some darker leaf shapes into the tree leaving the lighter areas as highlights. 

This is where we left off in the one I was doing in class (see below) so I have stopped here so I don't get ahead of you.

This is the one I started in class, you can see they are similar but different.

I hope this helps you get caught up, keep painting and I will see you in class.