Summer 2018 Watercolor Class

Watercolor Project: Marsh Madness Week 2

This week we slowed down a bit as we got into more detail, that is a normal evolution once you have your under painting done and you start to develop the painting.

We worked on both the larger and the smaller tree trunks and branches. The lighter tree trunk color on the larger trees to the left and the 2 branches on the right was a mix of burnt sienna, ultramarine blue and water to make it thin or you can use burnt umber instead of the sienna. Under paint them and let it dry.

One thing I did because that area is a bit confused was to lift out some of the leaves I put in last week so I could see where my tree trunks connected. This painting which is the class project is a bit different from the one I did to get last week's steps for the blog, and I had lost parts of the trunks. In the end, I may end up going over it with leaves but for now it is trunk.

Closer view of the tree trunks' under painting.

I also started working on the reflections in the water. I use my flat angle brushes for most of the painting but either a regular flat or a round brush will work.

I didn't want to lose the some of the back runs or some of the color from last time so I was careful to work around them.

When you are working in water and reflections, it is important to keep your brush strokes parallel to the top and bottom of your paper. I made a series of over lapping parallel strokes around some of the light green on the left and the light green back run near the center with a mix or Hooker's green and blue with the occasional touch of purple to create a dark color but thinned it with water so it wasn't too dark yet. Remember we work from light to dark and the layers we are putting on now become the highlights and texture of the finished painting, so don't get too dark too soon or cover up all that went before.

We also got started on the smaller branches using the liner brush. The liner is a round brush with very long bristles to hold a lot of paint and water. It can be a fun brush to use but it does take practice. Some of you did practice others didn't, and I could see the difference.

Use the back of an old painting or even just some drawing paper, the point is to get the feel of the brush. Hold it and the very back end of the brush, roll it around in the paint all the way up to the metal ferrule and roll it between your fingers as you lift from your palette. The paint should be the consistency of India ink.

To get a wider line press down and as you pull the brush, lift up until you are on the tip. Don'e worry about shakes, this is actually a good thing when doing branches. When you want to make a branch or twig, follow the branch you want to branch off from for a little ways, the take the new branch off in a new direction, it will create a more natural transition from one to another.

Don't stop your branches too soon, let them flow. Look at how trees grow and how the branches and twigs will kinda flow to an end rather than come to an abrupt stop. Also don't be afraid to over lap or change direction. Look at trees for your inspiration.

In the above image and below notice how I used the ends of the branches to break up the light sky (a negative space) into a more interesting shape.

I will come back and add some leaves to parts of these branches so they won't look like dead sticks, though you will find dead trees in all parts of a natural landscape.

The little clump of trees on the right have branches and twigs that come out of the water and also out of mounds of dirt or debris and those stems and twigs go up into the existing leaves we already painted in so when you add the branches, stems and twigs be sure to skip over some of the existing green so it appears that the stems and twigs are coming in and out of the leaves. We will reflect  this area next time, until then keep painting and I will see you in class.