Here is a tutorial on how I created the golden glow on my watercolor painting of tomatoes from the supermarket.
The cross-hatch method of building up layers of color results in rich, dark backgrounds. Using a flat brush that holds more paint than water, excess water can be wicked off on a towel before touching the watercolor paper. Use the same colors that are in the rest of the painting to give a unified effect. Dark colors add drama and depth, especially when used next to the lighter colors in the painting.
This is a watercolor tutorial showing how to create depth and shadows in peony flower petals. Using a reference photos, look for the darkest darks and the lightest values to guide your choice of colors.
In this tutorial, I'll show you how to protect the your watercolor paper to leave areas white. There are other times when I want to be able to protect an area already painted while creating the background. In this demo, I'm covering parts of my paper that will be the salt on the pretzel. This is done with masking fluid. I've been successfully using Pebeo Drawing Gum, but there are a number of good products that will do this. Please let me know if you find this video interesting and helpful.
Mingling is a technique used to control how the watercolors blend together without creating "mud."
This tutorial demonstrates how to create pebbles on the beach or any object that has a shadow. It also explains how to make objects in the foreground larger and those away from the viewer small to create a sense of depth in the painting.
Even though it's usually thought that watercolor changes are impossible, I'll show how to correct mistakes and create useful effects by "lifting."
I show how I create this colorful rainbow animal series of watercolor paintings. One of the “secrets to success” here is to rinse the brush every time before you add another color to the still-wet previous one. Please comment to let me know if this video is helpful.
Here are two types of masking fluid products that work well to preserve the white of your watercolor paper. After applying the masking fluid, be sure to allow it to dry totally before applying your paint. Once the paint is totally dry, the masking fluid can be removed by rubbing your finger over it and simply peeling it off or using a rubber cement pick up block. Once you've lost the white of the paper, you can regain it with white casein
Here I share some of the decision-making processes and techniques used for my beach watercolor, "Great Blue Heron Strutting." I take you from start to finish so that you can appreciate many of the challenges I faced and solutions I used. Please enjoy, comment, and share my unique approach in creating this painting.