Classes

White Bear Center for the Arts
4971 Long Avenue
White Bear Lake, MN (map)

Workshops

Color & Design in Watercolor
September 23-25, 2021
Central Minnesota Watercolorists
St. Cloud, Minnesota

Lisa’s step by step process will put you at ease as you learn how to loosen up and feel confident in approaching a watercolor painting. Learn how to paint a realistic watercolor landscape painting from the planning stages to completion while focusing on the design principles. Lisa will also show you how to fix and finish old paintings that you feel have not been successful. Personal critiques will help guide you through the process with ease.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Snowy Trail Watercolor

Start with these reference images:



Starting at the top with a graded wash, continue down the page with the sky color into foliage shapes and colors. Continue the same wash into snow and indicate the path.
Let dry. When the first wash is almost dry, go back into the foliage area and apply another layer of paint. This will cause some interesting shapes called rumbacks. Change the color also to make it interesting.


When this is dry, indicate trees, varying the color, size and shape. Once you have the trees in place, show shadow shapes from the base of the trees, with a blue and burnt sienna color. The shadows will follow the contour of the ground.
When this wash is dry, start to shade the trees, keeping in mind where your light source is coming from. Add branches onto the trees and some dead foliage in the snow.


The last step is analyzing the values. The value is darker on the path than the snow.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Sunrise Watercolor






Start with these reference images:

This will be a wet into wet technique. Wet the entire paper with clean water. Starting at the top of the page use blue hues and then go into yellow. Do not mix a lot or your colors will turn green. Add red and yellow to make an orange; add a little ultramarine blue, alizeran crimson and cobalt blue to the bottom of the page. Using a paper towel, dap out the sun area. Let dry.
We are going to repeat the first process again but using more pigments, and this time your paper is dry. Go back in with a thirsty brush and pick up some colors for the reflection of the sun. Again dap out the area on the sun while the pigment is still wet. Let dry.
I wanted a little more yellow in the sky area, so I again went in and glazed over the previous wash. Let dry. Show the horizon line with a darker value, softening the edge on the bottom. Paint the trees and rocks in the foreground area, making the colors warmer near the light source (the sun). Show some motion in the water by adding darker values and keeping the edges soft. Show the tree branches on top by keeping the colors warmer near the sun and cooler as they recede. Add some foliage. Let dry.

Waterfalls Watercolor

Start with these reference images:



Starting with the background and at the top of the page, use blue hues for the sky, and continue down the page into the foliage areas, using a variety of greens and yellow ochre. Start to sculpt out the shape of the waterfall, negatively. Add rock colors and while the pigments are still wet apply a piece of wax paper on top. Using a credit card scratch out some birch tree trunks in the background. Soften the edges of the rocks with clean water. Let dry.


We are not going to start the second wash with our middle values on the value scale. Start defining tree shapes, using your value study with positive and negative shapes. Leave the lights in some areas from your first wash. Put in the background evergreen trees with a lighter value to show the tree is further back in the woods. Indicate the water area. Let dry.


Our final wash will be using our dark values, putting the shadows on the trees on the bottom of the branches. Start to define the shapes in the rock forms, softening the edges as you go. Start to build up the values in the water, keeping the values on the lighter side of the value scale, with soft edges. When the waterfall hits the flat water, carry the white shapes horizontally to show it's a flat surface. Let dry.