
Master loose coastal and architectural landscapes with a two-step process and wet watercolor techniques. Sketch to plan, set the horizon, and paint water, boats, buildings, and figures from reference photo.
Choose 100 percent cotton press paper with a medium to rough texture for effective wet-on-wet coastal landscapes, and select a core palette of warm primaries, blues, neutrals, and white wash.
Learn to simplify a Dubrovnik coastal landscape by blocking in warm colored buildings and boats, add contrast with blue skies, and use loose, wet-on-wet techniques to create texture and depth.
Learn loose watercolor techniques to depict a Dubrovnik coastal scene with boats, water, and buildings, using layered blues, browns, and brighter accents for reflections and textures.
Practice loose watercolor techniques to capture a London coastal landscape, building boats and a bridge, then layer sky washes, water ripples, and color blends.
Explore loose watercolor techniques to paint a London clocktower landscape with boats, architectural details, and suggestive shadows. Use small brushes, color mixing, and strategic highlights to build a cohesive scene.
Learn loose watercolors to capture Istanbul coastal landscapes with a warm sunset sky, distant mountains, and silhouette buildings using washes, layering, and color mixing.
Learn to simplify a busy coastal harbor scene by highlighting boats and distant buildings with loose watercolor techniques, establishing a horizon, sky, and water through light, shadow, and color.
Explore loose watercolor techniques to capture the Rovinj, Croatia landscape, including light waves, coastal buildings, and boats, using wet-on-wet washes, neutral tint, and color variation for depth.
Explore loose watercolors to render a Saint Tropez coastal landscape, balancing horizon, water, boats, buildings, and figures with careful perspective and brushwork.
Explore loose watercolor techniques to capture a Saint Tropez coastal landscape, blending neutral blue grays, turquoise water, and soft gradients through negative painting and wet-on-wet washes.
Explore loose watercolor techniques to capture a Saint Tropez coastal scene with cars, figures, boats, and buildings through light, shadows, and spontaneous brushwork.
Learn loose watercolor techniques to capture a coastal Venice landscape, focusing on horizon line, architectural silhouettes, arches, pillars, and light-driven shadows with figures.
Mix purples with ultramarine blue to complement warm yellows in Venice coastal scenes, and learn one-wash painting, negative painting, spray texture, and expressive brushwork on arches and lamps.
Apply cerulean blue with squash to model figures against warm tones, shadows, and washes in a Venice landscape. Use neutral tint, dry brushing, and highlights for detail and depth.
Sketch two or more landscapes from demonstration videos using the uploaded drawing template, plan your painting, and complete six landscapes before creating a unique piece from royalty-free or personal photos.
Painting loosely is a fun and liberating way to approach your watercolors. It allows you to freely express yourself and portray your landscape in a unique way. In this class, you'll learn how to paint a scene of London, Dubrovnik (Croatia), Istanbul, coastal France, and Venice.
By the end of this class, you'll have the skills and confidence to be able to paint loose architectural landscapes, water, boats, and figures from a reference photo. And of course, you'll have some beautiful paintings to show off to your friends and family.
We'll be covering some of these topics:
How to Draw and Compose your painting - these lessons are placed at the beginning of each demonstration to show you how I sketch in basic details. I will show you how to place the horizon line, and how to quickly and accurately sketch in the reference photo. I will also talk about how I use my sketch to plan out the steps of my watercolor painting afterward.
How to paint skies, water, boats, buildings, and figures in a soft and loose manner, using a combination of wet-in-wet and wet-in-dry techniques. I'll talk about how and when to wet your watercolor paper to obtain particular results such as the appearance of soft clouds, and when to paint in more rigid and accurate shapes once the paper has dried.
The importance of timing in watercolors and when to use different brushes.
I'm excited to get started, so join me in this class and let's have some fun painting!
Original royalty-free photographic references, scans of original paintings, and bonus stencils for tracing/drawing are included under the 'Materials Required' lecture.
For the course project, refer to each demonstration video and sketch 2 or more of the featured landscapes in pencil. You can also refer to the drawing templates which simplify the details to basic lines and elements, which you can also trace. Practicing drawing is an important step in improving your painting skills. This provides you with an opportunity to compose and plan your painting. Following along to the demonstrations, use the steps and processes explained to complete your painting.
If you've finished the 6 landscapes featured in this course, pick a royalty-free photograph or perhaps one of your own landscape photographs. Using the processes and techniques described, create your own unique painting.
Finally, upload your painting(s)! If you have questions or would like feedback on your work, let me know and I will get back to you.