Winter 3 Watercolor Scenes For Beginners - Cardinal

Great for turning into Holiday Cards!

A quick and simple way to create some cool textured backgrounds using salt! We will add some trees and layer with snow using white gouache. This is a great warm up painting for anyone plus a fantastic way to create multiple cards for a quick but rewarding image to gift.   

We will cover all the supplies needed to complete both watercolor Projects. In this section Students can view the video for materials needed for these projects .  Remember this course has lifetime access so you can re-watch at anytime, plus pop back in for a refresher or updates.

 Materials used in this project:  Most of art materials are available in my Amazon Shop (Link under Blue Resource button) on Video Lecture.

• Watercolors (Winsor Newton or any brand)

• 140 Cold Press Watercolor paper or Cards (Arteza Watercolor Pad used in Demo)

• Watercolor Brushes (3/4" Wash Brush, Size 2 Round and a small detail brush)

• Paint Pallet, Tray, or plate to mix.

• Black Sharpie

• Paper Towels

• White Gouache

• Warm Water (2 containers)

  
  

In this section we will sketch your Winter Tree Scene using a # 2 pencil or a watercolor pencil. In this step you will want to sketch lightly as to not leave dark pencil lines in your final painting.

Let's work on a wet in wet background.

You will learn to create a wet in wet sky with lovely color mixing on the paper along with using my favorite tool to create stunning textured backgrounds for your painting. We will work fast and mix colors on the paper. We will be working quickly before the paint dries. You may like to  practice on a black page before moving onto the original painting.

Discover the beautiful textures that salt can create. Making sure that your painting has fully dried before we remove the salt.

Now that your background is dry, let's begin creating some trees. We will add some deeper shades by mixing in a few different colors of greens. You may like to take a look at my youtube video on creating trees to help give some samples and practice sessions before. Link can be found under the Blue Resources button.

For the next layer of our painting we will learn how to create the illusion of snow on the trees by using white gouache.  Being careful not to use too much water with your gouache or the snow will look to transparent.

Let's begin with a light sketch of holly berries.  This demo is a very intuitive painting. Take a look at some images of berries if you like the look of realistic berries.

Creating a beautiful wash background for our berries using a few layers of greens to create some depth. Using a 3/4 inch oval brush we will begin with wetting our paper first and then begin to add color.

In this lecture we will begin painting in the layers for your leaves. We will dry the glazes in between to add some lovely depth and highlights to your paintings

Now we will add some red to create your holly berries.

First we will add some darker shades under your berries to create more depth. Next we will add highlights to our berries to add a shine to them.

Using a black sharpie to make things pop by outlining your painting. Try different colors maybe gold or white too.

Let's See Your Project!

Post your Projects  in the Q&A Section or by sending me a note!

Complete your own Holly Berries painting using the tools and tips in class. Try some other pens like gold or maybe some different colored backgrounds and please make sure to take a photo of your finished piece in a well lit area.

You can then add it here to the "Q&A" and on instagram by tagging me @kelliechasse_fineart.

Can't wait to see your projects and hear what you thought about the class!

Happy Painting ~ Kellie

In step one student will see me sketch the cardinal out with a pencil. If you would rather print the PDF you can do so under the resources button over on the top left hand side. Please note that you will need to have a mobile app that can open a PDF if you are using a mobile device.

Students will begin painting and mixing up some deep colors of orange and adding some red to the birds beak. We will learn how to lift color and pull out paints for a highlight.

Students will wet the area with a clean wash and begin painting the head and dropping in pigments for a smooth transition of color.

Students will continue to add a deeper wash and using lights and darks to create layers in your branches.

Students will learn to layer with colors and create some fine looking feathers adding more deeper values to our feathers.

Here students will learn how to work with white gouache to add hight lights to your bird. Learn how to use gouache in layers and how to blend and soften your colors.

Students will begin to add snow using white gouache. Learn how to mix water with your gouache and learn how to create the correct consistency to your gouache.

Students we would love to see your projects posted with the group either by tagging Kellie Chasse Fine Art on social media (so that I can see them) or by posting them under the Q & A section. You will find a camera image after clicking on post a question where you can download it. Hope you enjoyed the courses!

Bonus