Simplify Your Painting: Paint 5 Watercolor Landscapes

Hi, I'm Darren from Watercolour Mentor, and welcome to the course. Have you ever struggled to paint from a complex reference photo or scenery? Ever wondered how you can paint quickly and loosely while still retaining accuracy and perspective? Trying to emulate a reference photo/scene exactly is a recipe for disappointment!

Bonus Workshop Included: Paint 4x EASY Urban Landscapes!

In this course, we're going to make painting difficult subjects fun. We will be simplifying and painting some COMPLEX landscapes with a combination of multiple buildings, trees, figures, and small details. By the end of this course, you'll see how easy it is to break down a scene into large shapes which you can use as a foundation for your painting. This class will provide step-by-step instructions and tips that will build your confidence in sketching and painting complex landscapes. You will understand how to reduce details and exaggerate shadows and other features to create a loose, atmospheric painting.

In this course, we will cover:

• How to create a simplified pencil sketch from 5 complex reference photographs.

• How to paint houses and indicate details with minimal brushstrokes.

• How to use tone to imply shadows, contrast, and draw attention to certain areas of your painting.

• How to paint shadows and light.

• How to compose or come up with a unique design for your painting, by deciding what to incorporate from your reference photo and what to leave out.

• Using complementary colors to create vibrant contrasts in your paintings.

• How to use essential watercolor techniques and processes such as; layering and glazing, wet-in-wet, and wet-in-dry.

I have a lot of knowledge and tips that I would like to share with you. I hope to see you in this course!

Course Project:

For the course project, follow along with each demonstration (you can just do a few, no need to do them all as I describe specific variations of my general process in each one). It's important for you to complete the sketching exercise at the beginning of each demonstration, as this will build your drawing and observation skills so that you will feel more confident in sketching from other reference photos or real-life scenes. Following the tips and processes outlined in each lecture, create up to 5 landscape paintings based on the reference photos I have provided. Upload your finished paintings in the discussion/Q&A if you would like some constructive feedback, and I will get back to you.

For the second part of the course project, select ONE photograph of your choice of a complex landscape. This can be found online through royalty-free reference photo websites, or you can pick a photo you've taken yourself. Using the process I've described and demonstrated in this course, sketch and paint your landscape.