In this lesson I'll show you everything you need in order to follow my instructions and paint the landscapes we'll create. This includes drawing and painting tools.

I keep this part as simple as possible. I want you to understand EXACTLY what you'll need.

I also provide some specific brand recommendations (no affiliation with any of these (: these are the brands I personally love the most).

In this lesson I'll share with you the first landscape we'll paint.

I'll also show you some of the preparatory work I do, prior to painting. This includes the preparatory sketch and the specific color selection.

Preparatory sketch: This is incredibly important for becoming more familiar with the scene. The focus here is on the drawing, composition and values (values = how dark or light each part of the painting is).

Color selection: This is another important one. Trying out colors and finding mixes you love will help you enjoy your work more. I believe values are ALWAYS more important than colors. With that being said. I'm also aware of the fact that some colors can work better than others, and also that I have my personal preferences when it comes to specific colors and combinations I use.

In this lesson we'll draw the scene and paint the initial wash (which is the first layer of watercolor).

I show you everything in real time. It's important for me to show you the exact steps I take in not only painting, but also the drawing process. A good drawing always leads to a better painting (:

In addition to that, I'll also give some guidelines for painting the initial wash.

In this lesson I'll show you how I start adding shadows and different details on top of the first layer.

In my opinion, this is one of the hardest stages of painting. It's also the most rewarding though. This is when you really start defining the shapes of your subject and some of the details.

In this lesson I'll show you the final result of our dramatic sky painting, and will also conclude the process.

We will remove the tape together, a final step I believe is one of the most satisfying moments in watercolor painting. This will create a natural frame for the scene, and will make it look sharper.

In this lesson I'll introduce the landscape we'll paint. 

This time we're focusing on artistic licence to change what we see. We'll use vibrant and happy colors, and move some minor elements around. I will also share with you the preparatory sketches I did, as well as the specific colors we'll be using.

In this lesson we'll draw the scene and also paint the first layer.

It's important to note that the drawing here poses some additional challenges, as it includes a human-made structure - the cabin. This requires us to use some elements of perspective, and draw a little more accurately.

The first wash will be very fun, as we will let loose and use many different colors. In terms of pace, we will work a little slower though, to make sure we get some details in already.

There will also be an element of negative painting, as we'll skip the cabin and paint everything around it.

In this lesson we'll finally paint the cabin, and also add a second layer on top of the background and rest of the painting.

This step will bring out the shape of the cabin nicely, and will also start defining some of the details of the landscape, such as trees and other foliage.

In this stage we'll add the darkest shadows to the entire painting. I put emphasis on using rich and interesting shadows that will create a color harmony and will add to the composition.

We've been painting using a limited palette so far, which makes color harmonies easier to create in the first place (;

In this lesson we'll add some final details and touches to the painting. 

This includes some "architectural" details on the cabin, as well as natural elements in the landscape. I also introduce some dry brush to the roof of the cabin, which will give it that cool rusty look.

In this lesson we'll conclude this painting process.

We'll take a look at the final painting and I'll talk about the painting process and what we could have done differently or changed even more. We'll also remove the tape, as always (;

In this lesson I'll present you with the next scene we'll paint.

This is a photo I actually took on-location, and so I can really remember the light and shadow, the sounds in the scene, the feeling of light hitting my face, and even the smells!

This is a good moment to mention - painting on-location is very rewarding and I always recommend that over using a photo reference.

As always, we'll also take a look at some of the prep sketches I created to get ready for this painting.

In this lesson I'll show you exactly how I approach sketching this scene out.

This step is crucial, as we will be making use of perspective for the road, fences and the persimmon orchard to the left. The winding dirt road is a major part of this scene, so we want to get it right. 

In this lesson we'll paint the initial wash.

In this stage, my main concern is to have a relatively even wash that is well-blended together. I also talk about different approaches to do the initial wash, their advantages and disadvantages.

In this lesson we'll add the darker shadows to the painting.

This step is incredibly important. This layer will do the "heavy-lifting" of the painting, and will really define the shape of everything. We will also do some negative painting around the fence's posts.

In this step we'll add some final details to the painting. 

These also include adding white opaque paint for highlights! I don't usually do this, but in this case I felt like a pop was needed. This is something that's incredibly easy to overdo, so make sure you use this sparingly (; 

(it is quite addictive...)

In this lesson we'll conclude this painting process. 

We'll talk about some of the things we could have done differently, and the effect those would have had. And as always - we'll remove the tape! (;

In this final lesson we'll conclude everything we learned in this course, and I'll provide some more words of encouragement!