This week we focused on one of the hardest and most rewarding parts of watercolor: knowing how to finish a painting. Throughout this course, we've learned how watercolor is built in layers. We've practiced soft skies, values, layering, texture, and depth. This week was about bringing all of those skills together and adding the final touches that help a painting feel complete. One of the main ways we finished our landscapes was by adding contrast. Contrast helps guide the view

This week we focused on layering and texture and spent time exploring how watercolor can create depth in soft and natural ways. Rather than adding detail all at once, we practiced slowly building our paintings layer by layer. Our first technique focus was layering. We practiced this by painting clusters of pine trees in multiple passes. For the first layer, we used a very diluted “tea” consistency of paint. This layer was light, watery, and transparent. We grouped our pine tr

This week we began moving from softness and flow into a little more structure and intention. We focused on value, brush control, shape, and wet-on-dry painting techniques while continuing to build confidence with watercolor. One of our biggest focuses this week was understanding value. In watercolor, value refers to how light or dark a color appears. We used a very diluted tea like paint and slowly built darker values by adding additional layers over the top. To practice this

Our first class together was such a lovely start. We spent time getting comfortable with the way watercolor moves, blends, and softens on the page. Rather than focusing on perfection, we focused on observation—watching how water and pigment work together. This week we explored: - Wet-on-wet -feathering and feeding color - Lifting Below is a simple review of each technique so you can continue practicing at home. Wet-on-Wet Wet-on-wet is one of the most beautiful and forgivin

Summer & Autumn Trees: Layering, Texture & Light As we move into painting fuller, more expressive trees, this week is all about learning how to create depth, texture, and light in a simple and approachable way. Summer and autumn trees give us the perfect opportunity to explore richer color, fuller canopies, and a little more movement in our brushwork. In this lesson, we focus on three key techniques: layering for depth, dry brushing for texture, and adding shadows to ground o

Spring trees are one of the most fun subjects to paint in watercolor. The colors are soft and fresh, and watercolor’s natural ability to blend and spread on the page makes it perfect for capturing blossoms and new foliage. In class this week we focused on wet-on-wet techniques for creating organic, natural-looking tree canopies. Instead of trying to paint every leaf or blossom individually, these methods allow the paint and water to do some of the work for us. Below are the

Our first week together focuses on winter trees, a beautiful and approachable subject for beginning watercolor. Without leaves or heavy color, winter trees allow us to slow down and notice the structure of a tree—its trunk, branches, and the quiet shapes it creates against the sky. They’re also the perfect way to begin learning how watercolor behaves on the page. This week we’ll focus on a few foundational techniques that will support everything we paint throughout the course

🕷 Watercolor — Spiders This week’s focus: practicing five watercolor techniques to help us paint spiders and spider webs with texture,...

Watercolor Techniques for Painting Butterflies 1. Layered Gradients Create a smooth gradient wash across the wing using a single color,...

Watercolor Techniques – Painting Bees Dry Brush Technique – Creating Fuzzy Textures How we did it: Start with a damp brush (not dripping...

Layering Use “milk” or “tea” paint consistencies for translucent effects. Allow each layer to dry before applying the next. Builds depth...

I’m so excited you’re here and can’t wait to start painting together this week! Whether you’re new to watercolor or have been painting...

Negative Watercolor Painting (practice)

Color and Emotion in Watercolor This week, we dove into the idea of using color to reflect memory and emotion —turning personal...

Exploring Marks & Movement in Watercolor One of the joys of watercolor is discovering the variety of marks your brush can make and...

Week 4 printable

Color Mixing Chart Color mixing is a fundamental skill in watercolor painting because it helps artists create a broader, palette using...

The color wheel… How to Identify Warm vs. Cool Colors Basic Idea: Warm colors feel like sun and heat: reds, oranges, yellows Cool colors...

Composition Basics in Watercolor Painting The Rule of Thirds The rule of thirds is a simple but powerful guideline for arranging elements...

Watercolor Techniques & How to Use Them Practicing different watercolor techniques can help you create depth, texture, and realism in...