Planning a Watercolor, Part 3: Making Basic Edits to Your Reference Photos
Making easy, small changes to your reference photo can make your painting more interesting and unique (and often, easier to paint, too!)
Technical How-to
Reflections in Calm Water
Look over my shoulder as I paint the subpaintings to help me decide how I want to paint reflections on calm water.
Adjusting granulation
Some watercolor pigments produce granulation (a.k.a. sedimentation), a mottled or speckly appearance as the wash dries. Did you know that you can sometimes coax more or less granulation out of the same pigment? Here’s how.
Tips for Mixing Darks and Shadow Colors
A few tips for mixing darks and shadow colors in watercolor, including shadows on yellow and red objects.
Glow! (An Alternate Method for Softening Edges)
In this video, I demonstrate an alternate method for softening edges in watercolor, using a sponge instead of a brush.
How Do I Paint Tan? (beige/khaki/sand/bark/fur/feathers/skin)
An easy tip for mixing lively, interesting and natural-looking browns, tans, skin tones, fur, feathers, etc.
Postcard Paint- (and Plan-)Along: Coast Sunflowers
Tips for planning a manageable painting/postcard and coping with a complex subject when sketching on location.
Christmas Trees with Lights at Night
A watercolor postcard of lighted Christmas trees at night on a snowy slope.
How (and When) to Stretch Your Watercolor Paper
once you start painting quarter-sheet or larger, or getting the paper really saturated, stretching your paper makes your life sooooo much easier! This video shows my preferred method, stretching on the same stretcher bars used for canvas, and an alternate method for those who have difficulty operating a staple gun.
Three Ways to Transfer Drawings to Watercolor Paper
Three methods for transferring a drawing to watercolor paper: using self-made graphite transfer, graphite transfer paper and clear acetate.
Dealing with Mold on a Watercolor Palette
A simple method for eliminating and controlling mold on your watercolor palette.
It’s Not All About Hue – Imposters and Chameleons
Color-mixing is often discussed as if the only consideration is getting “the right color”, but watercolor pigments each have their own physical and chemical properties. This video presents some activities to help you develop a more sophisticated understanding of color-mixing so you become better at choosing and mixing pigments to create the artistic effects—including perceived color—you desire.