Transparent Watercolor Butterflies - Practice the Wet-in-Wet Technique

Class Overview

In this class, you will learn how to paint 4 delicate watercolor butterflies by applying various techniques, with an emphasis on wet-in-wet. 

What You Will Learn

• How to manage the wetness of the paper, and "time" the application of the paint
• How to achieve wet-in-wet color blends
• Why to use certain watercolor pigments and avoid others
• How to glaze wet watercolor on top of dried washes
• How to transfer a sketch onto watercolor paper without a printer or lightbox needed

Why Should You Take This Class? 

A common challenge for beginner watercolor painters is balancing the water to pigment ratio, and timing the application of paint based on the wetness of the paper. 

This course will demonstrate how you can practice this technique, while painting a much-loved subject, butterflies! 

While the focus of the course is on applying the wet-in-wet technique, you will learn much more including:

• The best supplies to use to achieve these effects more easily
• How to know the difference between transparent watercolors and others, such as opaque or granulating watercolors
• How to choose colors that mix well together on the paper, keeping pleasant color blends
• How to "glaze" watercolors, wet on dry
• How to achieve perfectly symmetrical butterfly wings, if you choose to draw them yourself (line art is provided)
• How to transfer your sketch to your watercolor paper, no lightbox or printer required

Each of the 4 butterfly lessons will help you to continue to practice the wet-in-wet technique, each in slightly different ways:

1. Orange Butterfly - Painted all in one color
2. Blue Butterfly - Painted in 2 shades of blue
3. Green Butterfly - Painted first with a mix of green and yellow, with blue and green mixed for the body and the glazed details
4. Purple Butterfly - An alternate way to paint butterflies wet-in-wet even MORE easily, if you are painting them larger or just need more time to work with the paper at just the right wetness.

Who is This Class For? 

This course is aimed at beginners who are still practicing fundamental watercolor techniques, but it would be a great course for more intermediate painters as well, for a new way to "warm up" before a painting session or to test out some new colors!

Suggested Materials

I keep the supplies list fairly simple, but you will need good quality watercolor paper (100% cotton) several transparent watercolor tubes (I prefer Daniel Smith and Winsor Newton) some tracing paper, a soft-lead pencil, a size 2 or 4 watercolor brush, as well as water/paper towels/palette for mixing your paints

Where Else You Can Find Me!

My Website

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