Class Project Description:

Paint A Watercolor Landscape With A Lake, Ocean Or Pond

Step-by-step guide to painting a watercolor landscape with water reflections:

Get your supplies ready.

(Watercolor paper, watercolor palette, brushes, 2 water containers, paper towels, palette knife or old credit card)

Mix puddles of the colors you want to use for your background.

(I used Cobalt Blue, French Ultramarine Blue, Quinacrodone Red, Transparent Yellow & Burnt Sienna)

Draw a line where water meets the land in the background. Wet the whole background area, and start with painting in the sky. Start from the top, and let the colors bleed down, so your sky is darkest at the top.
When the shine is leaving the paper, it’s time to start painting in the vegetation using the colors you selected to create shapes than look like bushes & trees. (Us a spray bottle to keep your paper damp if necessary.)
Take your credit card or palette knife and scrape out small rocks at the bottom of your background.
Wet the rest of your watercolor paper with horizontal strokes and start by painting in your reflection of the sky with horizontal strokes.
After you have painted in the sky color in the water, start painting in the reflections with vertical strokes, imitating the colors of your background. (Remember reflections are less intense in color - lights are darker and darks are lighter.)
When you are satisfied with the reflections you painted in to the damp lake, take your clean, damp “thirsty” dagger or flat brush and lift out reflections. (See the demo again, if you need a refresher!) Make sure your reflections are horizontal, and don’t overdo it!
Lastly paint in the foreground by using all the colors you have used in your painting so far, and scrape out larger rocks and weeds with your palette knife or credit card.
CONGRATULATIONS! You have mastered reflections in water! Now please share your masterpiece on the project gallery page! I can’t wait to see your paintings!

Alecia Hitchman

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