Mastering Simple: Create Successful Watercolors Every Time

About This Class

Watercolor is a medium most of us have struggled with. Yet we stick with it hoping our skills will improve and deliver us that wonderful watercolor feeling of "I got it". This complete watercolor course will show you how to master the simple watercolor techniques professional watercolorists use to create wonderful watercolors every time.

We start the class by discovering the essential watercolor techniques you will use in the short, simple warm up projects. These simple watercolor techniques, when mastered and applied in later projects,will appear very layered and engaging...mud free and alive with texture tone and color.

Start Simple with the class and then build your confidence and skill level with each project.

Here is 'Country Road' from the class. It demonstrates the fact that a solid traditional watercolor uses all the simple and mastered techniques from this class.

What am I going to learn in this class?

If this is your First Watercolor Class or your looking to Improve Your Watercolor Skills then start with the first video 'Project Outline and Materials'. Mastering Simple is a combination of materials and techniques so pop into this section if you want to get started right.

Here is a Poster with each project in this Complete Watercolor Course

Let's Look At The Course Outline.

These first 3 Floral Projects will give you the mastery needed for the Country Road, Seascape, Summer Birch, and Free Flowing Abstract that make up the rest of the course

#1 The Simple Things

This video will introduce the basic techniques we will be mastering (the big washes are covered in the other videos.) Wet into wet, neutrals, dry brush, sparkle stroke, drag and pull stroke etc...

#2 Simple Drop And Pull Florals

This is the simplest 'no fail' technique that is refreshingly simple to master. Follow the demo and then create your own floral arrangement. Fill your paper with the sweet scent of this simple technique.

#3 The Simple Orchid

Take up where the drop and pull leaves off I mean petals off and see why Neutral Colors enhance pure colors. You will also find out how to go dark and keep out the mud.

#4 Simple Free Flowing Florals

By now you have gained some mastery and are ready for some real wet watercolors. Free flowing is all about control and confidence. These 3 Floral Projects will give you the mastery needed for the next four projects.

#5 Seascape

Get the sparkle in foreground and big wash wet into wet sky. The stipple stroke adds interest and is a simple way to add well placed darks.

#6 Summer Birch

I love Birch trees as you can see below.

You can stop half way through the Summer Birch video and you will have a fine watercolor to be proud of.

Or, continue with me to the end adding a surface pattern stroke that brings a decorative unity to the painting.

#7 Country Road

All roads lead to success in this project.We start with a small drawing and quick 'paint study' of the bigger project. Follow me through the entire two painting process and you will be well on your way to mastering the traditional watercolor method that countless professional artists use .

Small Study in progress below.

#8 Free Flowing Abstract

This is one of my very favorite ways to loosen up and get myself out of any stylistic ruts that I may find myself slipping into. Same old same old is not my standby attitude.

I have no plan when starting except to play around with all the simple techniques and see where they lead me. Follow the paint and it will deliver you every time.

Here are a few past examples. I also included a few in the file section also for you to 'get the feeling'.

Here are some of the key things you will learn with this course;

How to manipulate paint into shapes on dry paper and wet paper
How to use neutrals to make pure colors 'pop'
How to identify and use staining colors and granulating colors
How to choose the right paper for the best results
Why poor materials always produce poor results.
How to start big and wet and end dry and small
How to paint loose and free without muddy paint results

Do I need to use the same materials Ron uses?

Not at all. However you must use good watercolor paper. Mid priced paints and brushes will work but poor paper will always produce a muddy disaster. My choice is arches 140 lb. cold press. Canson is fine for some applications but it lacks the tooth that produces sparkle in a watercolor. I use both in this class.

Do I need a lot of materials to take this class?

Not at all. You can paint a really fine watercolor with two mid-priced brushes and 3 colors. You will need a mid sized round brush and a smaller round brush for details. I mostly use Thalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow light, Azo Yellow, or Hansa Yellow, Yellow Ochre, permanent Alizarin Crimson ,Burnt Sienna and Cadmium Red.

I have a Cotman cake pan set for some of the above pigments. This is a great way to save money as the cadmiums and burnt sienna are not used as often as the basic colors.

So once again the basics are: Good paper (140lb cold press) 2 brushes, 3 colors.

If you want to Master Simple In Watercolor and improve your artistic well being, then this class has something for every watercolor lover.

There is a project for every level!

Learn how to get loose and paint some simple free flowing watercolors that you can 'detail up' later or enjoy them as they first come out.

It was you, my students who suggested most of the subject matter for this class. I love it when I find simple approaches that produce exciting results. No fussing around in this class. You will be Mastering the simple watercolor techniques that all professional artists have mastered and use every time they create.

By the way,there are no complicated watercolor techniques to master...only simple ones!

Repetition is our mission! Mastering is acquired through diligent repetition.

We will be taking one mastered technique and applying another to it which will layer up our work and create boldness.

Susan Birtch

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