Paint a Spring Landscape with me - Using Watercolors

1. Welcome to the class!: Spring is the season of beautiful and bright sunny days with flowers and trees blooming all around. And along comes hope and fresh beginnings. It is the season to feel motivated, refreshed, and to rekindle the spark in your soul. Hello everyone. I'm Ashley area and engineer, a watercolor artist and an art instructor. Today I'm back with yet another beautiful class. And if you wish to feel inspired, this class will spark some positive vibes and give you some hope. In this class, we will be painting a beautiful spring landscape. You will learn how to create those soft, beautiful backgrounds using the wet on wet technique. And you'll also learn how to add interesting details to make your painting look more natural and realistic. So what are you waiting for? Go grab your supplies, and let's get started. 2. Art Supplies: Alright, so let us take a look at the art supplies that you'll need for this class. So first let's take a look at the papers for this class. I will be using Arches watercolor paper, which is 300 GSM and 100% cotton paper. So you can go with any size you want. I will be going with this particular size. You can see the texture of the watercolor paper. This is a really 100% cotton paper and it is typically good for the wet-on-wet techniques. So next, let us take a look at the colors we will need. For the colors. I have made a detailed video, which is in the next section. So I'll show you the swatches of the different colors. But basically for this class, I will be using the colors from the brand White Nights. But you can go with whichever brand you have got. And also we would need a little bit amount of white gouache. You can use white watercolor either. So I will be using the gouache from the brand rule is true. So that's it for the colors. And now, most importantly, let us take a look at the brushes that we need for this particular class. So first of all, we would need a large flat brush for wetting the entire surface of the paper. So you can go with any brush you have. This brush is from the brand silver, silver black velvet brush. Next you will be needing three brushes. These brushes are again from the brand silver black velvet. So the first one is the larger sized, that is 12 number brush. This is used for the larger washes. And the next brush that we're going to use is the size number eight. This is four, the normal washes you can see. And lastly, you will need a smaller size brush with a pointed tip. This is for adding the fine details. So these are the brushes that you would be needing, but you can go with the similar sized brushes of any brand you have caught. So yes. Next, let us take a look at the two jars of water. One you will be needing for clean water and the other one is students of the dirty paint from your brush, so you'll need to adjust. Next is a mixing palette. So this is a ceramic palette I have here, but you can go with any other palette you have got. The advantage of using ceramic is it can be easily cleaned. So that was for the mixing palette. Then you will need an eraser and pencil to make a pencil sketch for yourself. Okay, So then we will need a clot or a tissue paper to wipe off the excess amount of water or paint from your brush and also from the sides of the paper. Next, you will need a masking tape to tape down your people onto the boat so that you know the papers firmly fixed onto the surface of the board. And lastly, you will need a board like this. So you can go with a magazine cover or any other board or even a book for that matter? Yes. That's it for the art supplies. So go grab your art supplies and I'll see you soon in the next section. 3. Colors: Alright, so let's take a look at the colors that we will need. So starting with the sky. So for the sky, I will be using the color surreal in blue. This is from the brand White Nights. So basically all the colors that I'm going to use for this class is from the brand White Nights. So you can see this surreal in blue is so such a fresh and a subtle looking color. So basically, I love to use this blue for the day skies. You can go with any other blue that you have God, but make sure you're using it in the lightest tonal value. The next is for the forest behind there, I will be using this sap green or dark green. So if you don't have sap green, then what you can do is take a little bit of dark green and put a pinch of Payne's gray onto that and makes it well to get this sap green. So the next color that we will need is for painting the middle, at the bottom, we have different shades of green. So you can see there are different types of greens. The first green that I have used on the top over there is the main green. So as watched the color for you. So this is how it looks. It's a very fresh and a very bright green. You can use in painting most of your landscapes. And since spring is like a fresh beginning of the season, so I thought of using this color. The next color I have used this olive green. Olive green is another beautiful shade of green. So if you don't have olive green, then I think you can mix it a little bit of green and yellow and a little bit of Payne's gray and create this kind of green again. So just play with the different shades of green. And again, I'll be using sap green as well for painting the middle. So the next color is, It's Indian yellow mixed with a little bit of white gouache to get a pasty yellow color. Using this color for adding those teeny tiny flowers you see at the bottom. So I'm not using yellow directly because it won't be visible on top of the grass that you have added. So you need to add a little bit of white gouache or white watercolor to make it a little bit opaque. And now for the pathway, I'm going to be using the color Payne's gray. I'm using it in its lightest form. Not exactly very light. So you can just see the tonal value that I have watched for you. So don't go with a darker shade. If you don't have Payne's gray, you can use a little bit of black, mix it with lots of amount of water and then you will get this shape. Then for painting cottage or the hat behind. So for the walls, we will be using Payne's gray. Payne's gray, we will be using sepia, but if you don't have sepia, you can go with a darker shade of brown. For the roof of the cabin or the heart, we will be using red. I'm using cadmium red over here. So you can go with any other red so that it pops out through the fields. So that is it for the color is, these are the very basic colors. I hope you will have all these colors in your basic palette. So go grab your colors and get them ready. And I'll see you soon in the next section. 4. Adding the pencil sketch: Alright, so let us start adding the pencil sketch. So first we're going to start by adding the pathway in the middle. So the pathway is very simple. Towards the vanishing point, the pathway should be thin. And as it comes towards the closer towards the viewer, it should get Broaden. So to keep the rule of perspective, we will be adding the pathway in this manner. So it's as simple as that, a simple pathway. And then now I'm going to define meadow kind of shape onto the top where I'm going to be adding my pine trees of the forest behind. And on top we're going to have the clouds. So just roughly define organic line. It may not be straight. Alright, so now it's time to add the final pencil sketch. That is, we are going to be adding a teeny tiny heart in the background. It's gonna be really small because it's far away in the background. It's a simple heart. It's not complicated at all. So I would highly recommend you to wait for me to complete the pencil sketch and then you can pause the video, or even you can take a screenshot so that you can take your own sweet time and complete a pencil sketch for yourself. Alright, so I will quickly go ahead and finish adding this heart. And then meanwhile, you can prep your paper and you can keep this applies ready so that you can also complete the pencil sketch. Okay, So that's the heart. And yes, the benzyl sketches as simple as it looks. And now you can begin adding your pencil sketch. And I will see you soon in the next section. 5. Painting the Background: Alright, so let us start our painting. So first I'm going to apply a clean even coat of water onto the entire paper. So for this purpose, I'm using my silver brush, hockey brush. So this is a flat sized brush for it's usually used for wetting the paper, but you can go with any kind of flat brush that you have got. So yeah. Lettuce evenly wet the paper. So since we are going to work on the wet, on wet technique, make sure you take your own sweet time to apply even coat of water. And I highly recommend you to apply multiple washes of water so that your paper remains wet for a longer duration of time. And, you know, your wet on wet technique works perfectly. So. Yes. Now that we have vetted our paper, I think we're good to go and let us start our painting. So first we're going to paint the sky. Alright, so let us start. So for the sky, I will be using civilian blue. I like using civilian blue for painting skies because it is a very nice subtle blue. But you can go with any other light blue that you have got. Or if you don't have light blue, then you can use Prussian blue or ultramarine blue, but make sure you're not using it at the highest, the tonal value. You can add lots of water and make it a little bit light. So you can see this cerulean blue is so gorgeous. I'm adding this on to the sky in the form of simple random strokes. So you can see, I'm trying to leave some white spaces in between in order to or show that there are some clouds in the sky. So there's no much paint. I'm trying to tone down the value a little bit. So you can see I'm randomly creating some strokes. It's very simple. You have to just create some simple small strokes here and there. And then your sky will be ready. Alright, so keep adding these strokes until you're satisfied. So I'm focusing more on the top area. So I wonder top region of the sky to look a little bit darker. And as I come down towards the horizon line, I'm making the color a little bit lighter. This will give a very nice perspective and a realistic look your painting. So you can see how this guy has turned out. So every time I'm just removing the excess water from my brush and trying to define a proper shape to the sky. And that's how our sky is looking as of now. So I'm using my size number 12 brush for the entire painting almost. And for painting small details, I will be using my size number eight brush. Okay, so now I'm going to start painting the landscape, that is the Greenfield. So for that, we will be having different types of greens. First, I will be starting with some sap green. So even before we start painting our landscape, we're going to add some trees onto the top region. You can see how I am painting this. So start by adding some small pine tree kind of shapes using the sap green. You can, if you don't have sap green, you can use dark green or any other kind of green that you have got. But if you want to achieve this kind of green, then you can mix dark green, a little bit of Payne's gray to get this kind of sap green. Alright? So you can see how I'm creating that particular trees. Since these trees are far away in the background, we're not going to add more details. It's just random bunch of trees at the back over there. Let's keep adding some trees. You can see I'm not adding the trees all in. Same shape. All the trees are of different sizes and shapes. So you can see how it's looking. And at some places I'm using a darker value of green and at some places I'm making use of lighter value in this way, it will give a nice depth and it will show that there are wide variety of trees in the background. I'm also picking up some olive green now and adding that amongst the sap green that we have already added. So try to play with the different tonal values and different types of greens. And this will make your painting look more realistic. Alright, so that's how the background trees are looking as of now. So I'm still going to keep adding more and more deeper values urine there. All right, so I'm going to add some trees on the left side as well. So the plan is to cover the entire horizon line with some small and some larger trees so that it doesn't look empty. And we're going to depict that there is some forest behind. So don't add larger and bigger and thicker branches because otherwise, you know, you're going to cover up the entire sky and it's going to not look good. So as per the perspective, since the trees are very far away, we're going to add smaller trees. So keep the rule of perspective in the mind and then add these trees along the horizon line. Okay, So now I'm going to start wetting the bottom area. Since it was already wet previously, it has got write-up now with the same 12 number brush, I'm just adding a little bit of water and rewetting my paper. So if your paper has got dry, then you can also go ahead and re-wet it. Just adding a little bit of water. Okay, So now we're ready, now we can start painting our landscape. So for this, I'm using the first color is green. This is a very nice leaf green color. If you don't have this, you can take a little bit of lemon yellow and light green and create this particular shade. Okay, so, yeah, one more important thing is we are, we have drawn the heart over there, so make sure the paint doesn't seep into the heart. Even if it gets into the heart. Take a clean damp brush and try to clean that. And later on we'll be adding the heart over there. Doesn't matter even if it gets covered. So no need to worry. Alright, so the next color that we're going to add is olive green. So right where you stopped adding the leaf green, you can start adding the olive green. And now I'm adding a little bit of dark green or Sap green. We're not going to use a single color for painting the landscape. Otherwise, it's going to look very flat. To achieve that depth and realistic feel, you need to play with different tonal values and different shades of green. So yeah, accidentally I picked up a lot of dark green and I'm just cleaning off that. Since this is wet on wet, even if you make any mistake like as when the paper is still wet, you can clear off your mistakes or you can clean up your mistakes. So yes, that is the magic of wet on wet. Alright, so let us continue adding more and more deeper tones. So picking up some olive green and mixing that with the dark green are the sap green that we have added previously. And in-between, I will also pick up my leaf green or maybe green and cover up the entire landscape. So make sure your paper is nicely wet so that you can keep adding these different tonal values. If your paper gets dry, then you will not get a blend between these colors. So make sure you pick up water when you are picking up fresh paint so that your paper remains wet. Okay. So yeah. I'm just cleaning off the hairs that are getting formed so that we don't ruin our heart. Alright? So picking up some dark green now and adding random strokes, mainly focusing on that edge of the pathway so that, that looks a little bit darker. So there's no particular shape or there's no particular order in which you're going to add these different shades of green. It's up to you how you add these. You know, the end result will be, you'll be very stunned to look at the result because wet-on-wet is such a technique that it blends all the different colors and gives a nice texture to your painting. So I'm not just adding it as a flat wash, I'm just creating different structures, trying to make some grassy patterns in between so that you know, all of this. When it dries, it's going to look very natural and very soft. Alright, so whenever you feel like your paint is creating some hair-like structures, just take a damp, wet, semi dry brush and clean off those hair-like structures that are forming. So now we're going to move towards the left side. And on the left side as well, we're going to add different tonal values of green. So starting with olive green, then we're going to add some sap green or dark green. Make sure you don't add any paint onto the pathway because we're going to have a different color for the pathway. Alright, so just cleaning up some hair-like structures. Now, I'll continue to add some sap green at the bottom. So at the bottom I'm going to make a little bit darker because I want to achieve that depth. So you can see at the top we have lighter tonal values of green and at the bottom we are making it a little bit darker. So now you can see how the painting is taking its shape. So I'm switching to my smallest size brush. I think this is size number two. And with this size number two brush, we're going to create some grassy patterns while the paper is still wet. Make sure you do this step before your paper dries. Otherwise you're gonna get hard, hard grassy edges. So I would like to have this in the soft background. So while my paper is still wet, I'm going to pick up some of my dark green or sap green. And with the help of my size number two brush, I'm going to create something delicate grasp patterns. So yeah, let's keep adding this. So you can see it's looking so beautiful and so naturally, you can add those grassy patterns onto the pathway as well so that it looks as though the plants are blooming out and they are coming in the middle of the pathway. So yes, that's how our painting is looking as of now. So now for the pathway, I'm going to take a little bit of sepia, not a dark and intense tone, but a little bit of lighter tone of the sepia. And I'm going to add it onto both the sides of the pathway. And this step is also done while the paper is still wet. So the entire background that we're going to paint is gonna be on the wet-on-wet technique. And in the upcoming sections, we will be adding more details when the paper has completely dried. Alright, so, yeah, fine. So I'm just trying to fix the shape of the trees that are present in the background. Alright, so now we're going to paint our pathway or the reward in-between. So for that, I'm going to use a little bit of Payne's gray. Note that the color is not too dark. We're gonna, we're gonna have a little bit of lighter value. So you can see the texture or the tonal value of the Payne's gray. It's really very light. So you can add a little bit of darker tone on to the bottom and then pull that paint upwards to give it a more natural look. Just don't pick up a darker tone at the first place itself. Always well starting the painting go with lighter values. And if you feel like the color has to be more darker, then you can pick up fresh paint and keep adding and defining details. Because if you pick up a darker tone at the first place itself, then if you make a mistake, it's very difficult to wipe off that paint. So always start with lighter values. Alright, so this is how our pathways looking, everything is looking so natural and so beautiful. I'm really enjoying the process. I hope you guys are enjoying too. Alright, so let us keep defining the pathway. So if you feel like the colors are getting lighter, then you may go ahead and add a little bit of more color. So I'm going to continue to add some grassy patterns onto the right as well since my paper is still wet. So I'm going to make use of the time and keep adding more and more textures and more and more grassy patterns. Alright, so I haven't added enough of these grassy patterns. So if you feel like you want to keep adding more, you can do that, but focus on the base layer, that's the bottom layer. So that's where the tonal values have to be a little bit darker. So make use of the time and keep adding these. Okay, so I think I'm loving the background. I really loved how soft those trees are looking at the back and also these grassy patterns that we have added. And now I think let us allow the painting to get completely dried. And once it has completely dried, we will be adding more details and some flowers. Since it's a spring landscape, we're going to add some flowers and obviously the heart in the background. Yeah, let us allow the painting to dry completely and I'll see you soon in the next section. 6. Painting the Foreground: Alright, so now that the background has completely dried, let us start adding some flowers onto the foreground. So for adding the flowers, I'm picking up my Indian yellow. And I'm going to mix this Indian yellow with a little bit of white gouache. You know that the flowers pop out on the field because if you're going to directly add the low, it may not be visible. So to make it a little bit opaque, we're going to add a little bit of white gouache. So I'm using my size number two brush to add these tiny little flowers. So you can go with size number zero or size number one brush. It's up to you. So we're going to add a bunch of few of these teeny tiny flowers on either sides of the pathway. So take a look at how I'm adding. And then you can similarly keep adding these flowers. Alright, so you can see how the flowers is giving a different look to our painting. So now I'm going to continue to add some flowers on the left side as well. So instead of manually adding these flowers one-by-one, you can also make the mixture a little bit runny so that you can tap and create these small flowers. But I feel adding it one-by-one makes it a little bit more convenient. So it's up to you. You can make use of the tapping method to add these small, tiny flowers. Or you can go ahead and simply randomly paint yourself these tiny flowers. Alright, so I'm quickly go ahead and finish up adding these class. And meanwhile, you can also paint these flowers. Alright, so now that we have added these flowers, I'm going to define the stem for these flowers. So with the help of my same size number two brush and I'm picking up some amount of dark green and defining thin delicate stems for these flowers. Okay, So it should be very thin and delicate. Please do not add thick and bold lines. So take a look at how I'm painting these. Alright, so I'm going to add some stems on the left-hand side as well. So you can see I'm doing it in a very delicate manner. Please don't add thick and bold lines as you will be ruining the perspective of your painting. So, yes, continued to add these standards. All. So now that we have added these stems, I think I'm going to just take my white gouache a little bit. And I'm going to tap randomly so that I can create a few more flowers. So you can see I'm picking up my white gouache and I'm using my tapping method. Take a larger size brush so that you can tap it and don't make them external to r10 and don't allow it to be too opaque as well. So just the right consistency and you have a bunch of flowers after you tap it, you can see, don't add too much. Make sure you don't go overboard. If you're already happy with the way you have created these flowers, then you can stop. And yes, so this is how we have added the flowers. Now, the next step is to paint the heart in the background over there. So it's a small heart. For the heart, I'm going to be using my sepia to paint the walls. So we're going to start taking by sepia. I'm still using my smallest size brush. That is the size number two. So I recommend you to go with the smallest size brush because the heart we have added is smaller in size. And if you're going to use a larger size brush, then chances are the Paint me, come out of the heart. So make sure you're going with the smallest size pointed tip brush. Alright, so let us begin painting the walls of the heart. So first I'm going to paint the left side wall of the heart. So I'm directly picking up sepia and adding this bold tone on the left side of the wall. Make sure you don't cover up the entire width, the same tonal values. You need to wait either tonal values. So the front wall of the heart, we're going to make it a little bit lighter so that it gives a nice depth and perspective. And it makes the heart to look a little bit more natural. So you can see, first you can watch me how I paint and then probably you can follow along with me so that you don't create any mistake. Alright, so you can see how I'm adding it slowly and the tonal value is a little bit lighter than the other wall. This kind of creates a nice effect to your painting. So this comes by practice. So you need to practice several techniques and check how the outcome of the painting is that when you step onto new beginnings and new learnings, so practice is the key, I would say. So. Yes, Now let us paint the roof. For the roof, I chose to go with a bold cadmium red so that, you know, amongst the distinct Greenfield is the red roof hut would look stunning. I felt, and that's the reason I chose red. Alright, so you can go with any kind of raid you have got. If you do not have cadmium red, go with any other pyrrole red or any other rate that you have got. It really doesn't matter, right? So I'll quickly finish up painting the roof. Alright, so that is how our background is looking and this is how the foreground is looking. I felt like I need to add more stems towards the bottom. So I'm just picking up my sap green or dark green. And I'm going to add these stems. But if you're already satisfied with your bunch of flowers, then you do not perform. You cannot perform this step. It's totally optional. I just felt like some stems are still need it. I'm just adding thin, delicate lines. Alright. So, alright, this is the end of this particular painting. And in the next section, I will be peeling off the masking tape. And I will show you the final painting. 7. Thank You: Alright, so let us peel the masking tape, so make sure you're painting has completely dried. And then you can go ahead and peel off the masking tape. So don't hurry at this particular stage. Be very gentle and be very careful while peeling your masking tape. I can't wait to show you guys the final painting. I'm already so excited and I'm happy that the painting has turned out so beautiful. I hope you guys enjoyed painting along with me. And I hope you guys are also in love with the beautiful creation that you have created. So fresh and so beautiful this painting is looking, I'm absolutely in love with this painting. I absolutely loved the blue sky and the green meadow at the bottom. And my most favorite part is going to be that little red heart in the background. So take a look at the final painting. Everything is looking so beautiful and so gorgeous. I loved how we have created those soft bunch of trees in the background and some flowers in the bottom. So if you liked this particular class project, then please post your class projects in the project section. And I would personally review it and give a feedback so that it'll help you in your future upcoming creations. And if you're posting this on Instagram, then do tag me using my Instagram handle, my pin story. And I will see you soon in the next class.