Paint an Old Barn with me-Using Watercolors

1. Let's go!!!: Hello everyone and welcome back. It's summertime and I hope you all are enjoying your summer vacations. Road trips are one of my favorite things to do in summer. And today in this class, I'll be taking you on an adventurous road trip where we will explore beautiful fields and some scenic landscape views. I'm an engineer and an artist, and I enjoy painting with watercolors. Watercolor is such a fascinating medium. In this class, you will learn some of the most commonly used watercolor techniques, and you will also learn how to make your paintings look more realistic. I'll walk you through all the steps in a simpler way and make it as easy as possible. It's a very big enough friendly class, yet this class is packed with a lot of useful information. So come join me on this exciting journey, and I'd see you soon in the next section. 2. Materials you'll need: Alright, so let us take a look at the materials that we would need for this particular painting. For the paper, I'm going to go with Saunders Waterford, which is a 100% cotton paper and it is 300 GSM. Make sure your paper is at least minimum 300 GSM and a 100% cotton. The reason being, you can perform the wet-on-wet techniques seamlessly without, you know, fearing for the paper to be drying soon. All right, that is it for the big bird. Now, let us take a look at the colors that we will use for this painting. So I would go with my palette, which is already prepared in advance. But if you want to use your tubed watercolors or if you would like to use your pens, you can go with that. For this particular class, I'm using all the colors from the brand White Nights, but you can go with whatever brand that you have got. The detailed list of the colors I would be taking up in the next section. All right. Next let us take a look at the brushes that we would need. The brushes are very basic. First of all, you would require a flat wash brush to apply even coat of water onto your paper. The next set of brushes are size number six brush. And this is from the Princeton Neptune series. So you can go with any other brush like size number eight or any other sites that you are comfortable with. And for the smallest size brush, I'm going with size number four, and this is again from Princeton Heritage Series. Lastly, you would also need a needle liner brush or rigger brush to add those grassy ten delicate patterns. Alright? And if you don't have rigger brush, you can go with your size number 0 or size number two brush, alright, that is it for the brushes. Next, you would need some pencil and eraser for adding the pencil sketch. And you would also need a paper towel or a clot, a masking tape as well to tape down your paper onto the board. And then you would need two jars of water. One being clean water where you can pick up the fresh paint and you can use the antidote jar of water to wash off all the dirty paint from your brush. Alright, so that's for the jars. And lastly you would need a boat, basically a hard board. So I'm using an acrylic board to tape down my paper. But if you don't have one, you can use a hard book cover to tape down your paper onto the boat. That is it for the materials. 3. Colors you'll need: Let us quickly take a look at the colors that we need for this particular class. For this guy, I have chosen bright blue. You can go with any other light blue that you have got. Make sure to go with a very light tone. We need a nice calming sky for the fields. We will be going with yellow ocher. Then we will need some Indian gold. For the deeper tones. We will need burnt umber and wenn die Kay Brown. For adding the fences. We will again need when **** brown and sepia and burnt umber as well. So it's a mixture of all of these colors. Then for the band, for the roof of the band, we will go with lighter tone of Payne's gray for the walls of the bond, we will again go with brown. That is Van ****, brown, burnt umber and all of those. And for adding the details, we will go with sepia. These are pretty much the colors that we will need for this particular painting. And today I will use all the colors from the brand White Nights, but you can go with whatever you have got. So there's no compulsion to go with a particular brand. Alright? Just grab whatever you have got and join me soon, and I'll see you soon in the next section. 4. Painting the sky: Okay, So I have the pencil sketch already on my paper. So take a closer look at the pencil sketch. Pause the video and you can complete your sketching. It's already simple sketch with old band and some rustic fences. So once you have finished your pencil sketch, the next step is to add a clean code of even water onto the sky region. For that, I will be using my flat brush. You can go with any of your flat brush that you have or any larger sized brush for that matter. So just go ahead and wet the sky region evenly. So yes, I will quickly go ahead and wet my paper. Don't wet the house. So living the ban the rest of the region, we're going to wet it evenly. So yes. Okay, So let us start by painting the sky. For the sky, I'll be using serene blue or a lighter tone of cerulean blue. You can go with any other light blue that you have got. And I'm using my size number six brush to add these strokes into the sky. You can see I'm intentionally leaving some white gaps so that it will form a nice fluffy clouds into the sky. So the main intention here is to create a very calming and the subtle looking sky. I'm not going with a darker tone of civilian blue. It's a very light tone. So you can see that as more water and less paint on my brush with the existing paint on the paper. I'm just dragging them and creating some strokes here and there. Alright? So we want the sky to be very simple and make sure you're not adding any paint onto the bond, leaving that hot area to the other regions. I'm adding the blue Yes, washing off my brush and with the damp brush, I'm just cleaning the edges and making them look softer. Alright, let us wait for this to dry. 5. Painting the Fields: So the sky has now completely dried. Let us now start by applying an even coat of water onto the bottom area where we are going to have our wheat field. I'm using my flat brush to gently apply the water evenly all over the bottom region. So, yes. Okay, so now let us start painting the wheat field. For the wheat field, I will be going with a mixture of two colors that is yellow ocher mixed with Indian gold. So the reason why I'm using Indian gold is if you have typically seen those wheat fields, desert tent of golden shade mixed with yellow, yellowish shade that is yellow ocher sheets. So that's the reason to make it look more realistic. I have chosen Indian gold with a mixture of yellow ocher. You can see how pretty that color is looking. And yes, so It's not only engineer low and so the Indian gold and yellow ocher that we are going to use, we're also going to use Van **** brown mixed with bond amber to add those deeper tones. You can see I'm adding wide variety of tonal values. You are in there randomly. But once it's going to dry, everything is going to look stunning and more beautiful. You can see I'm dropping the darker tones that is typically burnt umber mixed with Van **** brown. Just to have that deeper effect over there at some places, you make sure that some places you have lighter values of color and at some places you have deeper tones. Alright, so now you can see I am going to create a pathway in-between and I'm gonna have my field on either sides. For the pathway, we're just gonna leave an empty whitespace and just blend out the colors on either sides and create a nice pathway for the wheat field. Alright, so you can see I'm adding some grassy patterns, some strokes. Now I'm adding some deeper tones. So it's typically very random. There's no particular order or any shape that I'm using. It's randomly. I'm following my intuition and I'm just adding these scholars. I know it may look a little messy at this point of time, but once it's going to dry, you're going to absolutely love it. So just trust the process and keep painting. So yes. Now you can see I'm mixing burnt umber along with Van **** brown. And I'm adding more deeper tones just towards the corners and towards the edges. Towards the bottom you can see I'm just creating some blades for these V8 fields. You can, normally, you can see that ad, different patterns for these blades, sum or take stroke. Some are thin strokes and so on. So just keep adding them. And once you're satisfied you can stop the process. I'll quickly go ahead and add these strokes. Now you can see I'm adding more and more deeper tones, some deeper tones towards the top and deeper tones towards the bottom. Okay, so you can see I'm picking up more and more color now. That is less water now and more paint. So we want to have that depth to our painting. So make sure you go with a nice intense tone of this brown. Because once you're painting is going to dry, the watercolors tend to dry one shade lighter. So I suggest you to take a nice concentrated amount of paint on your brush to add these darker brown tones. All right, you can see our painting is already taking its shape and it's going to look absolutely stunning in the end. Just keep adding more and more strokes. So please go with a pointed tip brush so that it will help you create these thin, delicate strokes. Alright? So if you feel like size number six is not perfect for you, then you can also use your rigger brush. I will also switch to my regular brush to add those ten details. So now you can see I'm using my regular brush. And this regard brush is very helpful for adding these grassy bleeds and patterns. And it gives a nice finish to your paintings. Alright, so I'm gonna add mode of this and once I'm satisfied, I'm just going to stop adding that so you can follow me and keep adding them. All right, So I'll quickly go ahead and fill up the wheat field region, okay? Alright, so I have added enough of these now. Just to intensify, I want to add still more deeper tones using my rigger brush, I'm adding these grassy blades or grassy patterns. It is very simple. You can first practice it on a piece of paper. Once you are comfortable with the hand movement and the brush movement, you can come and add it onto your main painting. I'm just, you can just watch my hand movement. It's just pulling the strokes from downwards to the upwards. Your hand should move very fast in this process so that you know, it will create organic shapes already. Just keep trusting the process and without any fear, just drop your pins. Alright. So let's wait for this to dry. 6. Painting the Barn: All right, so now let us start painting the old band. So let us begin painting the roof. For the roof, I'm using a lighter tone of Payne's gray. So you can go with lighter tone of Payne's gray, neutral tint, or even black. Just make sure it should be light and not very intense. So there's no much water. I'm just using dry brush stroke and with the help of little water, I'm spreading the paint all over the roof. Okay. Once we add the base layer, I'm going to add the other details once the paint has dried. So make sure you do this gently and no paint fluids onto the front area. So just keep adding shade. Alright, so now let us start by wetting the front area of the heart or the bond. I'm just adding a single layer of water because we want to paint this front area using the wet-on-wet technique. With the help of my size number four brush, I'm just applying an even coat of water. So make sure while painting the bond, I'm using a pointed tip brush and also I'm going with the smallest size brush just to be very sure that the paint does not flow outside and ruin the sky. So make sure you go with any smallest size brush. You can even go with a size number two brush. Now I'm just picking up some Indian gold and adding it right onto the top of the band. Okay, so we're gonna have a mixture of colors for this band. So starting with Indian gold as the base layer. And then I'm going to stop adding Indian gold. And right where we stopped adding the Indian gold, I'm going to start adding the burnt umber mixed with a little bit of Van **** brown. So I already have that mixture over there, which is already used for the field. The same mixture, I'm using that and adding right where we stopped adding the Indian gold. And I'm going to create a nice blend between these two colors. We want to make the bond look really very old and rested. So to get that realistic effect, we need to add these, the tones. Just keep adding that. And as I come down, you know, I'm not using more paint and more water because I want that heart to be smudged along with the wheat field. Now, I'm going to add the shadow for the roof. So the roofs shadow is going to fall. They're on different areas. So just making that portion, the triangular portion a little bit darker, you can use a darker brown shade on the either wall of the barn. I'm just going to go ahead with burnt umber mixed with Van **** brown. So you can see right now it may look a little bit messy, but once it's going to dry it, it's, it's gonna look more beautiful. And we're gonna add more and more details to make it look more realistic. So now that the roof has dried, I'm just gonna add some borderline to it and add the shadows, like intensify the shadows a little bit more to give it a more realistic look. So now you can see the roofs shadow is looking more prominent and it's looking more realistic. So yes, don't all do this step. Because once you do, you may lose your base sheet. So we don't want to ruin the base shape of the bond. So be sure when you have to stop. I think now it looks good. I have blended out the colors. Well, now it's time to add some details. Okay, So I'm just fixing the color over there and giving it a nice blend. Alright, so everything has dried. Now let us add the further details. So I'm gonna use my rigger brush and create some dry brush strokes on the roof. These are just normal lines. It's not straight, so it's just dry patterns. Don't use a lot of water. There should be very less water and more paint. And don't make it too prominent, it should be some broken lines. We need to have that realistic and old effect to the bond. So make sure you go with a dry brush technique. So now you can see the closer details. I'm having very little amount of water and there's very less paint as well. So I'm using sepia and adding these dry brush strokes. These are just vertical lines. So yeah, let's keep adding that. Alright. Now that we have painted the band, let us add a teeny tiny door. Okay. So I'm just creating a dod shape and adding it, fill it, fill that door with the same sepia color. Alright, so I will quickly add a final round of the dry brush technique and let us jump to the next section and paint the fences, okay. Yes. 7. Adding the fence and details: Alright, so now let us add the final details. That is, we'll add defense for painting the fence. I'm using my size number four brush. And the color that I'm using is when **** brown or you can go with any of your dark brown that you have got. And if you have a lighter brown, you can add a pinch of paints gray. You can even use sepia for that matter. Just make sure it is a little bit darker so that it will be contrasting with the field. It's very easy to paint these fans since you already prepared the pencil sketch in advance, I hope you would be able to see your outline, but if you are not able to see the outline, then wait for me to paint the fence. Once I completed, you can quickly follow along with me and add it. All right? Yes. I'm just going to go ahead and add fences on both the sides. So keep in mind there should be a proper perspective. So don't make defenses of the same shape. They should be of different shapes and sizes. This will give a nice realistic depth to our painting. All right? Yes, let us continue adding these fences and you can see once I reach the bottom of the fence, I'm not making it a very sharp edge. I'm just trying to blend that with the underlying field. Okay? Yes. Alright, so now that we have added the fences, let us attach these fences of it, rope. So you might have seen those fences in the village or the countries site? It's usually attached to it. I don't know what it is called, but I feel it's like a small thin rod which holds these wooden fences together. Yes. It should be a very thin, delicate line. Don't make it too thick, otherwise you may lose the proportion of the painting and it may not look realistic. So make use of your smallest size brush and go with a pointed size brush. Alright? So this is how you need to add defenses. And we will have to add these fences on the either side, that is on the right side as well. The steps would be the same. So just follow along with me. Alright. Alright, so we have added fences on both sides. Now we're gonna add some textures onto these fences so as to make them look more realistic and more beautiful. So just on top of the brown that you have added, go with a darker tone. You may go with black or even paints gray and take your pointed brush and just keep adding some dry strokes onto these wooden fences. You might have seen those wooden fences. They will have a lot of textures or different textures and they may have cracks in between. Although we will not be able to capture everything here, but whatever we can from our site, we can add them to make our painting look more realistic. Alright, so it's an optional step, but if you would like to make your painting look more realistic and more beautiful, then you can go ahead and add these. Alright? So, yes, I have added, I have added enough of these. And now it's time to add some more details on these fences. And for that, we will need a white gel pen. But if you do not have white gel pen, you can also go with your white paint or white gouache. So we're not going to add too much of this. It's gonna be very light, it should not be too prominent. So I'm just adding few lines and few details just to give it a nice depth. So you can see, again, this is an optional step. If you're happy with your painting already, then you need not follow this. But if you want to add more details, then go ahead and follow along with me. Alright? Okay, so our fences are looking so beautiful. Now, I think I'm going to add few highlights to the old band as well to make it look more old and more rustic. The mode, all that looks, the more beautiful you are painting and more realistic your painting will turn out. All right. Again, this is an optional step. If you, if you are already in love with your painting, then please do not add any touches. Just leave your painting as it is. And yes, so that's looking nice now. And make sure if you are if at all you're adding these details, then please don't go overboard. Don't make it too prominent and spoil your initial painting. All right. Yeah. All right. So in the next section, let us take off the masking tape and take a look at our final painting. 8. Final Thoughts: All right, So the painting has completely dried. I'm gonna take off the masking tape very carefully and very gently. So make sure your painting is completely dried and then take off the masking tape. Alright. So I'm so happy with the outcome. I cannot wait to show you guys the final painting. I hope you enjoyed painting along with me. And I also hope you already are in love with your painting. Let us take off the last edge. We have got all cleaner edges, but if you didn't get cleaner edges, then no need to worry, just get rid of those edges by cutting them. Or you can apply white gouache. So take a look at the painting. I absolutely loved the blue coming subtle sky and the golden fields are looking so gorgeous. The band is looking so realistic. So thanks for joining me and if you enjoyed painting along with me, then do post your class projects in the class projects section. And if you're going to post it on social media, then tag me using my Instagram handle, and I'll see you soon in the next class. Bye.