Unlock the Magic of Watercolor Painting: Angel in the Garden

1. Welcome: There is something magical about watercolor painting. It's not just about randomness and surprises. With watercolors, we can paint scenes that appear real by carefully using the brush and layers. The colors mix in a unique way, creating soft and realistic pictures that evoke a sense of peace. But it's not just about copying what we see. Watercolor allows me to add my own touch. While I aim for realism, I also have the freedom to make it personal and unique. It's like a soothing meditation as I blend colors and the process becomes a way to relax and express myself. Hi, I'm Chris and welcome to my skillshare class, where I will take you on a journey of painting a statue of an angel in the garden. Throughout this class, I will show you how to interpret the reference photo through your artistic eyes. How to simplify shapes and colors and create your own version of reality. We'll explore various techniques to capture this wonderful subject and recreate the fantastic sunlight on the statue. If you're a beginner, treat this tutorial as an opportunity to develop your artistic skills. The tutorial is thoughtfully divided into short, manageable segments, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable learning experience. I will walk you step by step through the entire process so that you can create your own beautiful rendition of this painting. I'll provide you with resources that will help you in the painting process. Join me on this creative journey and let's get started. 2. Project and Resources: Thank you for choosing to be a part of the artistic journey with me. It's an honor to have you here In this class. I've prepared some helpful resources for your project, which you can access in the projects and resources section. There you'll find a PDF file containing a list of the supplies I used for this particular painting, a reference photo, and my finished painting to guide you. Line drawings are available in different sizes that you can print and transfer into your watercolor paper, allowing you to choose the size that suits your preferences. I painted this on a 12 by nine size. Additionally, there are working progress photos that will help you follow the process and focus on specific areas. Feel free to explore these resources and use them to create your unique and beautiful painting. It would be great to see your results. Please don't hesitate to share your progress shots and the final painting with the class in the projects and resources section. I also strongly recommend that you take a look at each other's work in the student project gallery. It's always inspiring to see others work. Extremely comforting to get the support of your fellow students. Don't forget to like and comment on each other's work. Lastly, I highly recommend watching each lesson before you start your painting. This will help you get a better understanding of what to expect in each part of the tutorial. If you find this class helpful, I would greatly appreciate it. If you could leave an honest review. Your feedback will help me create better content and assist other students in deciding whether to take this class. Thank you in advance. 3. My Art Supplies: In this video, I'd like to share with you a general overview of my art supplies that I regularly use. I think I should mention first that I'm not the type of person who constantly buys new art supplies and experiments with them. I use the same supplies all the time. They work well for me and I've learned how to make the most out of them, which also helps me save money. Instead of buying five new colors that I might only use once for creating a color swatch, I prefer investing in books, for example. Don't get me wrong, Experimenting with new art supplies and regularly buying new materials can offer many benefits to artists. Let's take a look at some pros and cons of trying out new art materials. It can spark fresh ideas and inspiration. Different mediums, colors and textures may lead to unique artistic expressions and help break through creative blocks. Exploring new art supplies often involves learning new techniques and approaches. This continual learning process contributes to the development of artistic skills and broadens an artist's tool kit. Having a diverse range of art supplies allows for greater versatility in artistic expression. Artists can switch between different mediums and tools based on the specific requirements of a project, leading to more dynamic and varied artwork. Experimenting with new materials can push an artist out of their comfort zone. The willingness to explore and take risks fosters personal growth and encourages artistic development. The art world is continually evolving with new technologies and new materials. Staying up to date with the latest art supplies ensures that an artist remains relevant in the contemporary art scene. Trying out new art supplies often involves problem solving. Artists may need to figure out how to manipulate a new medium or adapt their techniques, enhancing their problem solving skills and creative thinking. The excitement of using a new art supply or discovering a new technique can reignite motivation and passion for creating art. This enthusiasm is essential for maintaining a consistent and fulfilling artistic practice. As technology advances, so do the quality and capabilities of art supplies. Trying out new products allows artists to explore improved formulations, leading to potentially better results in their work. Different art supplies offer unique ways to convey emotions and messages. Experimenting with a variety of materials allows artists to find the ones that best suit their personal style and enable them to express themselves more authentically. And the least goes on. On the flip side, here are some potential reasons why. Some may argue that it's not always good. Art supplies can be expensive, and constantly buying new materials without a plan or purpose may strain your budget. It's good to be mindful of your spending, especially if you're not using all the supplies you've accumulated. Relying on new and varied art supplies might distract from the development of fundamental artistic skills. A proficient artist can create impressive works with basic tools. Emphasis should be on mastering techniques rather than relying on specific supplies. Accumulating a vast array of art supplies can lead to clatter and storage challenges. Too many supplies can make it difficult to find what you need constantly. Buying new art supplies contributes to waste, especially if the materials are not fully used. It's essential to consider the environmental impact of your artistic practices and try to minimize unnecessary consumption. Some artists argue that working with limitations, such as a Set of materials can actually enhance creativity. Constraints can force you to think outside the box and find innovative solutions within your existing toolkit. Too much emphasis on trying out new supplies may distract from the core of artistic expression. The concept or message you want to convey through your art. Focusing on the meaning behind your work is crucial, regardless of the materials used. Constantly seeking and buying new supplies may foster a consumerist mentality where the joy comes from acquiring new items rather than the creation process itself. This can lead to a cycle of chasing after the next trending material, rather than honing your artistic voice. It may also create unrealistic expectations about the transformative power of materials. While quality supplies can enhance your work, the key to artistic success lies in your skills, techniques, and creative vision. Relying too heavily on the belief that new supplies will drastically improve your art may lead to disappointment and frustration. Constantly exploring and adapting new art supplies may lead to an unintentional shift towards popular trends rather than developing a unique personal style. As you can see, there are many elements that I believe are worth considering. Ultimately, it's a personal choice. I used to want to buy every art supplies I could afford. However, upon realizing that I didn't need them all, and having found supplies that I'm genuinely happy with, I stopped buying unnecessary items. Instead, I focused on the ones I have and I actually use. Now let's take a look at what I have. Let's begin with paper. Among brushes, paints, and paper, I consider paper to be the most crucial art supply. The quality of the paper significantly influences your painting experience and results. I use arches paper, which is made of 100% cotton. Cotton paper is often considered the top choice among artists. It has excellent absorbency, strength and durability, making it suitable for various watercolor techniques. It provides the best results because paint behaves much better on it than on cheaper cellulose papers. The high quality paper is also more forgiving, making it easier to correct mistakes. Moving on to paints, I use Windsor and Newton professional grade paints. Professional grade paints, no matter what brand you use, offer excellent quality. They have more pigment, richer colors, and a longer lifespan than student grade paints. While professional grade paints are more expensive than student grade ones, they are truly worth the investment. Took me some time to collect all the colors I needed. I gradually bought one or two tubes at a time until I had a complete set. Now, I rarely need to buy new tubes. They last a long time. I buy one or two colors, maybe once or twice a year. Currently, I have 17 colors on my palette, although some are for testing purposes. In the class materials, you'll find PDF files with additional information about my colors, why I selected them, and how I arranged them on my palette. There's also a helpful conversion chart if you would like similar colors from different brands. Let me very briefly explain how I choose colors to my palette. I do this in four main steps. My starting point in choosing colors is always a split primary palette. A worm and a cool yellow. A worm and a cool red. And a worm and a cool blue. Here I think it's a good time to mention that the ultramarine blue I use is the green shade. It's not French ultramarine. There are four main differences between ultramarine blue, the green shade, and French ultramarine. However, they are really small ultramarine blue. The green shade has a greener undertone. It is cooler in appearance. It creates cooler shades of purple and gray, and it's less granulating. Both paints share the same pigment coat. Pb 29, I use ultramarine blue, the green shade, mainly out of habit. As it's what I've always used and grown accustomed to. Additionally, I find it less granulating than French ultramarine, a quality that I value. However, again, the differences between the two are really subtle. In the second step, I look for colors from the same color family with specific properties such as being made with a single pigment, having good light fastness, not granulating. With some exceptions, I prefer using non granulating paints and being transparent or semi transparent. I primarily use single pigmented paints, with one exception, which is paints gray colors in this group must noticeably differ from the first group. If they are too similar, I eliminate them. I don't see a good reason for keeping, let's say seven very similar yellows on the palette. I choose the ones that are the most unique and I can mix other shades. In the third step, I add colors that I just like or I know I will use. Frequently burnt sienna is a must have on my palette because it's a versatile basic brown, it creates beautiful neutrals. With blues mutes down some greens creates various shades of yellows. It's a very versatile color. Additionally, since green is my favorite color, I like to have two ready made ones that serve as a good base for mixing other shades. Step four is optional. There are three remaining spots on my palette which are reserved for new colors or colors that I'm currently testing, which may change over time. In addition to watercolor paint, I also have a tube of white guash. I often use it for tiny details or highlights. I keep my paints in a porcelain palette with 17 wells and two large mixing areas. Porcelain palettes are excellent because they are easy to clean. Don't stain like plastic ones. Before using this palette, I used a plastic one with 33 wells for a long time. I switched when I realized I didn't use half of those colors. I always fill the entire well with paint. I refill it when I run out of the specific color. I usually buy 5 milliliters tubes because I can squeeze the entire tube into the well. Let's move on to brushes. My primary brushes are round, silver, black velvet in various sizes. I found they work exceptionally well for the wet on wet technique, which I often use. They also come to a perfect point. A brush I always have on hand, which I fondly call my secret weapon is Windsor and Newton's Galleria brush size four. It's my scrubber brush and I use it in almost every painting. I also have a smaller Princeton snap shader brush size four, which I use for lifting off very small details such as tiny veins on leaves. I also have spotter brushes from Rosemary and Co, specifically from the 37 series. They are small, they don't hold a lot of water, so they are not good for wet on wet painting. But they are excellent for painting small areas wet on dry and for adding tiny details. I always use them for creating visual texture with the stipling technique, occasionally I use designers brushes, rigger brushes or script brushes. They go by different names and are very similar. These brushes have thin, long, bristles and are useful for painting long, thin lines or more natural lines like tree branches. Finally, I have a big flat brush for applying water to large areas, or sometimes even for painting big areas. I also have to mention about two additional brushes. One of them is a cheap old brush that I use only for applying masking fluid. Applying masking fluid with a brush can damage your brushes, avoid using your good brushes for that purpose. The other one is a cheap flat brush, which I use for preparing colors on my palette. If I have to prepare larger amounts of paint. This brush is great for that because it allows for transferring larger amounts of paint from the well to the mixing area. The downside of this particular one is that it is losing bristles. I will have to buy something a bit better Gator board. I always attach my watercolor paper to a gator board using staples and masking tape. This board is lightweight, waterproof, and allows me to move and tilt my painting as needed. Crucial for me, especially when painting smooth backgrounds with the wet on wet technique. I always use an office stapler to attach my paper to the gator board. After stapling, I secured the paper on all four sides with tape to create a clean border around the finished painting. I prefer using lavender scotch tape designed for delicate surfaces. I've noticed that it adheres well during painting, and if it ever comes off, it's likely because of my excessive use of a hair dryer. This tape has not caused any damage to my paper. And I like its surface. It's slightly slick, which is very convenient for easily cleaning off paint drops. My only wish is that it came in white. Here are other supplies I use more or less frequently. Light pad, I use it actually for every painting. This one is the cheapest one I found on Amazon. I use it to transfer an image to my watercolor paper masking fluid from Windsor Newton. This is an essential medium for many of my paintings. Tools for applying masking fluid like an old brush, ruling pen, embossing tools. And those tools may be apart from that. Old brush can also be used to apply paint and create specific effects. A piece of soap and an old cup from an old masking fluid. When using masking fluid, I dip the brush in water, rub it on a bar of soap, creating a protective coat on the bristles. Then I dip it into the masking fluid. This prevents the masking from sticking the bristles together. Always pour a bit of masking into an old cup and quickly close the bottle to avoid dried clumps in the bottle. Rubber masking pick up tool for removing masking fluid. A very handy tool, hair dryer, useful for speeding up drying time. Spray bottle with clean water, for wetting the paper gently or forcing the paint to flow. I also spray paints in my palette before I start painting regular HB pencil eraser. And needed as I use a regular HB pencil for my sketch and I often use a needed erazor to remove the excess graphite and make the pencil lines. Lighter water container must have. During painting, I often have 21 for clean water and one for dirty water. Paper towel, always good to have it. Finally, a white towel that it's not so white anymore. Speaking of towels, a large one is spread across my desk, beneath my Gator board. I do this to prevent the Gator board from sliding, moving, or rotating. While I paint, this not only ensures stability, also protects my desk and adds a nice field to my workspace. The second smaller towel is always positioned next to my palette and water container, serving as a dedicated space for cleaning my brushes. I let my brushes rest on this towel. In the past, when I placed my brushes on my desk, magic seemed to happen. They transformed into living beings hiding from me, jumping off the desk and moving around so that I couldn't find them. Now I always place them on the towel and they stay in place, always here with me. So these are my current art supplies. Although there may be changes in the future, this is what I'm using for now. 4. Introduction: Let me share with you a few words about this painting. First, as I want to draw your attention to a few key points. We'll be using this reference photo. I always try to select images with subjects that are well lit by sunlight. Distinct highlights create well defined shadows. This interplay of light and dark always adds a fantastic touch to watercolor paintings. Notice that colors in my painting differ from those in the photo. Generally, they lean towards warmer tones and the darks aren't as deep. Despite the background in my painting not being as dark as in the photo, I believe it's dark enough to establish a high contrast with the lighter parts in my painting. I chose to simplify various areas. For instance, when we compared the right side of the background, you'll notice fewer details compared to the original photo. Generally, I've simplified everything around the statue. I made this decision to direct your focus to the statue, which is our main subject here. Everything else serves as a backdrop. Take the flowers, for instance. If we zoomed in, we might not easily recognize these shapes as flowers, would we? However, within the context of the entire painting, these abstract shapes evoke the impression of flowers. This illustrates the remarkable capability of our brains as artists. We can leverage this by manipulating viewers perceptions and simplifying our work. While we could meticulously paint every petal and use detailed reference photos for those roses is truly necessary. My approach to painting is rooted in love for realism, but I also want my paintings to look like paintings, not photographs. I appreciate leaving room for interpretations of reality. There are numerous subtleties and nuances in this painting that I believe are worth mentioning, actually observing closely. For instance, take note of how the green color from the background is reflected in the statue. This not only adds more interest, but also creates a cohesive hole. Also observe the vibrant colors in the shadows. While we won't be using an extensive palette, notice that, for instance, the shadows in the hair aren't painted with a single solid color. There's a lot happening there making that area truly exciting to look at. Additionally, I'd like to direct your attention to very subtle light highlights on the jaw line, on the neck, and under the arm. These are delicate lighter areas, but they hold significant importance in the overall composition. Throughout the painting process, we'll encounter many intriguing areas that we'll be addressing. We'll witness how we can simplify certain aspects and the various approaches we can take with the somewhat complex painting. I highly, highly recommend watching each part of the tutorial before delving into the painting. Doing so, we'll provide you with an understanding of what to expect, the process involved, and the goal of each segment. Once you've familiarize yourself with the content, you can replay the video and follow along with me. Take your time with this project. There's no need to rush. I encourage you to paint slowly and carefully. It's crucial that you grasp what we are going to do and why we are approaching certain areas in specific ways. Before you begin your painting, understanding the reasoning behind each step is essential. Especially in complex projects. You won't be able to follow my brush strokes exactly replicating every movement. Instead, focus on comprehending the ideas behind my brush strokes and my thought process. This understanding will enable you to mimic the process with confidence. Knowing why you are making certain choices. While painting is vital, it's more than just copying brush strokes. It's about understanding them. This comprehension will not only make your current painting more comfortable, but will also benefit you in your future artistic endeavors. I also have a disclaimer to share. I was incredibly enthusiastic about this project and aimed to create high quality videos. However, due to the use of a new camera and my ongoing learning process with it, there was a mistake in the camera setting. This time, I made a mistake. As a result, you'll notice that the video quality is not as good as some of my other content. Despite this, I put in extra effort during post editing to enhance the visuals. There might be a noticeable noise effect which could be a bit distracting, but I hope it won't take away too much from the primary message of the videos. Here is my sketch. The painting dimensions are 129, since I've chosen to create tutorials in this size, as it's the most preferred size by many of you who paint along with me. However, if I were undertaking this as my personal project, I would undoubtedly opt for a larger size. Feel free to paint it on 16 by 12 size, or even larger, if you prefer. I believe it would look fantastic. And it would certainly make the process of painting the hair and the face, which is relatively small in my painting, much easier. I stapled the paper to my gaiter board and I didn't wet the paper. It's totally dry using a light pad. I transferred the reference photo and I'm now adding tape around it to create a clean border for the finished painting while the sketch is quite visible for the tutorials purpose, allowing you to clearly see the lines. If I were painting this just for myself as my personal project, I would use a needed eraser to remove excess graphite, making the sketch much lighter. Now, assuming your painting space is ready, your tools are set and your sketch is prepared, we can proceed to the next step, which involves applying the masking fluid. 5. Masking: For this painting, I opted to use masking fluid as it will help us in painting the background with ease. I'll be using Windsor and Newton masking fluid and we'll need a small container for the masking, a piece of soap, a brush for applying the masking, And of course, water. I'm pouring some of the masking fluid into an old cup and promptly closing the bottle, minimize its contact with oxygen. Now, here as you can see, I wasn't careful enough and there is a drop of masking on the painting. However, this is a good opportunity to mention that if it happens to you, don't panic. Avoid trying to remove it immediately as that will not work. Just leave it as it is and let it dry. Once dry, you can easily remove it. Now grab a brush that you use only for applying masking fluid. Never use your good brushes for this purpose. Deep the brush in water and rub it against a piece of the soap will create a protective coat on the bristles, preventing them from sticking together. Now with soap on the bristles, deep the brush in masking fluid and begin applying it to your painting. I'll be masking out the leaves on the left, the flowers and the edges of the statue, and additionally, some white spots on the right hand side in the background. While it might be challenging to see this in the video, you can refer to the class materials for a line drawing where I marked exactly where I applied the masking fluid. I believe it will be much easier for you to follow that illustration when applying masking. Take a break once in a while and clean your brush. Dip it in water, rinse it, blot it on a paper towel. And repeat the process, dip it in the water, rub it on above soap and continue applying the masking. Cleaning your brush periodically will help keep it in good condition for much longer. If soap is not used, guarantee your brush would be useless after just one use. In fact, I still have old brushes with dried masking on the bristles because at times they can be useful for creating more organic and random shapes when applying masking. When dealing with a longer edge, such as the swing to achieve a smooth line, it's best to keep the brush at an angle and run it parallel to the edge. Applying a bit more pressure to the brush while keeping the brush at an angle will result in a much smoother edge. When painting with masking, remember that the shapes you're creating now will form the shape of your subject. Don't rush. Take your time. Nobody is watching you and there's no need to finish this today. Work slowly, step by step, and carefully turn on your favorite music and simply enjoy the process. It's not a race. I understand the desire to complete it right away, but the more impatient you are, the sadder my life becomes and I want to be happy. So please slow down. Once you finish applying the masking, clean your brush, and let everything dry completely. 6. Background: The masking fluid is now completely dry and the color has turned into a darker yellow. Now we can proceed to paint the background. By the background, I mean all the green areas, everything around the statue, including the green areas in front of it. We're going to apply the first main layer now, and later we'll add more details to the foreground. Start, we need to prepare a few shades of green. Let's begin by mixing the lightest fresh green using green gold and Windsor green yellow shade. Additionally, I noticed more of an olive green in the reference photo, a less saturated hue. We can easily create this color by using the same greens as in the first mix of green gold and Windsor green yellow shade. Adding burnt sienna to the mix. Burnt sienna will give the green a more natural and less saturated appearance. It's also slightly darker in tone. Brown, orange, or even red. Added to green always neutralizes the green a little bit. It makes it less saturated and turns it more to an olive green. We also need a very dark natural green. For this, we can mix green, gold, Windsor green, yellow shade and burnt sienna the same colors as in the second mix. But this time to darken this mix, we will add Pains gray. Finally, we need a bluish green. And for this, let's mix Windsor blue green shade with Windsor green yellow shade. This will create a nice dark turquoise which we can further darken by adding pains gray. We now have four shades of green And it's time to change the water because we'll need clean water. For the next step, we're going to paint in a clockwise direction from left to right using a size 12 brush to paint the background. We'll be using the priming method. The priming method is similar to the wet on wet technique, but with an additional step, an extra water layer at the beginning. Let me illustrate this for you. Imagine this is a view of the paper from a side under a microscope. As we apply the first water layer, you'll observe a glossy sheen on the paper surface. This initial layer will slowly start to soak into the paper. The shiny surface will gradually become matt. At this point, the inner parts of the paper will still be wet because there is water inside that hasn't evaporated yet. Now we can apply the second water layer. The second water layer won't have enough room inside the paper to fully soak in given the presence of water from the first layer. The second layer will partially soak in and partially stay on the surface of the paper. This is precisely what we need. With both the surface and inner parts of the paper being quite wet, the paper won't dry quickly, giving us ample time to apply the paint. This method is particularly useful in hot climates or during the summer. When wet on wet painting can be challenging due to the quick paper drying. The additional first layer of water helps keep the paper wet for an extended period. Let's return to our painting. Let's apply the first water layer on the area that we are going to paint. I'm applying this layer on the roses that are not masked off, but I'm avoiding the statue areas. This is crucial. We don't want any green to flow into the statue at this stage unless it's the hair, as it's a very dark area and we'll be adding green in that area. Anyway, this first priming water layer serves a specific purpose. It needs to soak into the paper and make the inner part of the paper wet. When the inside of the paper stays wet, we'll apply another layer of water that will stay wet for much longer, giving us more time to paint. Now, at the first stage, the first water layer, I applied it on the left until I met the wing. The wing divides the painting into two parts, which is convenient as we don't have to work on everything at once. By the way, I forgot to mention earlier, but you may have noticed already that I didn't drew the second wing. I included that in the line drawing. If you like, you can add it, but I thought it wasn't crucial. After applying the first water layer, leave it for a few minutes to soak. In point, you should see a high sheen on the paper. Wait until that shin is gone. I waited about 10 minutes. Now after 10 minutes apply the second water layer. This is the proper water layer that we always apply first in the wet on wet technique with the surface of the paper Now truly wet, There's no need to rush with painting. Begin with the lightest green in the front of the statue. The light hits this area, making the green worm. At this stage, we're not focusing on details. Our goal is to apply the basic colors everywhere. Look at the reference photo as if it was blurred. We can't see specific shapes. We can only see areas of colors. That's what we want to achieve, our base upon which we'll build more shapes later. We also don't have to follow the reference photo exactly. It's our inspiration. While it helps us organize colors, it's not science. It's art. And we don't have to precisely follow the reference, use the same colors and paint exactly the same shapes. Here I intentionally left a gap where I applied pure Windsor blue green shade. It's one of those small details that may seem minor but adds a really nice effect. In the end, I anticipate that I will paint a darker stem of the rose in this area later. I don't want to make it too dark. This hint of blue will create a nice play of light in the background. Now in the background, I'm starting by applying Windsor Blue. I aim for this area to have a more bluish green tone, but I need to keep it quite dark. It's important to note that when the paints dry, they tend to become paler while they appear beautifully deep and dark. When wet, this changes as they dry. Hence, I want to apply a significant amount of paint here, dark paint, knowing it will dry paler. Additionally, I plan to paint the background in one layer, in one go, I need to apply a substantial amount of pigment. Now, using a lot of pigment doesn't mean I'm using thick paint quite the opposite. The consistency of the paint is milky and I can easily move it around on my palette. I don't feel any resistance under my brush. I'm picking up more and more paint and dropping it on to the background. It's also worth noting that if you just dab the brush on the paper. Instead of making a long brush stroke, you will release much more paint and hence pigment from the brush. That's why you can see me dabbing my brush, releasing more concentrated paint onto the paper. Also observe that I'm not rushing, since we're using the priming method, the paper is still wet and there's no need to hurry. I have plenty of time to apply all the colors. Be careful when applying such dark paint. Sometimes you may unintentionally flick the bristles of the brush causing paint to spatter the statue. We're using a lot of water and paint. Now you want to be really careful. This is also why you should work calmly and slowly. There's no need to rush things while the paint is still wet. We can add more pigment when you apply the paint. It's a crucial moment move around the painting and tilt it in various directions. I cannot stress enough how important this is. With a lot of wet paint on the paper, it starts to buckle. Leaving it like this would cause the pigment to gather in the valleys, resulting in darker areas or large blooms. We want all the colors to blend nicely on the paper, creating smooth transitions and large, even areas of colors tilt your paper. As long as the paint is moving, don't stop until the paint settles down. Only when you see that the paint has stopped moving and there are no pedals, you can stop. Pay attention to the paint around the masking fluid. You don't want the paint to flow over that masking barrier and into the statue. The tilting stage may take a few long minutes, but it's crucial for a smooth effect in the smooth backgrounds. Like these aren't created with the brush alone. The brush is a means to transfer paint from the palette to the paper. The rest is accomplished with the help of gravity, tiled the painting to guide the paint flow in a specific direction. Once the paint has settled, clean the tape and move on to the right side of the background. Again, use the priming method. Apply the first water layer and let it soak in for a few minutes. Here I missed a small section that I should have masked off. I have to carefully paint around that area. Now apply the second water layer and start adding your colors. I'm starting again from the brightest green. There's a warm green leaf in the background. I'm applying this green in those areas. I don't have to paint that leaf exactly, But I want to recreate the distribution of colors more or less in the upper part. It's crucial to use a color that is the same, or at least similar to, the one on the left side of the wing. The background behind the wing is one large area, so we want to use the same color on both sides to maintain color continuity in the bottom part, we have a lot of space for interpretation. This whole area is very blurry and the shapes are at. There's no need to be overly careful or detailed here. I'm just applying the colors. Starting from the lighter green and gradually adding darker greens. There are even some hints of burnt sienna and a light unpainted area at the bottom. This is what we aim to achieve at this stage. Let it dry completely. It may take a while because we applied a lot of water, but remember, it's not a race. You can even leave it to dry. Overnight exercise patience. When it's dry, come back to this painting with fresh eyes and we'll move on to the next step where we will remove the masking tape and use a scrubber brush. Everything has to be bone dry before the next stage. 7. Using Scrubber Brush: Make sure that everything is completely dry. We're going to use a scrubber brush. Now, I'll be using Windsor and Newton's Calia brush size four in the background, you may notice those lighter spots and we can create them with a scrubber. Brush deep, your brush in water, Remove the Xs on a paper towel, wrap the surface with circular motions, and dab that area with a paper towel to remove the activated paint. Don't need the exact same brush as I have for this. Any brush slightly stiffer than watercolor brushes, preferably the ones that are used for acrylic painting will work well. You can even try with your watercolor brushes, maybe you have a flat one, but it may just take a bit more time, since they are a bit softer. Notice that we can control how much paint will lift off. If we press the brush harder, it will activate more paint and lift off more. If we press very softly, we will remove less paint. Knowing this, we can control the edges of our spots. They can be very soft. If we press the brush slightly in the center of those circles, I'm pressing hard, and on the edges, I'm being very delicate. I'm also lifting out the paint from the places behind the stems to create more impression of light in those areas. Now here we have spots of masking fluid. You might wonder why I'm addressing this now and not after removing the masking. There is a reason for that. This spot is not very big. If I were to remove the masking and then start softening the edges, there is a big chance that I would pull the green paint into those masked spots and they wouldn't stay as white in the end. That's why I'm softening the area around those spots now because masking fluid is still protecting those white areas. When I eventually remove the masking, there will be much less pigment around it and the risk of pulling the paint into those white spots will be reduced. I hope this makes sense. We can, of course, lift off some lighter spots here and there to introduce more variety and more abstract shapes in that area. Now we can remove the masking. I have this nice masking pick up tool. It's made of rubber, I think, which is really nice and I highly recommend it. Of course, you can use your fingers to, but this tool makes it very easy. If the masking is well applied and fresh, it will come off in one big piece, which is always very satisfying. Now we can easily remove that mistake and masking from all the other places. In the end, I like to run the back of my finger everywhere to make sure that I removed all the masking. Now the edges are very sharp, so we can use a scrub brush to soften some of them or smooth them out. For example, here in this place, I want to soften those edges. I also want to soften some edges of the roses to create a softer, more blurred look on the right. We can now soften those edges as well. Notice that here we removed the paint earlier. Now we don't have much pigment here. We just want to soften those edges slightly more because there is already less pigment. We don't pull the green into that white area. That's why we lifted out the paint earlier when those areas were still masked out. There is also something called lost and found edges, which is one of those little secrets in watercolor painting that makes paintings more interesting. The idea behind it is very straightforward. Visualize it in the flower on the left. Currently, all the edges are sharp. I will now soften the edges at the bottom. The idea here is that sharp edges suggest that the object is in focus. It's clearly visible. These are the found edges. The lost edges are the ones at the bottom that are blended into the background. It's as if the object was emerging from the background. I also want to slightly soften the edge on the top of the head where the light is. I firmly believe that softening places with the highest high lights, we'll make them look more natural and the light effect will be more intense. We'll also do this with the shadows on the statue at a later stage. Now the background is finished, the masking is removed. And we've softened some of the edges. We can move on to adding some details to the foreground. 8. Flowers - Details: The background is completely dry. And now we can start adding more definition to the shapes in the foreground. I'll be using a brush size form. Let's start by applying the main colors to the leaves on the left. Further that we're going to use a nice warm green, which is in my case, green gold. It might have a touch of Windsor green yellow shade as well, but it's mainly green gold. Let's apply this color to the entire leaf. Just a simple flat wash, wet and dry. Now, add a little bit of Windsor green yellow shade and apply the color to the other leaf on the right hand side, add more green gold just to introduce some variety in those greens. That's all. Now let those two leaves in the reference photo, there is also the third leaf below, but I decided not to paint it. Now let's move on to the first flower. Apart from our greens, we will also need a neutral color, which we will be using for painting the statue. Let's mix burnt sienna with bald blue. This mix will give us a nice warm, neutral gray that we can shift towards blue brown or even green if needed by adjusting the color mix. Now, because all those shapes are very small, I'm painting wet and dry. I'm starting by applying the gray in the darkest places. Then I'll be adding different shades of green and also brown to get various tones for the shadows. At this point, describing exactly what I'm doing is quite difficult because all those shapes are very abstract. In general, my idea is that I want to apply main colors that I can see, leaving white highlights unpainted. I'm starting with a light tone and then I'm dropping in darker tones, in the shadowed areas. As you can see, it's hard to say that this is realistic, it's really not. I would say that this is just an attempt at creating an impression of a rose. Instead of painting a rose, I'm more concerned about values and colors rather than creating something realistic. At this stage, notice how I am trying to blend the brown with the green at the bottom. I want to create the illusion of the flower emerging from the background, a lost edge. That's why softening that edge at the bottom was very helpful. If we had a hard edge there, we couldn't achieve that smooth transition of colors. I'm dropping in darker tones here and there in the darkest places, trying to get the right tones straightaway. In the next flower, I'm starting from the brightest green at the bottom, and I will be adding darker tones, creating again those very abstract shapes. In general, this is a perfect place where we can apply the rule, paint what you see. It may make no sense to you. And those shapes, especially when looked at and without context, may resemble nothing. But don't worry about it. Just try to paint more or less what you see in the photo. In the end, all of those colors and shapes will come together to create a nice cohesive image. Now here is, I think, the only flower that actually resembles a rose. It is in the shadow. I am starting by applying some basic colors. First I will let it dry and I will add darker tones. My aim will be just to create a distinction between the two roses here. I also want to create that impression of a curled petal. Later. In order to really get the impression of a rose, I will add sepals at the bottom. Now I'm just adding the main colors, some green, some neutral grays, and also that dark green at the bottom. Later when everything dries, I will come back to this flower and add some details. Notice that I'm using the same colors all the time. Burn Siena with cobalt blue is my neutral gray. Which I shift more towards green, brown, or blue as needed. I think that it's also important to use slightly less saturated colors here. That's why I'm building the colors with that gray. The reason for that is because if we use more neutral colors around the statue, the warm colors of the statue and the light of it will be more pronounced because the colors of it will not compete too much with the background. Those of you who know me know that I like bold colors and generally warm colors. That's why my painting is more vibrant and warmer than the photo. But that's just how I like to paint. If you like, you can always use colors that are more true to the reference. For me, the reference is always just an inspiration and information about the tonal values. The colors are always less important. I'm not trying to perfectly recreate colors because it's not science, it's art. We can do whatever we like. Here on the roses on the right, I am applying those neutral beige colors. I'm also leaving some unpainted gaps on the edges of the flowers, which will be the highlights close to the bottom side of the petals. I'm adding a darker green now let's go back to the leaves on the left and add veins. The first layer is now dry, so we can add very thin vein lines with a darker green tone. We want to keep it very simple. After adding the veins, we can add some darker spots on the leaves. But we don't want to exaggerate and fiddle too much here. There is also a darker stem, so we want to paint that too. The stem will be darker than the background and we will get that nice effect now with the same darker green. Let's add the stem of a rose and the seals, the sepals shapes will help us to create the impression of a rose. I think this is a very characteristic feature of this flower. And after adding them, I think we can already say it is a white rose because the petals are already dry. We can also add some shadows, a little bit of shadow on the rose in the back to make a clear distinction between the two flowers. We can also add a subtle shadow under the curled petal, in the rose in front. After applying the color, rinse and blot your brush and quickly blend away the edge of the paint. 9. Foreground Dark Tones: I think now it's the time to mix more dark green. Let's use paints gray mixed with green gold to get a very deep dark green. Let's add burnt sienna to it to make it more of a dark olive green. Let's use this dark color to create some negative spaces in the reference. I can see a rose behind and some leaves. Let's apply the green in between those shapes to bring out those shapes to life. So we are using the negative technique. Here we're painting the background of the objects. Try to blend away that green. We can also add some colors to suggest petals on the rose. Now I'm going to use this green to darken this whole area between the flowers. Initially, I wanted to create more negative shapes and be more careful here, but I thought that this area is just the background and we don't really have to focus on the details here. You will see me playing around with various dark tones of the greens and filling the space with those colors. I think we can just create a sense of randomness here. Instead of defining the shapes exactly, this area is like one big puzzle. What I am doing now is really very random. I'm trying to recreate those shapes and colors more or less. Again, this whole area is very abstract. As you can see, it's really even hard to describe exactly what I'm doing. I try to avoid making tutorials like this and painting such things because this is not a very organized and structured process. It's really difficult to describe, which can be annoying, I know that. But you know, sometimes areas like this will happen in our paintings and we just have to deal with it. I thought I would add a touch of Windsor Yellow Deep to enhance the feeling of warmth here. Now let's go to the right hand side of the painting. Here again you will see me adding very random shapes, but my main goal here is to paint the stem and the seals of the rose. I think it's very important that we do that. Because this rose along with the one on the left hand side of the painting that also has sepals are two roses that influence how we perceive all those flowers. I think that just by adding those sepals in only those two roses, the viewer of the painting will be able to perceive all those flowers as roses. Even though we didn't paint them in detail. I'm also adding random lines here, thinking about high grasses. Just something that will add more randomness here and create the impression of a little garden chaos or just the beauty of the natural world. I think we can finish here before we move on, I also want to use a scrubber brush and soften some of the edges close to the highlights just to introduce more softness. With that, I think we can finish and move on to paint the statue. 10. The Hair - Initial Layer: I'm quite excited now because I've never painted a statue like this before. It's an exciting new adventure. But I have a plan. Don't worry, we can do this. First of all, we need some colors. Let's mix burn Siena with Cobled Blue. This will be the main mix that we're going to use on the whole statue. Cobled Blue is the most delicate, very gentle blue, which creates a nice warm, neutral gray with burned sienna. Burnt sienna is a nice warm brown. I think they work very well together, especially for this purpose. On the other half of the palette, I'm also preparing permanent rose, Windsor yellow, deep, a mix of green gold with Windsor green yellow shade and paints gray and even some burnt sienna. That's a deep dark olive green. We'll be using primarily the gray and its shades from the left side of the palette. However, I think that permanent rose and Windsor yellow deep may come in handy in the warmest places on the hair. At some point we'll also use green at the bottom of the hair in places where hair meets roses. Also in other places where just the green of the plants is reflected on the statue, your water probably became green. Now, just like mine, I highly recommend that you change the water so that we use clean colors. Now I'll be using a brush size for, let's pick up some of that neutral gray and start with this one. We'll be painting wet on dry. Keep the paint really watery. Remember, you can always drop in more pigment if needed. Start with a light tone to establish the shape and then add more color to darken it. I'm starting from the top of the head and be painting the hair on the left hand side. Now let me explain what my plan is and how I want to approach this subject. The idea is pretty simple. Actually, let's take a break for a second so that I can calmly describe to you my thinking process. When I look at this hair area, my first thought is, how can I simplify this whole thing? I can see that there is a clear distinction between the shadows and highlights. I'm going to leave the highlights painted because the whiteness of the paper will be the brightest white in the painting. That's what we need here. I will have to focus on painting only the shadows. When I look at those shadows, I'm thinking about their colors and tonal values. I immediately know that I will not be able to paint it in just one layer. Why? Because there are too many different tonal values. If I can see pretty light values and quite dark values, then I know I will have to divide painting into at least rounds. First, I will apply lighter values and perhaps middle values. In the second layer, I will create darker values. Knowing that I am now thinking about the colors. I see that the colors range from brown through gray to blue and plus some greens at the bottom. Those are the colors we've already prepared. My idea is that in the first stage, we can apply initial colors, the main colors of the subject without focusing on the details. When the first layer dries, we will apply more details in the dark tones to define all those wavy shapes of the hair. I'm looking at the reference in terms of big shapes filled with colors. My aim is just to apply browns, grays, and blues in the correct, more or less, places. I'm leaving white highlights unpainted and focusing only on those colorful shadows. Notice that burnt sienna and cobalt blue is a very, very nice combination. That is capable of showing wonderful reflected light within the shadows. I hope you can see that. At least that's what I'm getting. In places where we apply burnt sienna. That brown looks like if there was a warm light. But because we're combining it with blue, we have a feeling of light within the shadow. I think this effect looks very, very nice. That burnt sienna helps us create the reflected light on the shadowed area of the statue. It almost looks as if there was an additional source of light shining somewhere from the bottom. This stage of the painting is not too difficult, however, we must pay attention to the highlights and avoid painting those areas. I know that you may get lost among all those lines. I know because I had to think about where to put each brush stroke to. But let me remind you that this is not a race. We really don't have to hurry. Take your time, and I promise you that you will create a stunning painting. It is really worth spending a bit more time and applying those colors slowly. Just remember to use a really watery paint consistency so that the colors mingle nicely on the paper. In the lower areas, you can confidently paint the rewards. There are no highlights and we just have to fill that area with color. Notice that close to the neck, I'm softening that edge. I want to blend it away. Later when we'll be painting the neck, we will define the hair line in this area with a darker tone at the bottom. Use green as a reflection of the leaves in the statue. While the paint is still wet, I'm dropping in more paint just to darken the color a bit. It will be darker anyway. Okay, so we've applied an initial layer on the left, now let's move on to the right side and repeat the process. This site has more light, it has warmer colors. So keep that in mind. I will even mix in a little bit of Windsor yellow deep with my brown to make it. Now I'm mixing Windsor yellow deep with permanent rose. This mix gives us a very nice orange which is cleaner and warmer than the brown of burnt sienna. I think this is a really nice color to use in this place where the light is really strong. Again, please be patient and paint slowly and carefully on this side. We also need to carefully shape the curvature of the face. Take your time and do this slowly and precisely here. Close to the shoulder and the neck. Slow down even more and create nice, smooth shapes. Try to blend out the paint here. We're not going to paint that big shadow now. We'll come back to it later. Focus only on the hair. Introduce a darker brown to suggest depth. This brown is a stronger mix of burnt sienna and cobalt blue at this stage. This is how it looks in the class materials. You will find my work in progress photos. So feel free to open this photo and try to recreate it. I'd like to draw your attention to the beauty of watercolors. Notice how the transparent properties of watercolors and the interplay between lights and shadows create this beautiful, almost ephemeral effect. Perhaps when you see the slayer already applied, you might think it's not that difficult. If you've already painted it, you might now realize it wasn't that difficult at all. That's because it really wasn't. We didn't do anything special here. It's just a simple graded wash, applied wet on dry. We only had to feel in specific shapes step by step. We are heading in the right direction. However, we need to follow a specific order and take our time. Even complex paintings are not that complicated if we break them down into smaller parts and approach them in an organized way. All right, enough rumbling. Let's now move on to the next part. 11. Wing - Initial Layer: This part will be much easier than the previous one. We're going to apply an initial layer on the wing using a brush size eight. Our aim now is very simple. We just have to apply an initial layer, wet and dry. I've decided to use a bigger brush this time because the shape is much simpler and there aren't many complex highlights that we have to paint around. Use the same combination of burnt sienna and cobalt blue. I'm going to start from the bottom and move upwards. Notice that there is a deeper shadow inside the wing and there I want to add more cobalt blue. Pay attention to the highlights. There is one highlight on the left, on the bend of the wing, and also smaller highlights on the feathers on the right. We could mask them off with masking fluid, but I think those shapes are super simple and we can just paint around them. At the bottom of the wing, I thought I would add some green to reflect the color from the surroundings. Just a little bit to introduce some interest. I also mixed a stronger, darker mix of cobbled blue and burned Siena. And I'm applying it in the darkest area. If you do this and notice like I did, that a hard edge is forming somewhere. This means that the paint started to dry out. So go ahead and apply another layer to paint to the entire wing. I thought I would do this because the paint will dry paler and I want to achieve a similar tonal value to the hair on the left. And that's all for this part. We can now move on to applying a similar layer to the dress. 12. Dress - Initial Layer: For the dress, I will switch back to a smaller brush size four. We're going to use exactly the same colors as before, but this time I think I will start with a mix of permanent rose and Windsor yellow, deep. I will use burn sienna anyway in a second. This time, again, we have to be a bit more careful because we have to leave those highlights unpainted, close to the flowers. Use green to reflect that color. Notice how watery my paint is. If I used thick paint, it would dry really quickly and create hard edges. We want to create one big area of beautifully blended colors with unpainted highlights. That's why we are using very watery paint because it allows us to blend the colors. But it also gives us a bit more time to think about the next brush stroke. I must say that the dress for me was much more confusing than the hair. I don't know why, but I was just lost here. Even though there are not many highlights, I was even more, But we'll come to that. There is a distinction between the dress and the background. But I covered this whole area now my idea is that the background will stay like this and the dress will be much darker in this area. Later, I will create this distinction with a darker paint. Okay, and that's all for this part. Let's take a closer look at what we've done so far. In the next part, we're going to apply an initial layer to the body. 13. Body - Initial Layer: There is one more initial layer that we have to apply. Namely, on the body of the angel, I'll be using a brush size four. And I have to apologize for my mistake in this part. After I finished this section, I realized that I didn't click the record button on my phone. You won't see my palette in this part, but I will be using exactly the same colors as in all other sections. No changes here. Let's start from the upper part and move downwards. I'm starting with a more neutral base color and I will then add more burnt sienna or cobled blue. This color is a mixture of burnt sienna and cobald blue here above the eye. I want to create a stronger sense of light instead of burnt sienna. I'm using that orange mix of Windsor yellow, deep, and permanent rose. Notice also that there is a tiny highlight on the eyelid, so try to carefully paint around it. I'm actually combining here wet on wet and wet on dry techniques. In some areas, I'm applying the paint wet on dry. But on bigger areas, I'm first quickly wetting that area and then I'm adding colors. This is just because I want to achieve smooth color transitions. And that water layer will just help me to blend the colors better. I am, of course, using a very watery consistency paint. Take a closer look at the distribution of colors. Notice where there is more cobbled blue, where there is more burnt sienna, Where I'm using a very light mixture of both of them. There is that nice high light running along the Joe line. We will really want to create that in this area. I'm trying to use a very light color in the second layer, we will enhance this effect, but at this stage, we can already create a foundation and suggest that area, the shadow turns blue at the bottom and neutral on the left side of the neck. On the left side of the neck. I'm also using a darker mix. This will be a very dark place. I already want to suggest that we also have to apply shadow above the right eye. There is also a highlight on the eye lid, so make sure to paint around it. Also notice how I painted the shadow under the nose and on the lips. I left a small highlight on the lips, and I didn't apply any paint on the right cheek. Finally, we have to apply the last initial layer on the arm. Let's start from a more bluish tone and then shift the color to more brown. Don't worry about the hard edge of the shadow now, we will later use a scrubber brush and soften some of the edges. Pay attention to the colors and tonal values. Notice that there is a lighter highlight on the arm between the blue and brown. There's also more blue close to the high light at the bottom, close to the flowers. Add also green color to suggest a reflection of the green in the statue. With that, we finished applying the initial layer on the entire statue. As you can see, we did that in several parts. We divided the whole statue into more manageable sections, thanks to which it wasn't so overwhelming, I hope so. We did that step by step, and now we have a very nice base upon which we can build darker tones and details. In the next part, we will finish painting the hair. 14. The Hair - Details: Okay, so the initial layer is now completely dry and we can add more details and darker tones in this part. We'll finish the hair. I'll be using a brush size four. Recreating every one of my brush strokes wouldn't be possible, of course. But I would like to describe the process and what I'm thinking now the best I can so that you understand what we are going to do and why. In this part, our aim is to add more details to the hair and darken the tones where it's needed. In the case of the statue, luckily we don't have to paint individual hairs. We can focus on painting bigger wavy shapes. Of course, I'm using the same colors all the time. Burnt sienna and cobalt blue and everything. We can mix with them. We're painting wet and dry because we want to create those hard edges now, which will help us to create that solid structure of the statue. I'm first applying a lighter tone. Then if needed, I'm dropping in more color to darken that tone, or to slightly adjust the color by adding more blue or brown. Notice that I'm leaving gaps between those shapes. The previous layer, that initial layer we applied earlier, now acts like the middle value. We could even say that now we are painting the real shadows. And the previous layer now works as the base color or the so called local color when we apply the paint. Now it may or may not be the last layer. It depends, painting is an act of constant adjustments. Perhaps when we add the darkest shadows, it will turn out that some other parts need more attention and further darkening. We may come back and add more color to darken the tone in some areas. That's why I'm not using a super dark tone straightaway. I'm building the values slowly. Notice that the consistency of my paint is the same as in the previous layer. But because we have a build up of layers now, the tonal value is darker. With every layer tone will be darker and darker. It's better to build the dark tone this way instead of going straight away with one thick layer of paint. Because this way we won't lose that nice, transparent properties of watercolors. Those thin layers of paint create a very fresh and clean look. I know that you may get lost in those waves that encourage you to slow down and really patiently observe the photo and think about each next stroke. Luckily, here we're painting small areas that are separate so we can slowly think about each of them and what colors to use. There is that darker shadow in the lower part. And here we can use a slightly darker tone straightaway. However, don't go too dark. Don't use paint. Notice that even my darker paint is still pretty watery. We can always darken those places or drop in more dark tone while the paint is still wet. Just don't use thick paint at the bottom. Initially, I wanted to paint this area with more details, but I thought that it would be enough if we just darken this area and suggest some wavy shapes. There is a deep dark shadow and when things are in the shadow, they are not very detailed and clearly visible. So we don't have to paint details here. I think it would be best at least I would do it this way. If you watch this whole part and then just open my finished painting or work in progress photo and try to recreate it by looking at the finished piece. We have to repeat the process on the right side, it almost feels like we are hairdressers now we have the basic colors applied, and now we have to shape the haircut. Think about the waves, folds, how real hair would be shaped. Notice that it doesn't really require much work here to create a nice looking effect. Just a simple wavy shape already creates a shadow. And gives a more three dimensional form to our statue. If you paint over the face by accident, you can always use a scrubber brush when the paint dries and lift off the unnecessary paint. I'm being quite careful around the face because it has a beautiful, smooth shape and I don't want to disturb that. But we have to create a darker tone here to visually bring the face forward. Okay, so I think the hair is done. And now maybe let's jump to paint the dress because it's far away from here, so we won't touch anything. And also the shapes are similar. 15. Dress - Details: I think it won't be a surprise if I tell you that we're going to use the same colors. Now, I'm just preparing more paint because I know the dress in the shadow will require a darker tone. I'm also keeping cobalt blue as a separate pedal and I'm adding Windsor yellow deep to my brown mix to make it warmer. Now again, let the adventure begin. My plan is to paint from left to right, from top to bottom. There is really nothing to discover here. We just have to paint those shadows to create the fold of the dress. I have to say that the dress for me was much more confusing than the hair. I don't know why. I think I was really trying to keep those highlights and I was afraid to paint over them and I wasn't really sure where they should be exactly. I forgot to mention in the previous part, but I can tell you now that, of course, I'm looking at the reference photo, but as you can tell, I'm not recreating every fold exactly as it is in the photo. There's really no need to be so detailed unless you really want to. You can of course, but for me, the crucial thing is to keep things minimalistic simple, but at the same time, try to convey the same message. If you look at this section and can say its address, then my goal is reached. Does it look exactly as in the reference photo? No. Did I paint every single fold? No. Did I use exactly the same colors? No. But did I paint the dress And you know that its address? Yes. What I mean by that is that nobody will ever compare that with the reference. So we can really do whatever we like. My aim is just to paint a realistically looking dress or statue filtered through the lenses of my eyes. I think the key here is to realize what we actually have to leave unpainted instead of what we have to paint. The goal is to create those folds. And we can do that by not painting those elongated shapes. Those shapes are the places where the light hits and we're painting the shadow. I painted the dress in two rounds. Now I'm applying the second layer. When I finish this one, I will use hair dryer to quickly dry, it will add more layer. The reason behind it is that F of all the third layer will help me to achieve the tones in the places. Second of all, the third layer will work as the third dimension. It will just add another layer of depth to the folds. Here you can see the second layer applied, and now I'm drying this layer. I think it's worth mentioning that when you use a hair dryer, it warms up the paper. Sometimes the paper becomes really hot. It's best to wait a few minutes until it cools down because otherwise the pate that you'll be applying will be drying very quickly. Now, when it's all dry, I'm applying the third layer to create the darkest shadows in the fabric made of stone. I'm thinking here mainly about these big shadows. I'm painting now generally the entire right side of the dress, the wing, and the arm cast a shadow there. It's important to make that area darker, remembering about keeping some highlights. Again, notice that I'm not using any new colors and I'm still using a watery paint consistency. The dark tone here is just a result of three layers applied, one on top of another. A few additional lines here and there, and the dress is finished. It may not look particularly beautiful in the close up, but what counts is the overall look of the entire painting. That's why it's also important not to give up when we're in the so called ugly stage, because in the end it will all come together. 16. Body - Details: Now it's time for the scary part. Now. It's not scary. I'm kidding. It is. This part will require your focus, especially in one place. I highly recommend that you calmly watch this whole video first to get a better understanding of what we'll be doing, and then try to repeat that in your painting. Let's start calmly from defining the most important elements of the phase, the eyes and the lips. Let's start from the eyes. Use a darker brown color and apply it in the corner of the eye. Rinse and blot your brush and soften the edge of that paint to create a soft transition from dark to light. Drop in even more dark brown in the corner if you feel it's necessary. I did that a few times now. Do the same in that part, which I don't know how to call. But you can see where, let's say it's the other corner of the eye, closer to the nose. If we add a shadow there, we will create a nice three dimensional look. Apply the paint and quickly soften the edge with a clean, dumb brush. Let's also define a bit more the eye lid by painting a darker line here. Of course, I had to darken the corner again. As you can see, I'm adjusting various areas as I go along. I just see that it has to be darker because in comparison with other dark places in the painting, especially in comparison with the hair, these places just have to be slightly darker and more defined. We can't forget about the second eye. We can add subtle shadows there as well. But don't go too dark because that part is in the light. Okay, now let's paint the lips. I think it would be best if we start from the most prominent part, that dark line running between the lips. Take your time now, because this simple line will tell everything about the mood of the angel. Depending on how you paint it, the angel will be smiling or will look like if it was not so content. It's important to get this line right to create a friendly mood. The state when you paint that line, smooth out the paint on the upper lip. The upper lip should be more in the shadow. Paint a subtle shadow under the lips. And if you think it's not dark enough, add a bit more color in the shadow on the nose. I'm erasing the pencil line here because it changes the shape of the nose. I think without the line it will look better. I'm also shaping the nose by adding a very subtle orange shadow behind it. Now here's the part that needs your full focus. We are going to apply one more layer to this entire shadow and we'll shape the body. Notice that there are three places that catch the reflected light. The jaw line, the neck on the right side, the muscle. Maybe, let's call that the neck muscle. I think the jaw line, but also the neck muscle is super important here, But especially the jaw line, because that lighter area will actually shape the whole phase. It's important to get it right. Let's use a bigger brush size eight, because this way we won't focus too much on the details but rather on the bigger shapes. This time, I think it's necessary to paint wet on wet. Start by applying a water layer. This will give us a bit more time to paint. It will also help us to blend the colors nicely and it will reduce the risk of getting hard edges. Start adding the colors from the neck. On the left, there is that dark shadow under the hair, which will require a few rounds to get it dark enough. Now switch to a warm brown. Let's mix burn Siena with some Windsor yellow deep, and apply that color under the ear. Now with a neutral gray, start building the form of the neck. Begin by applying a light tone, and if needed, add darker tones. But start slowly by placing the gray in the correct places. Notice that I'm already trying to shape the jaw line. I'm adding the color on the left side of the neck muscle. This way, the jaw line and the neck muscle stay lighter than the shadow. Because we applied a water layer, the paint creates blurry shapes. Blurry edges. After comparing the tonal values with other places in the painting, I decided to add a darker tone to the shadow on the left and a little bit more to the neck. I'm now using just the tip of my brush, and I'm adding just a bit more paint in the shadow to better define that jaw line. Now when we have a slightly darker color on the neck, let's rings and blotter brush. And with a clean, dumb brush, lift off paint from those lighter areas, From the neck muscle, the jaw line, and the right side of the neck that catches the light. I'm switching now between adding darker tones and lifting off the paint to find a good balance between the shadow and the light. After each swipe of the brush, after each lifting of the color, clean your brush. We don't want to transfer the lifted off paint from one place to another. I'm imagining the line running from the ear to the chin. As you can see, by lifting off the paint, we can build those forms and it creates that beautiful impression of reflected light. Finally, we have to add a stronger shadow in the upper part, under the hair. We need to better define the distinction between the face and the hair. That area is already dry, so I'm painting wet and dry. Using a more diluted paint. And after applying the dark brown, I'm trying to blend away that color. As a finishing touch, I switched to a smaller brush. As I is four, I'm adding just a tiny details to define some shapes a bit better. A slightly more paint on the lips and the eyes. A more defined shadow on the left side of the neck, and more defined shadows and details on the ear. Now with a scrubber brush, I want to soften the edge of the shadow on the arm. I'm wetting the brush, plotting it on a paper towel to remove the excess water. And I'm rubbing that edge to activate the dry paint. I'm dabbing those places with a paper towel to remove the paint. Now, it's totally optional. I don't know how your painting looks, but I decided to slightly darken the shadow. Here I'm applying a water and I will drop in more color. I want to add a bit more blue and brown. I also think it's important to create a lighter edge on the lower part of the arm. This lighter edge is a reflected light. I think it's always good to create it in every round form. The arm is actually a cylinder, it has a round form. This reflected light helps to convey that because I applied another layer of paint, it's wet. Now I'm running several times in the same place to lift off the paint. If you didn't apply one more layer here, you can simply use a scrubber brush to create that reflected light. With that, we can finish this part in the next part, the final part. We will finish the painting by painting the wing. 17. Wing - Details: We are very close to finishing this painting. In this last part of the tutorial, we're going to add some details to the wing. There are two main ideas that I'm keeping in mind while painting the wing. Now, while painting the wing, I'm not really looking at the reference photo, I just get a general idea of which part of the wing should be darker. Now I'm trying to make a clear distinction between each feather. To do that, I'm patiently painting a shadow on each feather. In general, each shadow looks very similar. Let's take a look at this illustration. Let's say these are my feathers. My idea to paint them is that I first apply a darker tone at the bottom of each feather. And I will blend it away towards the tip of the feather. This way, if I repeat this with every feather, I will create the nice effect of overlapping feathers. For bigger feathers, I'm also doing this, but I'm also thinking about the longer edge. I want to apply a shadow under each of those feathers to create that overlapping appearance. Here we can really practice our skills of softening the edges. I think this is a very important skill, probably it's the most important technique right after wet on wet and wet on dry. I'm skipping from one area to another because I want to keep control over the paint. It's like painting the petals often try not to paint the ones that are next to each other so that the paint won't flow from one to another. Here, it's similar actually, when I'm blending away the paint, I'm not pulling that paint to the very edge of the feather. I usually leave a tiny gap on the edge which allows me to paint the next feather straightaway. Of course, I'm using burn Siena and cobalt bloom all the time in various proportions. I'm trying to keep this mix neutral with equal amounts of those two paints or with slightly more brown. But it depends on the area. I also don't want to paint every shadow with exactly the same color. I think they need some variety. Sometimes I use more blue. This makes them more interesting. Again, don't hurry. Take your time. This isn't difficult, but you really need to spend some time on this and paint each feather individually. There's no shortcut here. This may also be your first layer just to establish where each shadow should be. You can always go over some areas again and add a darker tone to define those shapes a bit better. The correct tonal values are very important because they will help us to make a distinction between each feather. It's much better to define each feather with tonal variation instead of painting a clear outline of each feather. Painting an outline is a very common way of defining shapes that I see among beginners. I think it doesn't really look good. It's much better to define shapes by using light and dark tones and the differences between the tones between the two feathers. The only outline should be the light pencil line. At least that's my approach. Let's also add a shadow on this part of the wing. It's generally lighter than the inner side of the wing, so we don't want to go too dark, but we have to create a clear distinction between the shoulder and the wing. The shadow here is needed. Make sure that the inner part of the wing is dark enough. Now, let's dry the paint with a hair dryer. We need a dry surface now to add the lines to the feathers. Those lines have to stay crisp. The paper needs to be completely dry now, again, using a mix of burnt sienna and cobalt bloom, neutral tone. Let's add those lines, those details that are very characteristic of the feathers. Again, we don't have to follow the reference photo exactly. We can mimic the most prominent lines. But the general idea here is to apply one straight line running along the middle of each feather and a few lines on both sides. It's almost like painting the veins of the leaves, but easier. Let's also keep in mind that it's a state, so we don't have to be very precise. Just a few lines here and there will be enough to create this nice feathery look. Finally, the last step that you can take, but you don't have to though, I encourage you to do so, is to soften edges with a Sc brush. For those of you who have been painting with me for a while, you know that I like to soften particular edges when there is a clean, sharp shadow that meets with a strong highlight. I always like to soften that edge of the shadow because I think it makes the highlight look more shiny and more realistic. It's almost as if someone turned on a glowing light. The shadow looks fine with that sharp edge, but that tiny detail, that softened edge, I think makes a difference. We can also soften that shadow on the cheek, which will help to create a beautiful, soft roundish form. I just noticed that I forgot about a tiny shadow here. I'm applying some brown and softening it quickly, and that's all. With that, I think we can call this painting finished. Now you can sign your painting. I always do this. In the bottom right corner, I use a small spotter brush, usually t 0.1 of the colors that I was using in the painting. In this case, the corner is green. I'm using a darker green. I don't want the signature to be too prominent. There we have it, a beautiful painting of an angel statue in the garden in full sunlight. I really enjoyed painting this. It was a new experience. It gave me some food for thought, but it also proved that the same watercolor techniques that we are using all the time in every painting can be used to paint various subjects from flowers, through butterflies, dogs, birds, to landscapes and still life. We only need a good action plan, and methodical approach, and patience. I hope you will give this painting a go and will be happy with your result. Thank you very much for watching, for joining me, and I wish you all the best happy painting by.