CLASS DESCRIPTION:

Welcome to my Brown Bottle Botanical painting class. I am so excited to have you join me for this beginner-friendly watercolor painting journey!

I am an artist and a high school fine arts survey teacher and have been creating art since childhood and teaching art off and on for years. I have used and taught with various media, but have recently become obsessed with watercolors (Obsessed = I’ve painted over 200 watercolor paintings this year!!). I find watercolor painting to be both satisfying and relaxing and by the end of this class, I hope you will feel the same!

Here is what you can expect in this class:

You will use watercolors to create an aesthetic brown bottle and three different summer botanicals. Watercolors are perfect for painting these simple, fresh designs because of the unique ways they blend and react when using different techniques.
You will learn wet on wet and wet on dry watercolor techniques as well as basic water control. You will also learn about using white space as an effective design element.
You will learn about various materials used in watercolor painting and about the importance of specific materials for certain techniques.
Along the way, I’ll give you tips for basic sketching, artistic composition, and how to approach sketching and painting something you find inspiring in everyday life.

Materials Needed for Class:

Watercolor Paper (140 lb/ 300 g/m acid free cold press is what I will be using, but most student grade watercolor paper should be fine for these techniques)
Watercolors in assorted colors (tube watercolors or cakes are fine)
Assorted Brushes (#6, #12, #0, and liner suggested)
Gelly Roll or other white pen if available (or white watercolor or gouache)

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PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

For your class project, please feel free to upload your practice paintings for each botanical and your final painting with a botanical of your choice in the brown bottle to our project gallery.

Upload a photo of each botanical and the brown bottle as you complete each respective lesson. It is always enjoyable to see how each of us brings our own style into our paintings. You will find that our art community is very encouraging and supportive of one another’s project posts.
Upload a photo of your final painting with the botanical of your choice (either one we learned together in class, or one you found and painted on your own) in the brown bottle.
Take the time to look at some of your classmates' projects and be sure to leave them likes and encouraging comments.

I’ll be waiting to see your beautiful brown bottle botanicals! It brings me such joy to celebrate your painting success with you, so please share your paintings here. Also, if you decide to share your work from this class on Instagram, please tag me @vselliott_art so I can share your projects on my Instagram stories.

Finally, if you enjoyed this class, please consider leaving a review.

Thanks for joining me in class and best wishes on your painting journey!

Brown Bottle Botanicals: Paint a Watercolor Bottle & Summer Flowers - image 1 - student project

Class Outline Google Doc Link

CLASS OUTLINE:

(To see this in the chart form, please click the link above)

VIDEO LESSON 1: Introduction

Talking Head mixed with slides and physical demo videos; music in background, volume increased behind slides, off or very soft behind speaking

Approx. 2-3 min.

Introduce myself and talk about experience (intersperse talking head with slides of items I have painted)
Discuss what I will be teaching (intersperse talking head with slides of what we will paint. Include some snips of process videos): “Throughout this class, I will be teaching you watercolor techniques, such as wet on wet painting, wet on dry painting, water control, and the use of white space in composing a painting. As you learn, you will use the techniques to create your own watercolor illustrations of three botanicals and a brown bottle, culminating with a final project painting of a brown bottle holding the botanical of your choice. Feel free to work at your own pace through the lessons. Depending on your skill level and available time for the day, you can paint one or more paintings a day. It’s totally up to you. What is important is that you enjoy the process and learn along the way.”
Discuss skill level of participants (mainly talking head): “The techniques learned in this class are suitable for beginners, who have never used watercolors before, and for intermediate painters, who may just need inspiration to take your creative process in a different direction.”
Who can benefit from this class? (intersperse talking head with slides) “This class is good for creatives and hobbyists looking to explore the watercolor medium, for those who are interested in exploring watercolors, but who have been afraid to approach the medium, and for anyone just looking for a relaxing and de-stressing painting experience.”
What students will gain from class (Talking head interspersed with pictures of the botanicals and bottle other watercolor paintings at the end): “By the end of this class, you will be able to paint a brown bottle and botanicals using simple watercolor techniques. These techniques can easily be transferred to other watercolor illustrations and paintings. My wish for you is that your experiences in this class will open up the wonders and magic of working with watercolors and that you will leave this class wanting to explore watercolors more.”
Segue to the next video: “In the next video, I’ll explain your class project because I know you will want to start it right away! I can’t wait for us to get started painting together!”

VIDEO LESSON 2: Class Project

(Talking head with slides of the final project paintings)

Approx. 1 min.

“The best way to practice watercolor techniques is to apply them when painting, so your class project will be created as you practice. We’ll be learning how to paint three different botanicals in this class, blue wildflowers, a philodendron leaf with sprigs of liriope flowers, and a small sunflower. As you learn to paint each of these botanicals, I encourage you to upload photos of your progress to the project section of the class. You are able to edit your project at any time to include additional photos. Loading a portion at a time will give you an opportunity to receive feedback and encouragement from other class members as you work through the class. You will also learn to paint a small brown bottle, inspired by a bottle of my favorite cold-brew coffee (which, by the way, was the inspiration for this class). After learning to paint the bottle, it will be time for you to create your final project--a painting of your favorite botanical, either one you learned to paint in class or one of your own favorites--this time in the brown bottle as a vase. I can’t wait to see your paintings in the project gallery!! Oh, and if you want to post your projects on Instagram, be sure to tag me in your posts (the link to my Instagram is on my profile page and in the information about class section of this class). I’d love to feature your work on my Insta story.”

VIDEO LESSON 3: Materials You Will Need

Slides showing examples of supplies with audio of me explaining the supplies

Approx. 2-3 min.

Explain each of the needed supplies for class:
- Watercolor Paper (140 lb/ 300 g/m acid free cold press is what I will be using, but most student grade watercolor paper should be fine for these techniques)
- Watercolors in assorted colors (tube watercolors or cakes are fine)
- Assorted Brushes (#6, #12, #0, and liner suggested)
- Gelly Roll or other white pen if available (or white watercolor or gouache)
“Now that we have covered the class materials, let’s start painting!

VIDEO LESSON 4: Beautiful Blue Wildflowers

Talking head at the beginning, followed by a process video of the blue wildflowers, Talking head at the end

+10 min.

Introduce wildflower painting (talking head): “In this lesson, you will learn to paint these beautiful blue wildflowers. We’ll start with a simple sketch and then learn to apply a wet on dry and wet on wet technique to paint the flowers. Hint (put this on slide): You may want to watch a portion of the video and then pause the video to paint before moving on. This will help you to use the wet on wet process without your paper drying out.”
Talk through the process of painting the blue wildflowers (process video)
After painting (talking head): “Now that we have completed these beautiful blue wildflowers, using both wet on dry and wet on wet techniques, let’s move on to a modern take of a philodendron leaf with a few sprigs of liriope flowers thrown in. Make sure to take a picture of your wildflowers and post them in the project gallery. See you in the next video!”

VIDEO LESSON #5: Modern Philodendron Leaf with Liriope flowers

Talking head at the beginning, followed by a process video of the philodendron leaf with liriope flowers, talking head at end

+10 min.

Introduce the session (talking head): “In this lesson, we’ll paint a fun, creative, and somewhat modern philodendron leaf with a couple of liriope flower stems to complement it. We’ll start by sketching the components and then have a lot of fun with wet on wet while learning water control on the philodendron leaf. Finally, we’ll use the wet on dry technique to quickly paint in the simple liriope flowers. Let’s paint!”
Talk through the process of painting the philodendron leaf and liriope flowers (process video). Make sure to discuss the use of white space and how pooling and water blossoms are okay in this more modern technique of watercolor painting.
After painting (talking head): “Wow! Wasn’t that fun painting the philodendron leaf? I just love the way watercolors create magic as they dry. And the liriope flowers complement the philodendron leaf so well. You can apply both of the techniques used today to many other botanicals. Try it and have fun with it! Make sure to take a picture of your leaf and flowers from today’s class (and any others you experiment with) and post them in the project gallery. See you in the next video!”

VIDEO LESSON #6: Simple Sunflower

Talking head at the beginning, followed by a process video of the sunflower

+10 min.

Introduce the session (talking head): “Sunflowers have always been one of my favorite flowers--both in nature, and to paint. There is just something about them that makes you feel happy and carefree. Sunflowers are also extremely popular, so if you are looking for something to paint to sell, sunflowers are usually a winner. In this lesson, first we will do a simple sketch and then I will show you how to paint a fairly simple, illustrative sunflower using wet on wet, and wet on dry techniques. Let’s get started!”
Talk through the process of painting the sunflower (process video). Talk about taking the time to paint each petal individually and about how the white space can be added between petals later with a white gelly roll pen or gouache if bleeding occurs while painting. Talk about creating the different yellow hues and how to make the center fun with different browns.
After painting (talking head): “I just love this simple, satisfying sunflower. Don’t you? We had a lot of fun blending and creating colors and painting and outlining the flower. Just like before, the techniques you have learned here can be used with any number of flowers with petals and with a seeded type center. Try out the techniques on different flowers from your garden or even from pictures on the internet. Have fun! Make sure to post your sunflower and any other flowers you paint in our project gallery. I can’t wait to see the beautiful yellow-golden blooms covering our project page. Now that you have learned to paint three beautiful botanicals, let’s learn to paint the bottle that will be our vase.”

VIDEO LESSON #7: Aesthetic Brown Bottle

Talking head at the beginning, followed by a process video of the brown bottle

Approx. 20 min.

Introduce the session (talking head): “Welcome back! We’ve painted our three botanicals, and now we need to paint our vase.” Explain the inspiration behind the brown bottle painting and how to approach something you are inspired to paint.
Talk through the process of Sketching and painting the bottle (process video). Use the technique of upside down sketching to check the sketch symmetry, but remind the student that it is illustrative painting and it does not have to be perfectly symmetrical. Remind about wet on wet techniques, utilizing water control to make sure the paper is wet enough to blend but dry enough to maintain some of the shapes. Give a simple explanation of shading and highlighting and explain the highlights done with the Gelly Roll pen.
After painting (talking head): “Wow! You have not only painted three lovely botanicals, but now you have painted a fun, aesthetic brown bottle vase in which to place one or more of your flowers. Make sure to post a picture of your bottle to the project gallery! Stay tuned for a few closing words and information about your final project.”

VIDEO LESSON #8: A Final Word: Composition, Finding Inspiration Around You, and Your Final Project

Mix of talking head and slides

5-7 min.

(Talking Head): “As we come to the end of our time together in class, I want to talk just a little about finding inspiration around you to paint and about composition. I shared earlier with you my story about finding inspiration in my cold-brew bottle sitting on my desk. Inspiration is all around you--when you learn to look at things differently, you begin to develop what I call an artist’s eye. You see a beautiful sunset (insert slides) and you begin to think of what colors you would paint it. You are pulling weeds in your garden, and you notice a flower at that perfect stage of bloom (insert slide) and think about how you could illustrate it. In those moments, inspiration strikes. Take advantage of it. If you have a sketch pad handy you can do a quick sketch right where you are. If not, grab your phone and take a picture and then try your hand and sketch what you see. Grab your watercolors and create your own illustration from your inspiration. I encourage you to try--there is such joy in recreating something beautiful that you have seen.”
Discuss composition: “A note about composition as you prepare to paint your final project. In art, composition refers to the way things are arranged on the page. We could do a whole class about composition and the components that influence a well-composed painting, but for now, I just want to give you a quick and easy tip that will help you both on your project and as you paint additional subjects in paintings. One thing I always keep in mind is something called the rule of thirds.” Explain the rule of thirds (process video) and talk about how to apply that to the final project piece.
(Talking Head): “With all of that in mind, it is time to decide which botanical you would like to place in your bottle and paint and paint your composition. After you finish, please post it to the project gallery. I am so looking forward to seeing your finished creations in our gallery, and remember, if you post your painting to Instagram, be sure and tag me, so I can post your paintings on my story! Thank you so much for taking my Brown Bottle Botanicals class. If you enjoyed this class and would like to paint more botanicals, keep your eyes open for my next class in the fall.”

Vickie Elliott

Artist + Educator

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