After posting my last free inquiry post about watercolour painting I took a closer look at some of my old paintings. Some were full of techniques I couldn’t remember and would have to take some time to refresh, but I mostly noticed all the areas I wanted to improve. The first one is foliage. The green bushes of my old work were more akin to blobs of chaotic colour rather than impressions of the lush verdant wildlife I pictured. Since I enjoy painting landscapes so much I figured this should be something I should focus on. Besides, I needed a refresher on how to paint anyway. I watched a couple of TikToks (linked below of course) and proceeded to attack my sketch book.

I tried three different techniques that I collected from the videos I watched (seen in the row of all green trees). First I tried a dark base layer, layering lighter highlights on top. Then I started with a middle tone, adding in highlights and shadows after. Finally, I started with the highlight colours, slowly layering on top until the tree looked like it was lit from behind. After trying all three techniques I think I like the second one the most. I used that technique to paint a cherry blossom tree and an autumn tree, noticing that the more contrasting the colours are the more depth there is to the painting. I also painted a palm tree and some pine trees, though those I didn’t like as much as the dense leafy trees. Eventually, I got bored of green and decided I wanted to paint a vibrant spindle tree (I had recently read One Dark Window so this tree was fresh on my mind). I reached for my pallet to gather a red base layer to start and quickly realized the problem with using a paint pallet I bought at Walmart. Though it was cheap the colours it carried were insultingly sparse, and by that I mean it lacked red. There were 5 blues, 5 greens, and even 8 variations of pink but not a single vibrant, clear red. The closest it has is a deep burgundy which would have not matched my vision. In that moment it became abundantly clear to me that, while trees are fun, I needed to start even more basic. I needed to learn to mix colours.

So naturally I started painting buildings. I could’ve embarked in mixing colours (and trust me I do build up the bravery to do so by the end of this post), but much more fun than getting covered in paint was experimenting with a style and technique I had never tried before. I searched building references online and came up with an image of a painting that seemed simple enough to recreate but had enough details that I would have to challenge myself. The original painting was done by Liz Steel and can be found here.

Copying someone else’s work is a technique for practice that often gets misconstrued as stealing. However, by doing this, I can explore the process of the artist’s creation. It forces me to try things I never would have otherwise, like using a black ink pen or black paint in the windows.

To make these particular buildings I started with a sketch in pencil, outlining the major shapes and leaving room for details, then I inked over my pencil markings with a gel pen. After that, I started to fill in the colours with solid washes (you may notice my colours are different from the reference — cursed Walmart pallet strikes again). Finally, I did the details, etching them in with my gel pen or shading with a light grey paint wash. It was fun and I was super satisfied with the results. To prove I had learned something from this copying process I went to Google Maps and found my childhood home, repeating the process I did to copy Liz Steel’s building to create my own, original art. My painting wasn’t nearly as clean or detailed as what Liz Steel could do but when I showed my sister she gave me a solid “Wow!!!!”. Of course I will not post the photo of the house I painted here because safety, but trust me, it wasn’t half bad.

Procrastination completed (and several days passed) I finally convinced myself to sit down and learn to mix water colours.

Mixing watercolours is messy. The artists on TikTok make it look easy, but for a beginner, I ended up covered in more paint than the page. In all fairness, my palette really isn’t built for mixing. In the future, I will try using a plate, the broad surface seems more suited to holding the colours than the indented lid of my palette was. Though my experience was messy and frustrating, I do think I was able to make new colours. I don’t know yet how I will apply this skill to full paintings as the mix is often very wet, but I intend to try. That is the goal for next week maybe, if I don’t get distracted by something else.

LINKS

Easy Watercolour Tree by Lacey – Watercolour and Art on TikTok

Watercolour 101 by Hannah M. P. Arts and Prints on TikTok

Fall Trees by dreaminginwatercolour on TikTok

Realistic Trees by Art Philosophy on TikTok

Mixing Watercolours by Lacey – Watercolour and Art on TikTok