Sunday, June 9, 2013

Map out your watercolor plan of attack


                               As you can see here, I started first with a quick value thumbnail study to figure out where my darkest darks and lightest lights were going to go along with maybe one or two mid values. Next I painted in the light value of the boats wet-on-dry.

After painting a few dark values into the boats, I painted a light wet-on-wet wash for the water. After it dried, I painted in some darker values at the base of the fishing boats and added just enough wavelets to give the sea water a rippling effect.


Finally, I added the "jewelry" or final details to the fishing boats. I did not even come close to copying the myriad of details that I saw in my reference photo  -  just some simple shapes and values to give the impression of "boat stuff". Plan ahead with a value thumbnail study, figure out your painting progression, capture impressions, and don't flounder (pun intended) rendering fussy details. 




6 comments:

  1. Neat step by steps- thanks for sharing. Love final result! The colors are really beautiful.

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  2. Thank you! It's good to see it happening as well as your notes.

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  3. I really appreciate this post, David, as I am "floundering" - pun intended - with landscapes.

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  4. Beautiful painting and demo. I often try to paint fishing boats, but get caught up in the details too soon!
    I especially love the water--I just cannot get my water ripples to look so good.

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  5. Thanks for sharing, Inspiring....

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