HOW TO Watercolor Drills in 1 Painting

Here we continue painting with all the typical watercolor methods with a focus on breaking the image down into basic shapes and values. A large wet in wet wash serves well for the large foliage shape over the door, with a few planned whites saved with masking fluid. Using a resist like masking fluid is not necessary, and many watercolorists develop the skill of painting “around” shapes to describe them rather than mask them out. This is called negative painting, a highly useful and effective skill that is excellent training for painters in oils and other opaque mediums. A combination of positive brush strokes alongside negative shapes has great impact, allowing for a “push-pull” effect.