HOW TO Watercolor Underpainting a Floral

It is so creative to not be locked in to the local colors that we might observe in a study. The sky’s the limit as far as what color theme you might employ – whether it’s complementary (opposite colors on the color wheel), analogous (colors that lie adjacent to one another), monochromatic, etc. Color is the most emotional element of design, however we can’t see anything without values – the lights and darks. If we are having difficulty estimating what the value of a color is, we can simply squint our eyes. This helps reduce the color and simplify what we see. If the values are off, you don’t have a good start, so it is so important to start any study with a thumbnail value sketch. Once we know the placement and size of the shapes through our little value study, we can determine what the focal point is going to be. This is where it can get exciting, as we consider all the contrasts that are available in order to grab the viewer’s attention. Contrast can be darks against lights, bright color beside neutral color, smooth passages against rough texture, direction changes, lines that are rough and broken with smooth and solid … we don’t have to have ALL the design elements but a good handful helps!