Beginner Watercolor Lessons

start with a video about basic supplies. Next learn how to use your paints and organize your work. Learn to decide what to paint and how. Understand color mixing, light and shadow and, creating depth. Build a vocabulary of things you know how to paint. Begin a study of composition.

 

 

 

 

 

Intermediate Watercolor Lessons

focus on paint handling techniques, including wet on we, and begin a study of color and composition, exploring complementary and analogous color schemes. Here study how to create depth in our paintings, using aerial and linear perspective along with with developing drawing skills. We will also cover the subtleties of light and especially, shadows. Here we will touch on style, as well as creating your own personal style.

 

 

 

 

 

Advanced Watercolor Lessons

will focus on dominance and subordination as relates to composition, studying the design elements: line, shape, value, color, and texture. Important here are unusual paint handling techniques such as monoprinting and texturing with plastic wrap, etc, sometimes called experimental watercolor


Acrylics and Gouache also come under the heading of watercolor, (water media), and they will be well represented.

 

 

Demonstrations

are not strictly a lesson, but rather show the painting process. They are particularly valuable, because the captain tries to use a "stream of consciousness" to describe the thought processes which go on throughout a painting. We will have demonstrations, "demos", of watercolor techniques including, washes, calligraphy, brushwork and paint handling, not just with watercolor, but with acrylics and other water media.

 

All of these ar lessons will be available on video for free downloading, That's right, free watercolor videos. The captain has had wonderful success in his art career, and now wants to "give it back".

 

 

 

Other Watercolor Lessons

There are some video which simply cannot be categories. They will be grouped under the heading of "Demonstrations"

The job of the Captain is to be your mentor. Your job is to enjoy the journey.

 

 

I chose this one to be first, because it is so very simple. The composition is almost entirely rectilinear (Horizontal and vertical lines). It is relieved by two diagonals and an arc (top left). The artist is Linda Doll .

Talk about simplicity. Take a look at this simple little painting. There is very little there, but I can hear the women chatting. Not bad if I say so myself. (the captain).

A little less simplicity here, but certainly not very complex. The flowers are dots, and the leaves are mostly splashes of green and yellow. Yet they are like a fountain of life emanating from a vase which is barely there.

This devilishly simple seeming delight by Leslie Klaar speaks with just a few flat colors yet tells the whole story

What so you think about this little gem, by John Lovett. Its all about the center of interest. How many colors do you see. Even though it seems so colorful, there is only yellow-orqnge and blue-green. The color harmony is critical here.

This reminds me of John Singer Sergeants work. Color is secondary to the values of this elegant composition by William H. Jones. Of course its a canal scene in Venice.Notice that the color scheme is the similar to the one above.

Thomas Freeman shows us how to push objects back into the distance. See how he expertly uses ever fainter and less contrast(y) washes to give us such impressive depth.

How about some color. It takes a magician to use every single color in one painting and not make a mess. This beauty by Wyatt Waters tingles with excitement. There is nothing here except some glass and some fruit, but boy, does it sing.

And if the above isn't enough color for you. consider this painting by Eleykaa Thaleh. Try looking the other way, (if you can).

This amazing painting by Alvaro Castagnet is a study in values, ( contrast between dark and light ), The foreground has huge contrast, while the background has only lighter values.

Dennis Albetski painted this subtle work using the techniques of watercolor to their greatest advantage. There was a lot of wet in wet, and flicking going on here. Notice how the blue-green "pops" against the "red-orange" of the background. They are "complementary" colors.

I am a sucker for this sort of work by Jeanne Dobie. There is a marvelous intensity to her shapes. Notice that she put a "hole" in the middle. I think thats kind of cool.

Here is another example of contrasts. There are only two colors in this painting, the blue and orange, "complementary colors". What amazes me about it is the composition. Its so "curvilinear". The stones are round, the fish are arcs, and the subject is a wheel of fish.

If you are going to paint this precisely, you better be good, because any flaw will stand out.
I like the contrast between the girl with the background.

Notice the "analogous" color scheme. Using only reds and oranges makes this a very "warm" painting.

I reproduced it so large to show the incredible detail. You can see it bigger and better at Paul W. McCormacks web site

This is referred to as non-representational art. It is way harder than it looks.
Charlotte Huntley is a master at it because this accumulating of shapes and colors had to be created from nothing at all.

Painting is much more than a pastime or hobby. It is a way to place our energy, feelings, and soul before the viewer. (Stephen Quiller)

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