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Watercolor Floral Demonstration
Author: George Simmons
Can I teach you how to paint via the internet? Probably not, but I hope that I can impart some techniques and watercolor "how to's" to those artists who find my approach helpful. I don't have a book or video out, but I do have plenty of webspace! This step-by-step demo will show you how I approach a watercolor painting from start to finish. It will cover some of the basics regarding how to use the white of the paper, how to apply washes, soften edges, show value changes in watercolor, how to use liquid masking fluid and lifting color. Hopefully there's something here for you to use in your own paintings.
| I've chosen the Gladiolus because over the years many people have commented on my florals. Glads are beautiful vertical stemed flowers and we will concentrate on painting a single flower from the plant. Notice the vertical stem running through the image. If you are not familiar with "Glads" you might want to find a reference photo to use as we paint. |
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The actual size of the painting is approximately 8x11 so I am able to place it in my scanner and show the different stages as we progress. Most of my florals are either half sheets 15x22 or full 22x30. I will use this small "study" to eventually work up a 22x30 painting. At some point I will post both the study and the full painting for you to see.
Materials :
1 sheet of watercolor paper cut to the size you prefer. You may work in whatever size is comfortable for you. I am using a 8x11 piece of 140# CP Waterford paper for this demo.
Brushes : I will be using a #3 and #14 rounds and 1/2 and 1" flat brushes. Anything in that range will work for you. Not too critical. My main brush is the #14 round. I will paint 90% of the painting with it. I will refer to the #3 as "small round", the #14 as "large round", the 1/2 flat as "small flat" and 1" as the "large flat" brush.
Paints : The colors used on this painting are Aureolin Yellow, Gamboge Yellow, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, Thalo(Winsor)Blue , Sap Green and Winsor or ThaloViolet (optional) Some of these colors are used more than others. You can use Cadmium Yellow Light in place of Aureolin if you wish.
I will use Winsor Violet but you can mix a nice violet by mixing Alizarin Crimsom and Ultramarine Blue.
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After many years exclusively as an oil painter, Rhode Island artist George Simmons, switched to watercolor about 10 years ago and has never looked back. His bold, eye catching Watercolors, full of color and values generally give a close up view of the world around him, be it through his florals, still lifes or landscapes. |
| His way of looking at things was manifested in a 1981 three month cross country bicycle trip from R.I. to California that gave him the opportunity to look at the most interesting part of America....its people and small towns. A lover of the environment and local architecture, he can be found outside with his french easel searching for his next painting to take back to the studio. His award winning watercolors can be found in a growing number of public and private collections. He is an artist member of the Rhode Island Watercolor Society.
George is a contributing editor to WetCanvas! and can be reached via email at: artist@ici.net. Be sure to visit George's own site for more exciting lessons and demos! |
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