March Watercolour Challenge

Daily Painting Exercises

Please note that these painting exercises are for beginners to intermediate to aid in getting a daily routine.

March Week 1

01 MAR
02 MAR
03 MAR
04 MAR
05 MAR
06 MAR
07 MAR

Paint Autumn Leaves

The theme of this week is autumn. So today we begin with using autumn colours for a few leaves and fruit of a chestnut tree.

Be careful not to paint veins of leaves too strong, which is a very common mistake beginners make.

You get brown tones by using all three primary colours with an emphasis on red and yellow rather than blue.

Paint Autumn Setting

Today we are using the same probs as yesterday, only added a wooden pot and other leaves and berries for more interest.

Paint Autumn Still Life

Using similar items as the previous days create another still life. This time add a little more red and a bit of green for appeal.

Paint Autumn Theme

One last time our autumn theme. You can add today some grapes or hibiscus fruit.

Paint Green Leaves

Get a little branch of a tree to paint today. Keep it simple.

Paint Pumpkins

Today we paint a pumpkin or two. If you want to add some leaves or nuts don't hold yourself back.

Catch Up Day

Today you can either rest, or try to finish some of the uncompleted work due for this week.

March Week 2

08 MAR
09 MAR
10 MAR
11 MAR
12 MAR
13 MAR
14 MAR

Paint a Horn

Draw a musical instrument, a horn.

Make sure that the light comes from one direction. For the golden colour you need to mix yellows and browns. Yellow is best darkened with a reddish violet.

Paint Antique Spy Glass

Paint a simple antique spy glass or telescope.

Paint Paper Windmill

Use almost flat washes for today's paper windmills.

Where the paper windmill is bending, use a little bit of the complementary colour to darken instead of just black. For the yellow wheel use a bit of violet, for the blue a bit of orange and the pink a bit of green, to darker the areas. A colour when it gets darker must change the colour in itself and cannot stay the same by just making it darker. It looks unnatural and dead rather than lively.

Paint a Lock and Key

Paint a rather old looking lock with an interesting key.

Paint a Goldfish

Pencil the outlines of a goldfish and paint with watercolour.

Paint a Pair of Shoes

Paint a pair of shoes of any type.

Catch Up Day

Today you can either rest, or try to finish some of the uncompleted work due for this week.

March Week 3

15 MAR
16 MAR
17 MAR
18 MAR
19 MAR
20 MAR
21 MAR

Paint a Camera

Paint a camera with a bit of green to create a pleasing illustration. Think of the composition to make it interesting.

Adding some organic material when depicting a mechanical or static item brings life to a drawing or painting.

Paint Bushes and Trees

To paint bushes and trees we have to find simplify forms before adding finer details.

Paint Trees with Snow

Today we are doing some trees with snow on them.

Paint Trees & Bushes 2

We continue in the same manner as the last two days with some more trees and bushes.

Paint Mountains

Today we do a simple landscape. Note that although the mid range mountains would have more detail in nature, looks also pleasing much more simplified.

The most common mistake I see made in landscape is that details are placed all over the painting making it often far too busy. The little bit of more detail in the foreground is enough.

Paint a Carnation

There are numerous variations of carnations, both in form and colour. As they are filled with detail, we are using only one single flower.

Catch Up Day

Today you can either rest, or try to finish some of the uncompleted work due for this week.

March Week 4

22 MAR
23 MAR
24 MAR
25 MAR
26 MAR
27 MAR
28 MAR

Paint an Anchor

I love taking an item such as an anchor and add something organic just for fun.

You can almost use anything you want and by giving it a bit of a unique angle it becomes suddenly pleasing to the eye.

Paint a Sea Turtle

This sea turtle gets its effect due to its contrast and the mixture of its complementary colours.

Paint Green Sea Turtle

Today we are painting a green sea turtle from the front.

Paint an old Suitcase

Old things are always interesting, so an old suitcase makes a good subject to paint.

Browns are mixed by using all three primary colours with an emphasis on yellow and red. On the leather band that runs around the suitcase, you can clearly see how a little more red has been use, whereas on the suitcase itself it is a little more yellow.