May Watercolour Challenge

Daily Painting Exercise

Watercolour painting exercises  for beginners to intermediates to aid in getting a daily routine.

May Week 1

  • 01 MAY
  • 02 MAY
  • 03 MAY
  • 04 MAY
  • 05 MAY
  • 06 MAY
  • 07 MAY
<
>

Paint a Protea

Protea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of South African flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes or Fynbos. In local tradition, the Protea flower represents change and hope.

Begin with drawing and painting only one and only if you like to continue add more.

Paint a Lantern

Paint a lantern and add a little bit of greenery or a couple of flowers in a similar colour than the lantern.

Paint Berries

Paint different kinds of berries.

Paint Honey & Apples

Today we paint a honey jar and a couple of apples. One apple as is and another cut into smaller pieces. You can also add a few other things such as cinnamon.

Paint Blackberries

Paint a couple of blackberries with a dated recipe sheet for interest.

Paint an Arrow

We have done an arrow before, so here is another one in a different colour scheme.

Catch Up Day

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

May Week 2

  • 08 MAY
  • 09 MAY
  • 10 MAY
  • 11 MAY
  • 12 MAY
  • 13 MAY
  • 14 MAY
<
>

Paint Lemons

When setting up a simple still life like this one, it is a good idea to use the one subject matter like a lemon and first paint it as a whole, then cut it in half and use the rest for cutting just a slice to make the still life as varied as possible. So you do not need to have a even a couple of lemons, you can just use one. To add more interest add some leaves to it. Voila.

Girly Things

Sorry guys, this is some girly stuff again. One can guess that the producer of this yearly plan is a women. Anyhow, it is about learning to use the most simple forms and create an incredible 3 dimensional look. The stronger the contrast between the lighter and darker areas, the greater the 3 dimensional effect. Could not get this result if your colours are too week where they are suppose to be strong.

Paint a Sofa Setting

A simple setting of a corner sofa is a good learning point for learning how to see values within the different parts of the rectangles it consists of. Best to squint your eyes to see those values better.

Paint Chicks

From this exercise you can learn how to use different kinds of yellow. You see some section containing more orange, other parts are duller and have more grey in them. When dulling down yellow, don't use black, but a little bit of violet to grey the colour down.

Paint a Sea Horse

When creating the fine lighter lines that run through the sea horse, you can use masking fluid for doing so. After you have removed the masking fluid go with a lighter colour on top to soften down the white lines the masking fluid left behind.

Paint Freshwater Fish

Choose any freshwater fish for your painting today.

Catch Up Day

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

May Week 3

  • 15 MAY
  • 16 MAY
  • 17 MAY
  • 18 MAY
  • 19 MA
  • 20 MAY
  • 21 MAY
<
>

Paint Stones

When painting stones you can work in both the wet on dry and wet on wet technique. The blue stone is done with both. First you use clear water and fill in the ares of the stone with a little water by using a normal brush and then dip the greys, blues and violets into the areas where you want them to be.

You then can add a little salt to give it some crystal effects and last once this all has dried finish the painting by adding some hard edge lines. 

Painting Stones 2

Stones again, but this time with a little twist. On the left you see the ochre coloured stone which is a perfect example for using a white candle to apply a bit of wax in the areas you want some rougher looking texture. 

First run the candle over the paper and then add the watercolour and you will see that the candlewax produces amazing and interesting results. 

Paint Stones 3

Simple stones can form such variety of options for painting, so repeating the theme can show you how the many stone textures can be composed in watercolour. I just love what you can do with the simplest of objects. 

Paint Stones 4

Our very last attempt painting stones. Here the stone texture is simplified even more. Just to have a bit of fun today and for you to see how simplified different surfaces can be painted.  

Paint Butterflies 

After having painted for days hard textured stone we are going now to the most delicate of textures, butterflies and their fragile wings. 

We will be working a few days on those to catch the vast variety of these most graceful insects. 

Paint a Bromeliad

Today we are painting the bud of a bromeliad. You can add the green stems if you like. There are loads of bromeliad images online. 

Catch Up Day

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

May Week 4

  • 22 MAY
  • 23 MAY
  • 24 MAY
  • 25 MAY
  • 26 MAY
  • 27 MAY
  • 28 MAY
<
>

Paint Fruit Cross-Section

Paint a simple cross-section of a pine-apple or watermelon. 

As you can see in the illustration, details can be simplified in watercolour and still look inviting. 

Paint a Papita or Porcelia

Exotic fruits have some interesting cross-sections. Here we have a Papita which literally means little potato and a Porcelia Macrocarpa type which can come in varying types of shape or colour and is also called the monkey banana . 

Paint Purple Kohlrabi

There is a green and purple version of Kohlrabi and it is particular the purple one that has a luscious colour which combined with the green of the leaves looks beautiful. 

This vegetable can be eaten raw or in soup. 

Paint a Zucchini

Yesterday we painted a purple Kohlrabi of which you see here a green version.  So today we are doing some green vegetables such as zucchinis. 

A painting always looks a little nicer if you paint the fruit and leaves of a vegetable as well. 

Paint a Cauliflower

We've had so far a purple and a green vegetable, so today on our last days of veggies we are trying a white one, the cauliflower.

Note how something white comes to live by adding both a cooler shadow section and a warmer light area into the white.  

Paint a Butterfly

Something light today with the option of a red or blue butterfly. 

Catch Up Day

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

May Week 5

  • 29 MAY
  • 30 MAY
  • 31 MAY
<
>

Paint Butterfly 2

A simple butterfly will do for today. 

Paint a Butterfly

A last day painting butterflies. Sometimes it looks good to finish off a watercolour illustration with a hint of colour pencil for very fine lines that might be too thick for a brush. 

Paint a Flower

The last image for this month is the alstroemerias flower also called Peruvian Lily or Lily of the Incas.  There are white, pink and yellow types. 

I find this flower interesting because the three pedals that sit behind have only soft washes, whereas the front pedals have sharp darker stripe marks.