August Watercolour Challenge
Daily Painting Exercises
Watercolour painting exercises for beginners and intermediates to aid in getting a daily routine.
August Week 1
Paint a DolphinMost of the images used for this weeks watercolour paintings have been done digitally but due to its re-creation of a watercolour effect are suitable for watercolour. Begin with drawing the outlines of a dolphin in pencil and create a light wash combining a darker ultramarine blue tone and a lighter bright phthalo or cobalt blue. Take an old toothbrush to create splatter. You may want to slightly wet the paper first. Last do some cross hatching to pull out some of the line contours and deeper shadings.
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Paint a KingfisherThis week we are using the same technique for each image.
Outline the features of a kingfisher, add colours and then some spatter with an old toothbrush and last finish the work with some cross-hatching for shading and contour variation lines. |
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Paint a NightingaleThese rather bland looking birds are known for their powerful and beautiful singing. As artists we can enhance dim colours a little by adding a little splash of brightness even if not presented in real. Use the same technique as yesterday.
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Amazing HummingbirdsAlthough one of the smallest birds measuring only 7.5-13cm in length, they are amazing creatures with special features. They flap their wings at such high frequency, 12 to 80 times per second that they manage to hover on the spot.
Use the watercolour painting method we have used in the last 3 days. |
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The Burrowing OwlThis type of owl is slightly different from their kind, as they can also be active throughout the day. Owls have such large eyes as to see better at night.
The play between the white flecks and the otherwise rather orange based feathers looks stunning. Once more use the technique we have used in the last days. |
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Paint BlackberriesI grew up in Germany where blackberries do grow wild near forests. The thorns though were a little annoying when picking them but worth the struggle.
The charm is the difference between the red-purple and blue-purple berries. You will need to use pure violet or magenta with ultramarine blue for the blue ones. Crimson red won't do as it will lack the brightness as seen here but would make them look more realistic than here. |
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Catch Up Day
Today you can either rest, or try to finish some of the uncompleted work due for this week.
August Week 2
Paint Blue Wooden DoorToday we are painting an old door that has been painted blue. Use masking fluid for the fine vertical lines on the door but make sure that they are breaking up and thinning down occasionally as it otherwise will look static. Use a toothbrush for the splatter and a white candle for the area on the wall next to the flower pot by drawing marks with it for the white spots. When you paint the gray on top of it it will leave really nice marks and the candle repeals the water. Try it first on another piece of paper.
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Paint Black ButterflyThe black butterfly looks in particular stunning against blue or red flowers. Use a mixture between watercolour, drawing and ink.
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Australian Painted LadyThe life circle of this beauty lasts 53 days and it is found in Australia. It is amazing how such beauty only lives such a short life.
Use the same technique as yesterday. |
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Orange Black MonarchOne of the more common species of a butterfly is the orange black monarch which we find almost all over the world.
Paint a wet on wet background first by leaving the flower and the butterfly untouched. Once you have added the rest add some touches with a brown ink pen. |
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Anemone CoronariaThe Anemone also called Spanish marigold is native to the Mediterranean region.
After having painted the flower add some spatter with an old toothbrush. |
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White Lilac BushThe idea for todays painting is to choose a bush flower, paint it as usual and create a high key softer version of the same and use it as a background.
Do this by using cooler, greyed down and less intense colours for the background. |
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Catch Up Day
Today you can either rest, or try to finish some of the uncompleted work due for this week.
August Week 3
Paint a VW BeetleThe cute "Beetle", my very first car. Outline the car with a light pencil, wet one area at a time a little and add almost drip the colour into it. Mask any complete areas in with masking fluid. Use an ink pen to finish the work, but try to vary the lines in thickness as it otherwise will look stiff.
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Paint a Black CatWe continue our splatter technique with a black cat today. You don't need to try painting single fur hairs. Just variations in lightness and darkness will create this, though I would mask out the whiskers with masking fluid.
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Dachshund PortraitMask out the thicker hair strands including the whiskers with masking fluid and add the darker colours first. Once you have done this, rubbish the masking off and add the lighter colours in those areas. Add some splatter and when everything is dry use soft brown coloured ink pen to finish details.
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Paint a RoseYou will find that I am painting roses and tulips over and over again in many varied styles. Here is an example of a digitally produced tulip, which is great for trying in watercolour. If you add any veins in rose, please do not make the mistake as most do by making those lines far too strong. The tonal value is usually far closer to the main colour than you think. Drama in tonal value should only be made in the areas of your focal point or where edges are painted.
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Paint a Cat PortraitOnce more the wet in wet technique with splatter for a cat with amazing green eyes. Mask the fine hairs above the eyes and the whiskers with masking fluid, add colours wet in wet and wait to dry. Last use a brown for some definition line work.
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Door of a Beach HousePaint the entrance of a white beach house in the same technique used in the last days.
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Catch Up Day
Today you can either rest, or try to finish some of the uncompleted work due for this week.
August Week 4
Old Bucket with BulbsAn old bucket with a wooden handle used as a flower pot is a good subject for watercolour. I like in particular if you can see the flower bulbs and some roots. This is a wet on dry technique.
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Paint a PearAlthough this is a simple subject it is important to get the form right. The two highlights as the colour that sits between the is necessary to show that the pear has its particular form with a rather round form on the bottom and and much thinner part on the top. Finish with a few sprinkles of a just ever so slightly darker and duller green.
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Paint a couple of PeachesAs mentioned once before, when painting or drawing fruit it is a good idea to use one whole fruit, one cut in half and one or two smaller pieces to add interest. Also adding a leaf is a great idea.
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Paint Green Blue BeetleI am not sure about this beetle. It looks similar to a Calosoma Scrutator but misses the red line around the body or the blue milkweed beetle, but it is still a little different to both. The many varieties are absolutely fascinating.
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Paint the Horn BeetleToday we are painting another horned beetle in flight.
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Paint a BeetleI could not find out the name of this beetle beautiful grey beetle. Nonetheless it makes a good subject.
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Catch Up Day
Today you can either rest, or try to finish some of the uncompleted work due for this week.
August Week 5
Paint Red GrapesThe beauty of this watercolour painting lies in the contrast between the lighter grapes and darker background. I first apply a very light wash over the whole painting keeping the greens and yellows near the leaves and the red colours near the grapes. When it is dry I add the darker areas around the grapes and wash them out. The trick is here never to work back into a layer you have added and make an immediate rich contrast around the leaves possibly in one go as to avoid smudged and unclean edges. Be bold today.
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Window with ShuttersDraw the window and shutters first. Keep the washes simple and get the deeper details with a fine brown or black ink pen.
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Paint a WindowDraw a window with some interesting cracks in the wall and some flower pots with the pencil. Add soft washes and with a toothbrush flick some splatter onto the page. Then apply some darker areas and once dry add a black or brown ink pen to give some more detail.
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