Lazy River

Lazy River

Watercolor 11" x 15" Mats to 16" x 20"

In my watercolor painting above, the bright yellows in the foliage and grass are used to indicate areas of sunshine streaming through the trees.  The small amount of foliage on the trees and bushes indicate an early Spring day.

There are three main elements to the this painting:

1. Water
2. Grass
3. Trees

Each one of these elements are treated separately and a different technique is used to paint each of these different sections.  Over the course of the next few weeks, I will address each of these elements and how to paint each one.

First, sketch your painting with minimal detail.  Spatter masking fluid in the tree area in the background and dab some masking fluid between the trees.  Also, mask out distant horizontal reflections in the water and the stumps in the foreground.  Refer to the "white" unpainted areas of my painting above for placement of the masking fluid. 

Watercolor tip:

How to Paint the Grass and Foliage

Spattering is the key to the fresh, grassy river banks.  The first spattering is made with clean water and then paint so that the paint finds its way into the pools of spattered water.    The first spatter of paint looks like an explosion of tiny stars, but as each layer of color is applied the impression of grass starts to take shape.

Be certain to create perspective in the painting with larger spatters in the foreground and smaller ones in the distance.  

Add darker colors of green in areas of the bank to create the shadows from the tree trunks on the opposite side of the river.

Next week I will discuss painting the trees.  The water and details are put in last and will be discussed the 3rd week.

Happy Painting!

Karen