The last day in the Christmas watercolor painting challenge!

If you made it this far give yourself a well deserved pat on the back!

Thank you for following this challenge. I trust these paintings provided you with a bit of creative fun and relaxation during the holidays as well as a brief overview of some of the techniques used in watercolor. 

If you’ve arrived at this page and don’t know what I’m talking about, this is actually the final painting of a series of easy lessons, based on the “12 days of Christmas” carol. To find out more you can read about the beginning of this painting challenge on this page.

Step by step painting of 12 Drummers Drumming

Once again you’ll find a copy of the worksheet for this project below. Download and print out the sketch outline before getting started.

The list of paints used in this lesson were as follows:

• Hansa Yellow Deep – Pigment number: PY65
• Phthalo blue GS – Pigment number: PB15:3
• Paynes gray – Pigment number: Pb29/PBk9

To receive daily email reminders for this painting challenge (starting with day #1), you can sign up below:

And you’ll find a special category for all these tutorials which you can view here. This will provide an overview of the whole challenge.

Step 1

Trace the outline onto a sheet of watercolor paper with a light pencil outline (HB hardness usually does the trick).

Step 2

Begin by painting the mid section of the drums with a band of yellow. (I used hansa yellow deep). I just used a uniform wash of color, but I left an occasional white highlight to add some interest.

At the same time you can paint the drum sticks in yellow.

Fill in the big “TWELVE” word with gray paint.

Step 3

When the paint has completely dried, paint the hoops at the top and bottom of each drum. I used phthalo blue for this part.

Because the yellow and blue shapes are touching, you want the first yellow paint marks to be dry. Otherwise the blue pigments will diffuse into the first yellow wash. The two colors would mix on the paper and you wouldn’t get a sharply defined line between the two colors.

Step 4

In the final stage I used a green mixture to add some details such as a zig-zag of “tension ropes” on the sides. I also added a few cast shadows in green. The green color helps set up a more pleasant analogous color harmony (remember, these are colors that are near to each other on a color wheel).

Paint the text at the bottom and add a few shadow lines to the big “TWELVE” word.

That’s all for now!

I hope you had a wonderful time with your loved ones over Christmas and that these daily painting practices helped encourage your creativity

May your new year be full of exciting painting and drawing projects! 

Have fun!

The post Painting 12 Drummers Drumming in Watercolor first appeared on Watercolor Affair.

Can you imagine eleven pipers piping? Together with the drummers, the dancers and the leaping lords, the festivities must have been great fun! 

I’ve heard it suggested that the pipers in this verse could be yet another bird such as a sandpiper or lapwing. Sandpipers have a distinctive “piper-like” call, and a lapwing’s cry sounds a bit like a whistle. Both these birds were available to cooks in the middle ages and were said to have a delicate taste.

Or maybe the original author just wanted us to have a huge Christmas celebration!?

What do you think?

If you have stumbled across this series in the middle, you might want to check out the beginning of this challenge here. 

11 pipers piping – 4 step painting process

A ended up drawing a very centralized and symmetrical composition for this project. 

You can download the worksheet for following along with this tutorial below:

And the complete list of paints I used were as follows:

• Hansa Yellow Deep – Pigment number: PY65
• French ultramarine – Pigment number: PB29
• Quinacridone rose – Pigment number: PV19
• Paynes gray – Pigment number: Pb29/PBk9

To receive daily email reminders for this painting challenge (starting with day #1), you can sign up below:

You’ll find a special category for all these tutorials which you can view here. This will provide an overview of the whole challenge.

Step 1

Print out and transfer the outline of the pipe composition (Ok… I know they look more like trumpets!). Use watercolor paper for best results.

Step 2 

I started by painting the “pipe” shapes with a uniform wash of yellow. Leave a few specks of white paper showing through here and there. These highlights help create an impression of shininess. 

Then fill in the big word “ELEVEN” underneath with a gray color.

Step 3

Leave this layer to dry before you continue. 

The next layer adds a more three-dimensional look. I used a graduated wash of orange along one side of the trumpets, and inside the bell shaped opening. A graduated wash produces an appearance that changes in tone from dark to light. 

To do this, apply a small brush stroke of orange, then rinse and blot your brush on a cloth. Now you can use the damp end of the brush to pull out the color. The orange pigment will diffuse into the shape of clear water that you pull out, creating a gradual change in color strength.

Step 4

The last step is to add a few details. Using a mixture of purple I added a few lines radiating outward from the trumpets as a graphical impression of music being played.

Finish the painting by adding the last bit of text and a few shadow lines on the big “ELEVEN” word.

Tomorrow you’ll paint the final project in this series!

Until then, have fun

The post 11 Pipers Piping in Watercolor (Step by Step Lesson) first appeared on Watercolor Affair.

Now things really are getting out of hand! After all that dancing, the crowd is getting bigger and jumping around!

There are various theories about the original intention of the “12 days of Christmas” rhyme. Most historians agree that it was a rhyming memory game. A bit of delightful nonsense that was recited as a verse, and a game to be played among family and friends at Christmas time.

What a party

So, do you have that relentless “stick-in-your-head” carol running through your mind? 

You can hum it to yourself as you do this next painting…

If you have stumbled across this series in the middle, you might want to check out the beginning of this challenge here. 

Painting 10 lords a-leaping in 4 steps

Start by downloading the worksheet below. In it you’ll find the pencil outline for this composition, and a summary of the four-step painting process.

And here are the paint colors I used in my version of the watercolor:

• Hansa Yellow Deep – Pigment number: PY65
• Phthalo Green BS – Pigment number: PG7
• Phthalo blue GS – Pigment number: PB15:3
• Pyrrol scarlet – Pigment number: PR255
• Burnt umber – Pigment number: PBr7
• Paynes gray – Pigment number: Pb29/PBk9

To receive daily email reminders for this painting challenge (starting with day #1), you can sign up below:

You’ll find a special category for all these tutorials which you can view here. This will provide an overview of the whole challenge.

Step 1

Use whichever tracing or transferring method you prefer to lightly draw the outline onto a sheet of watercolor paper.

Step 2

I painted each of the “lords” using a variegated wash. The color palette is a range of greens and blues. I used mixes of phthalo blue, phthalo green, and hansa yellow deep (to make the green brighter). Varie the color on your brush as you paint the shape to get a transition of hues. 

The “TEN” was painted in gray.

Step 3

When the first shapes are dry, you can paint the skin tones on the hands and faces. Add a warm yellow color to the crowns.

Step 4

Making sure the surfaces are nice and dry, you can add a few final details. I added a glaze (layer) of gray to the lord’s trousers (for the benefit of my US audience, yes, I’m talking about “pants”, “slacks”, “britches”, or whatever you want to call those fabric things that cover your whole legs!).

I painted the lord’s hair brown. Then I added a few shadow lines to the word “TEN” and the text underneath.

Now you can “jump” for joy at your latest painting achievements

The post Painting 10 Lords A-Leaping in Watercolor first appeared on Watercolor Affair.

In the 12 days of Christmas rhyme, it’s said that the religious meaning of this verse is the fruits of the Holy Spirit as described in Galatians. This includes virtues such as love, kindness, joy and goodness… And Christmastime is a good moment to reflect on these worthy qualities. 

But could this part of the song also be inspired by the secular theme of merrimaking and feasting? Some have suggested that the nine ladies are actually another type of bird (yes… more food for the banquet table!). 

For example, cranes perform dancing during courtship rituals. Cranes and cormorants were a well appreciated game bird in the middle ages. They were hunted and served at the diner table. 

Not something you find at the grocery store these days…

If you have stumbled across this challenge in the middle, you might want to check out the beginning of this challenge here. 

Step by step painting of nine ladies dancing

You can download the worksheet for this lesson here:

And the paint colors I used were these:

• Hansa Yellow Deep – Pigment number: PY65
• French ultramarine – Pigment number: PB29
• Quinacridone rose – Pigment number: PV19
• Pyrrol scarlet – Pigment number: PR255
• Burnt umber – Pigment number: PBr7
• Paynes gray – Pigment number: Pb29/PBk9

If you’d like to receive daily email reminders for this painting challenge (starting with day #1), you can sign up below:

Finally, I’ve created a special category for these tutorials which you can view here. This will provide an overview of the whole challenge.

Step 1

Print out the worksheet. Then Trace the outline of the dancing ladies onto a sheet of paper. 

Step 2

Begin by painting the skin with a flat wash of color. Skin tones can be tricky to mix. Think of them as slightly neutral reds, oranges, and browns. 

If you want help mixing skin tones I have a complete article on the subject here…

I varied the colors of the skin tones from one dancer to another, painting the shapes with a flat, uniform wash. Try mixing variations of reds, yellows and browns to achieve your skin colors. And make the mixtures highly diluted (high water-to-paint ratio). 

Paint the big letters for the “NINE” in gray.

Step 3

Leave the first wash to dry completely then start adding color to the lady’s dresses. 

I did this using a variegated wash, with a transition of color from pink to purple (quinacridone rose and french ultramarine make a lovely bright purple appearance).

Use plenty of paint on your brush so you keep the shapes damp during the painting process. Like this, the colors will diffuse as you vary the color on your brush.

When you’re finished with the dresses, use a very small round brush to add the delicate dancing shoes on the lady’s feet.

Step 4

Paint the hair with a warm reddish-brown color. Then add another glaze of skin colored paint to the legs. Identify the back leg of each dancer and paint a new layer of watercolor over this shape. Then add a shadow shape at the top of the other leg, simulating the cast shadow from the dress.

You can also add a touch of shadow under the lady’s chins.

Add shadows to the big “NINE” word and add the text underneath.

Voila!

Will you be dancing this Christmas?

The post How to Paint Nine Ladies Dancing in 4 Steps first appeared on Watercolor Affair.

The eighth day of this watercolor painting challenge (based on the “twelve days of Christmas”) is “eight maids-a-milking”.

This is the first time the subjects move away from the theme of birds. So what does this mean?

The religious symbolism of the eight milking maids are said to represent the eight beatitudes found in Matthew 5 (beatitudes meaning “blessings”).

But remember when this song was originally written it probably had more of a secular meaning. In the 17th and 18th centuries, festivities around Christmas time had more to do with food and romance! After all… the word “maid” is a shortened version of “maiden” which means a “young unmarried woman”.

I’ll let you imagine the rest

Now… onto the painting:

BTW, If you happened upon this lesson in the middle, you might want to check out the beginning of this challenge here. 

Step by step painting of eight maids a milking

As per usual you’ll find the worksheet and sketch outline for this project below.

Rather than drawing eight actual maids for this composition, I used milk bottles instead (Yep… I’m sticking with the food theme for the moment!).

The color palette is yellow, green and blue. This actually sets up an analogous color harmony (colors that are close to each other on the color wheel). This creates a unified color scheme for this composition.

To get started you can download the pencil outline together with the accompanying worksheet here:

The list of colors use in this project were as follows:

• Hansa Yellow Deep – Pigment number: PY65
• Phthalo Green BS – Pigment number: PG7
• Phthalo blue GS – Pigment number: PB15:3
• Burnt umber – Pigment number: PBr7
• Paynes gray – Pigment number: Pb29/PBk9

If you’d like to receive daily email reminders for this painting challenge (starting with day #1), you can sign up below:

Finally, I’ve created a special category for these tutorials which you can view here. This will provide an overview of the whole challenge.

Step 1

Print out and trace or transfer the outline sketch on a small sheet of watercolor paper. Any kind will do but I do recommend paper that is specifically for watercolor painting.

Step 2

Begin with a uniform wash of diluted yellow on each of the bottles (a uniform wash simply means there is no variation in tone or color). I used a very diluted warm yellow with a touch of brown (hansa yellow and burnt umber). Notice I also left a few white highlights.

By the time you’ve finished painting the last bottle, the first wash of color should be dry. This means you can paint the blue-green colored cap and label without the paint running into the previous wash (if it isn’t dry yet, give it a couple of minutes). If the paint was still wet and you accidentally touched the edge of the damp wash, you’ll see pigments diffusing into each other, making a fuzzy edge. 

Paint the word “EIGHT” in gray.

Step 3

Again, before moving to this step make sure the first washes of color are completely dry. You want to layer the colors using a glazing technique (in other words a wet wash of color over the dry shapes you painted earlier).

In this step I’m effectively adding shadow to the milk bottles. To do this I mixed a green color. Using gray for shadows often produces a harsh appearance and green helps set up a more pleasant analogous color harmony.

Step 4

Let the paint dry again then add the final details.

Again I used a dark green paint to make a small cast shadow next to each bottle and under the caps. And I used a bright green mixture to paint the words “milk”.

Add shadow lines to the word “EIGHT” and fill in the words below.

All that milk has made me thirsty!

See you next time

The post Eight Maids A-Milking in Watercolor Tutorial first appeared on Watercolor Affair.

Today’s prompt, of course, is “seven swans a-swimming”.

Swans are often associated with grace and beauty. In fact they look so fabulous that in the middle ages they became rather a status symbol! Owning a swan was an honor for the rich and powerful. Noblemen would exchange them as gifts. Even today, in the UK the King (and previously the Queen) has a right to claim swans for their own – a tradition passed down through the centuries…

But like all the other birds in this song, swans were also a prized food for feasts. It was a rare delicacy appreciated by royals and monarchs. 

Thankfully, nowadays of course, swans are more appreciated for their good looks

If you happened upon this lesson in the middle, you might want to check out the beginning of this challenge here. 

Painting 7 swans step by step in watercolor

The tricky thing about swans is that they are white! So painting white swans on white paper is a bit of a challenge.

To overcome this conundrum you’ll see that I began this watercolor by painting around the swans, effectively filling in the background while leaving the white paper for the bird shapes untouched. 

You can download the worksheet including the pencil outline for this project below.

And the list of paints i used for this lesson are as follows:

• Hansa Yellow Deep – Pigment number: PY65
• Phthalo Green BS – Pigment number: PG7
• Phthalo blue GS – Pigment number: PB15:3
• Pyrrol scarlet – Pigment number: PR255
• Paynes gray – Pigment number: Pb29/PBk9

To receive daily email reminders for this painting challenge (starting with day #1), you can sign up below:

Finally, I’ve created a special category for these tutorials which you can view here. This will provide an overview of the whole challenge.

Step 1

After printing the sketch outline, transfer it to a sheet of watercolor paper. Try not to press too hard into the paper.

Step 2

Make a very diluted mixture of a blue-green color (I used phthalo blue and phthalo green). You might be surprised how much water you need to add to get a light-toned appearance. Try starting with a big puddle of clear water and adding pigment a little at a time.

Paint around the swan shapes. I used horizontal brush strokes to create irregular broken edges to this wash of color. You can also leave a few specks of white paper, to give an impression of light glinting off the water.

Paint the word “SEVEN” in gray, leaving a few highlights here and there.

Step 3

I wanted the bodies of the swans to remain white, but to add some texture I painted a few thin brush marks using a small round brush. The color is a darkened version of the water (I neutralized the paint mixture with a little Payne’s gray).

Try to apply these using quick gestures and fluid brush strokes. The movement comes from the wrist more than the fingers. The results will look more fluid.

I also added an orange beak (leave a small white highlight if you fancy).

Step 4

Finish up with the black details on the swan’s heads. In front of the eye, swans have a dark, triangular shaped patch of skin and a bump on top of their beaks.

Add some shadow lines to the word “SEVEN” and fill in the words “swans a- swimming”.

Ta da!

Sit back and admire your work

The post How to Paint Seven Swans A-Swimming (Step by Step) first appeared on Watercolor Affair.

If you made it this far, give yourself a pat on the back  

You’re half way through!

You’ve probably noticed that a good proportion of the subjects in this song are about birds. In fact you can count a total of 28 birds in the twelve days of Christmas (including the five golden rings – if you’re confused, see the previous lesson).

The references to birds relate to the culinary theme of the original rhyme. The 18th century song celebrates the period of merrymaking between two religious feasts. And the birds in the rhyme were highly prized at meal times.

So today’s painting prompt is “six geese a-laying”.

Go grab your brushes!

If you happened upon this lesson in the middle, you might want to check out the beginning of this challenge here. 

How to paint six geese a-laying

The composition of the geese painting is centered. There’s a bunch of geese all gathered around one lone goose in the middle. This kind of layout helps lead the eye to the subject. This is especially true if you wanted to draw attention to the center objects. 

I added a little gold paint to the center goose (and her egg) just to make her subtly different

To do this painting yourself start by downloading the worksheet below:

The complete list of colors used were as follows:

• Hansa Yellow Deep – Pigment number: PY65
• Phthalo blue GS – Pigment number: PB15:3
• Pyrrol scarlet – Pigment number: PR255
• Burnt umber – Pigment number: PBr7
• Paynes gray – Pigment number: Pb29/PBk9

To receive daily email reminders for this painting challenge (starting with day #1), you can sign up below:

Finally, I’ve created a special category for these tutorials which you can view here. This will provide an overview of the whole challenge.

Step 1

Draw the outlines of the geese and the lettering on a sheet of watercolor paper. I like to use an LED light board for this. It speeds up the process and gets me painting quicker and easier.

Step 2

I used a variegated wash for each of the goose shapes, starting with a very light and diluted paint mixture at the head, and charging in more color on the underside. You can even start with a brush dipped in clear water to get the heads very light toned. 

To add a bit of variety, the birds are slightly different colors. Half are yellow-brown, the others are reddish-brown. 

Paint the word “SIX” in gray, not forgetting to leave a few white highlights as in the previous watercolor paintings of this series.

Leave the shapes to dry completely.

Step 3

Now you can layer over some shapes to represent the wings and feathers on the backs of the geese. I used a diluted neutral gray-brown color for this. Make the brush marks overlap the edges of the first shapes underneath, without following the outline of the body. This will create different levels of transparency and you end up with a more graphically interesting result.

Step 4

For the final details I added the beaks and feet using a bright orange paint mixture. The eggs were painted with a blue-green color (a mix of phthalo blue and phthalo green). Except for the central goose’s egg – that one’s gold !

Finally, the eyes were painted with a light gray (diluted) color and I filled in the words underneath…

Quacking good!

Do geese go quack? Or do they honk!?

Until next time… happy painting !

The post Watercolor Painting of Six Geese A-Laying (Step by Step) first appeared on Watercolor Affair.

Did you ever find it odd that the song suddenly switches from birds to “golden rings” then back to birds again?

… 4 calling birds

… 5 golden rings

… 6 geese a-laying

… Etc.

It’s been suggested that these golden rings are in fact birds. They could be referring to ring-necked pheasants! Another possibility is that these were originally European goldfinches.  The modern version eventually converted these references into 5 golden rings

If you stumbled upon this lesson in the middle, you might want to check out the beginning of this challenge here. 

Ready? Let’s jump in…

Painting 5 golden rings in 4 easy steps 

In this composition I thought it would be fun to arrange the 5 rings “in a ring”. I positioned the five rings so they circle each other, creating a larger loop of rings. And like in the previous composition (4 calling birds) I use size to suggest some depth – the front rings are larger than the ones at the back to imply distance.

Here’s the link to the worksheet and printable sketch outline for this painting:

And the full list of paints I used for this watercolor are as follows:

• Hansa Yellow Deep – Pigment number: PY65
• Quinacridone rose – Pigment number: PV19
• Paynes gray – Pigment number: Pb29/PBk9

To receive daily email reminders for this painting challenge (starting with day #1), you can sign up below:

Finally, I’ve created a special category for these tutorials which you can view here. This will provide an overview of the whole challenge.

Step 1

As usual, print out the sketch outline then transfer the drawing to a sheet of watercolor paper. 

Step 2

Now paint the ring shapes using a warm yellow paint color (hansa yellow deep in my case). 

Notice that I left thin white highlights on the upper facing edges of the rings. Shiny objects have bright, well-defined highlights. These sparks of white paper help suggest the sheen and reflective qualities of gold. I also left a highlight on the outer facing sides of the rings.

Paint the word “FIVE” in gray, again leaving a few white highlights.

Step 3

When the first layer of paint has completely dried, use a glazing technique to paint the inner band of the rings. Painting the inner surface of the rings this way will darken the tonal values and suggest shading, improving the 3-dimensional effect of the composition. 

Note that I painted these surfaces using a graduated wash. The paint is applied in a darker mix to the left and progresses towards a lighter more diluted mix on the right. Again this variation in color intensity helps the suggestion of three dimensions.

Be careful not to paint over the white highlights!

Step 4

The last details include the words “golden rings” underneath and an array of sparkles !

I painted these radiating lines in bright pink. Like this, the colors in the finished composition contrast and produce a bright, lively overall appearance (the color harmony is complementary).

I hope you had fun!

Let me know if you’re enjoying these challenges in the comments below

The post How to Paint 5 Golden Rings in Watercolor first appeared on Watercolor Affair.

This is day number 4 of the 12 Days of Christmas painting challenge. The prompt is “4 Calling Birds”.

Did you ever wonder what “calling birds” actually are?

You would naturally think that “calling” refers to a songbird of some kind. But the original text refers to “colly” birds, not calling birds. Colly birds were European Blackbirds. 

At the time these birds were hunted for food. Occasionally they were even baked in pie! Or alternatively, live birds were encased into a pie for banquets. When the crust was broken the blackbirds would escape, flying out in all directions! Probably not something you want to try at home this Christmas !

Below you’ll find today’s painting project, but if you missed the beginning of this series, you’ll find it on this page.

Have fun!

If you missed the start of this painting challenge, you can find out more on this page…

Four Calling Birds Step by Step Tutorial

This watercolor composition includes 4 happy chirping birds (I went with the songbird interpretation). The upper birds are smaller in size to suggest distance. This is another visual trick to create depth to the painting.

Before you get started, here’s the link to download the worksheet.

The full list of paints used for this watercolor were as follows:

• Hansa Yellow Deep – Pigment number: PY65
• French ultramarine – Pigment number: PB29
• Quinacridone rose – Pigment number: PV19
• Paynes gray – Pigment number: Pb29/PBk9

If you’d like to receive daily email reminders for this painting challenge, you can sign up below:

I’ve also created a special category for these tutorials which you can view here. This will provide an overview of the whole challenge.

Step 1

Use a medium hardness pencil to trace the outline onto watercolor paper. Make sure you can see the wings quite well – these will be covered by the first layer of paint so you want them to show through.

Step 2

I painted the shapes of the birds’ bodies using a variegated wash of pink and purple. To do this I started with pink (quinacridone rose) and finished with a touch of warm blue (french ultramarine). The combination of warm blue and cool red creates a wonderfully bright purple appearance. 

I left the eyes unpainted to let the white paper show through.

The word “FOUR” was filled in with Payne’s gray, with a few white highlights added.

Step 3

Now you can use a glazing technique to paint the wings. This is just a uniform flat wash of quinacridone rose (you can use any cool red paint you want). The fist shape must be dry before painting this. 

I filled in the bird’s beaks with a warm yellow paint color (hansa yellow deep in my case).

Step 4

I finished off the painting with the smaller details, adding the musical notes, the bird’s feet, and the words “calling birds” at the bottom. I suggest you use a small round brush for this step!

As a final flourish I also added a shadow under each wing using a mixture of purple. This adds an interesting 3D effect.

And that’s it! Happy 4th day of Christmas

The post Painting 4 Calling Birds in 4 Easy Steps first appeared on Watercolor Affair.

The overall theme is the “12 days of Christmas’ – and this is day three. So today’s prompt is “three french hens”.

I had a lot of fun coming up with the design for this one I think you’ll enjoy painting these typically french-looking hens!

If you missed the start of this painting challenge, you can find out more on this page…

Painting Three French Hens in 4 Easy Steps

Did you know the three hens symbolize the virtues of faith, hope and charity. 

But why french? 

I didn’t know this until recently. It seems that when the words for the 12 days of Christmas rhyme were first written, “french” hens were a highly prized food to be served at the table. The best type of poultry you could dish up was a breed called the “Bresse Gauloise” which originated in France. As a result, the finest possible chickens to eat were associated with “french” poultry.

So I’ve given my hens a french twist in honor of this tradition  

i.e: note the french-style sweaters – or jumpers for my faithful UK audience!

To get started, you can download the worksheet for this project below:

The paints used for this watercolor were as follows, but you can use whatever colors you have available:

• Hansa Yellow Deep – Pigment number: PY65
• Phthalo blue GS – Pigment number: PB15:3
• Pyrrol scarlet – Pigment number: PR255
• Burnt umber – Pigment number: PBr7
• Paynes gray – Pigment number: Pb29/PBk9

If you’d like to receive daily email reminders for this painting challenge, you can sign up below:

I’ve also created a special category for these tutorials which you can view here. This will provide an overview of the whole challenge.

Step 1

As usual you start by printing out the traceable outline from the worksheet. Draw the outline lightly onto a sheet of watercolor paper. If you make a mistake, I find that kneaded erasers work great for removing unwanted pencil lines on watercolor paper. You can also use these to pick up excess graphite from the surface and leave only light pencil marks.

Step 2

If you’ve been following along so far you’re probably starting picking up some of the watercolor techniques used in each of the projects. This painting begins with another variegated wash.

I painted the body of the hens, starting with a light (diluted) brown color at the top and darkening the mixture as I progressed towards the bottom. If you want to make a similar hue you can mix a warm yellow with a touch of brown (in my case I used hansa yellow deep and burnt umber).

Leave the sweater (jumper) shape untouched. This looks tricky, but the head and tail of the bird are connected by the wing shape. Keep your brush strokes fluid and work your way down through the wing and finishing up with the tail. The objective was to make the underside slightly darker and stronger in tonal value than the upper half. If you don’t see this you can also use a “charging-in” technique to drop in some stronger paint to the parts that need it. This method works by dabbing the surface of the damp wash of color so that pigments diffuse smoothly into the wash.

Note that the eye was also left white…

The word “THREE” was painted in gray, with a few white highlights here and there.

Step 3

When everything is dry you can paint the wings with a glazing technique over the top of the first color (remember this is a wet-on-dry technique used to build up color intensity and value in watercolors). 

I painted the hens “comb” (the wobbly thing on top of its head) with a red to brown variegated wash.

Step 4

The final stage just needs a few details including the blue striped sweater (yes… I’m talking about the “jumper”). I used a nice cool blue color for this (Daniel Smith’s phthalo blue GS).

Then paint the beaks, the feet, and the words “french hens”…

I also added some darker gray brush strokes to the “THREE” letters to give them some three-dimensional depth.

In other words I made the “three” 3D! 

Get it?

Yup!

Now you can show off your painting to somebody

Have a great day!

The post Three French Hens Painting in Watercolor first appeared on Watercolor Affair.