Procedure for painting in watercolor

1. Paint large to small
2. Paint light to dark
3. Paint background to foreground
4. Paint from intense to gray
In my classes at both the Palette and Chisel Academy in Chicago, and in my hometown, Kaneville, Illinois I often demonstrate these procedures in a step-by-step manner.
1. The first step, called the “block-in” deals with the large areas of light and dark values. The large areas are the most important. The second step creates the shape and form of individual objects, and the last step adds he details.
2. In transparent watercolor you can always make values darker but you can’t always make values lighter.
3. Transparent watercolor is best done in layers. Painting the background first enables you to add a layer for the middle ground and then the foreground.
4. You can always make a color less intense but you can’t always make a color more intense.
Thanks to one of my hard-working students for the photographs used in this demonstration of her small farm in southern Wisconsin

Block in

Shape and Form

Finish with detail.