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Splashing Watercolor

Splashing watercolor tutorial on ARTiful, painting demos by Sandrine Pelissier
Painting technique / Step by step demonstrations

Splashing Watercolor

watercolor palette for painting seascapes

Freighters are a common sight in Vancouver, I always liked the colors and especially that bright red on the cargo ships. I also wanted to try a specific paper with the splashing technique : Aquarius by Strathmore after reading Leslie White’s post here where she tried it : http://lesliepaints.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/white-tiger/ Here is my palette for this painting:

Freighters, watercolor seascapes painting techniques

drawing on paper before painting with watercolors

I start by drawing on my paper , Aquarius Starthmore II that is “an innovative combination of cotton and synthetic fibers “

I reserve a few whites area before starting to paint with masking fluid.

I am a Blick Art Materials affiliate and I receive a small compensation for sales. That does not effect in any way the cost of the purchaser’s order but it helps me keeping the content of this blog free.

 

Daler-Rowney Masking Fluid

This fluid is used to create striking white highlights or to mask areas for overpainting at a later stage. It forms a fast-drying, water-resistant film on watercolor paper and board, and is easily removed when dry.

I start by painting a gradated wash in the shy area with Cadmium Yellow

painting water with watercolors

I paint a wash on the sea area with a mix that I will use all along this painting: Ultramarine blue and Burnt Sienna.

painting watercolor sky

Working on the sky with that same mix of Ultramarine and Burnt Sienna, I like the granulation effect you obtain with that mix.

nautical painting: using color all over your painting

I continue painting, trying to use a color in different parts of the paintings each time it is introduced.

taking off masking fluid

Here I am almost done with the cargo ships and am removing the masking fluid to work on the preserved areas.

I am a Blick Art Materials affiliate and I receive a small compensation for sales. That does not effect in any way the cost of the purchaser’s order but it helps me keeping the content of this blog free.

Yarka St. Petersburg Professional Watercolor Pans

Same palette of traditional colors the great masters used a century ago. Liquid-poured means semi-moist pans respond instantly to a wet brush. 24 pans in plastic case. Also individual pans. – Master Set

 painting reflections in water

I add a bit of paint for the reflections in water and soften a bit some edges where the masking fluid has made hard edges.

Then time for splashing !!!

how to paint seascapes : step by step painting tutorial

The finished painting Freighters, Watercolor on paper

5/5 - (1 vote)

Comments (20)

  1. […] Freighters, Watercolor on paper […]

  2. Read As Red

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  3. Looks great

  4. North Shore Art Crawl

    […] for our North Shore Art Crawl 2011 VideoFreighters, Watercolor on paperFreighters, Watercolor on paper ul.legalfooter li{ list-style:none; float:left; padding-right:20px; } .accept{ display:none; […]

  5. Oh Damn that’s really nice, I do have a question though, why the random splashes and not something more, for sake of a better wod ‘controlled’ ? Great stff though, Love IT!

  6. thanks for this – beautiful!

  7. judi

    Thank you so much for sharing. I can’t wait to try the method.

    1. Thanks Judi, let me know how it works for you 🙂

  8. Thank you very much, Sandrine. I love these posts where you describe the process.

    1. Thanks Nuno !

  9. Thank you so much Sandrine. I don’t know how you have the patience to so carefully document your work and share it with us. It means a lot to me. And I find this work particularly evocative.

    1. Thanks Collage collection , I sometimes get caught up and miss a few pictures , I am glad you liked the demos 🙂

  10. designcloseup

    Hi Sandrine,
    The red and the blue contrast very beautifully. The combination of the 2 shades of red, particularly the spattering of madder red lake, gives so much depth to define the edges of the boat. Well done

    1. Thanks designcloseup, I am glad you like it 🙂

  11. This is really attractive, Sandrine. Your painting looks “wetter” on this paper. I like how the spritzing worked on this, in particular. Thank you for trying this paper. It helps to see another artist’s work on it.

    1. Thanks Leslie, you are an inspiration for me to try new techniques and materials 🙂

  12. you amaze me! not only prolific, but also disciplined to take photos as you progress! great work, as always! z

    1. Thanks zeebradesigns !!!

  13. Mary Lou Rutledge

    Love it especially the red…

    1. Thanks Mary Lou, I seem to be in a “red” period too 🙂

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