Nature in Watercolor: Painting Trees (DVD + Streaming)

NOTE: If you’d like to purchase only the DVD for this class, you may do so through this link. (Please note, any class PDF materials are not on the DVD itself. You must have streaming access to download those materials associated with the class.)

 Masking (21:18)
Block in your major elements and explore the addictively fun qualities of masking as Ronald demonstrates ways to preserve crisp whites across your paper. Familiarize yourself with Ronald’s masking techniques before using them to distinguish lights and darks in your painting. Additionally, you’ll learn how to prevent making mistakes later on.

Mixing Colors (21:08)
Mixing various colors is one of the most enjoyable elements of watercolor painting, and Ronald offers helpful tips for mixing the exact hues and values that you want. Learn Ronald’s unique palette setup, which prevents troublesome color contamination, and practice blending water and paints to achieve the consistency, vibrancy and hues that you desire.

The Colorful Wash (25:03)
Apply your new understanding of paint mixing as you mix and paint the first wash in your treescape. Use fun tools like sponges and a wide variety of brushes to apply a rich wash that adds movement and dimension to the page. Next, practice techniques like stippling, scraping and splattering to give your painting a variety of textures and different areas of interest.

Adding Detail Over the Wash (24:00)
After letting your initial wash dry, you’re ready to add intriguing details. Ronald helps you assess your work in progress, demonstrating ways to darken or lighten values, create more texture and draw the viewer’s eye to key areas in your painting. Add or scrub out areas of color as you paint dark pine trees against crisp white aspen trees, create depth in your forest scene and develop the sky and ground.

Removing the Mask & Adding Trunk Details (20:02)
Enjoy the fun process of removing the liquid mask from the page, exposing the white areas that you carefully protected at the beginning of your project. Ronald shows you how to add dimension and shadow to the aspen trunks, hiding any mistakes along the way, before painting details such as branches, scrapes and knots on the trunks.

The Final Pass (23:45)
Your piece is nearly done, and you’re ready to take a final pass to fine-tune your work. Use sponges to add foliage and dappled shadows, soften harsh edges without losing important information, and apply other painterly effects to loosen up your painting and add more intriguing elements. Finish the work with a delicate spray of white gouache and review other paintings by Ronald, which will inspire future projects that will use your new-found techniques.

Ronald Pratt has been teaching workshops and classes in watercolor painting in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 20 years. His work has been published in Walter Foster’s The Art of Watercolor Painting and Watercolor: Seasons, and can be found in collections both nationally and internationally. Ronald discovered his love of watercolor painting while studying architecture at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. After 10 years, he transitioned from working as an architectural designer to become a full-time watercolor painter and instructor.

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What is your return policy?
We want to be sure you’re satisfied. If you have trouble playing your DVD, if the content is not correctly presented on the DVD, or you are dissatisfied with the content of your class, we will work with you. Contact Craftsy customer service via email or phone. Upon your request, and upon your return of the DVD to us, we will refund your purchase price or send you another DVD to replace a damaged or incorrect DVD, whichever is your preference. If you do receive a full refund, your streaming video class will also be removed from your Craftsy account, so on-demand video access will no longer be available to you.