Painting With Water-Based Media: Acrylic, Watercolor & Gouache (DVD + Streaming)

Find out how to choose and confidently use nontoxic, water-based mediums that are easy to clean up and a joy to paint with. Artist Nina Weiss will help you build a foundation of skills for working with everything from gouache to acrylic and watercolor paints. Dive in with gouache to create smooth layers of paint, intriguing textures and custom color mixtures. Then, explore the wonders of watercolor through techniques including wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, gradient bleed, color wash and more. Discover watercolor pencils to create tonal washes, shadows and varying color temperatures. Expand your repertoire with acrylic as you learn brushwork tips as well as how to achieve a range of values and build contrast. Along the way, you’ll apply your skills to create a variety of still lifes and landscapes.

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.)

Introduction (15:45)
Meet your instructor, Nina Weiss! She’ll teach you how to set up your studio workspace for success and review the different kinds of water-based mediums you’ll use in class. Then learn the basics behind color mixing and the color wheel.

Gouache (20:00)
Learn how to paint with gouache, an opaque water-based medium. Nina will demonstrate how to use gouache for flat and even results, mix primary colors for the perfect look and practice painting complementary and contrasting color swatches. Finally, learn to create texture with scumbling.

A Lemon in Gouache (16:40)
Make a gouache painting of a lemon following Nina’s tricks and techniques. Begin with outlining the lemon in a contrasting color, not pencil. Don’t worry about making mistakes; Nina will show you how to wash over them. Finally, learn how to layer thick strokes to complete the lemon look.

Watercolor (19:28)
Get started painting with watercolors as Nina details the best products and paints for professional-looking art! Learn the wet-on-wet technique and how to add texture and color variation using a gradient bleed. Then learn to use the wet-on-dry technique for a hard-edged look.

A Watercolor Landscape (10:54)
Start painting a landscape in watercolor with Nina’s color wash technique. Use the wet-on-wet method throughout the painting for a smooth, blended look. Then, learn how to preserve white spaces like magic using frisket. Finally, work with lights and darks to create contrast within your watercolor work.

Water-Based Colored Pencils (09:33)
Learn about drawing and painting with watercolor pencils! Nina details the pros and cons of working with two dramatically different watercolor pencil techniques: tonal and linear drawing. Then, using your new knowledge of the color wheel, learn how to dull colors for variation within basic colors.

Water-Based Colored Pencil Landscape (15:19)
Create tonal washes using watercolor pencils using Nina’s demonstration of a landscape drawing. Mix darks and lights for shadows and warm and cool color variations to add dimension. Learn how to save your white space on paper and add lines to create detail on top of the color-washed painting.

Acrylics (19:09)
Start painting with acrylics for a new, opaque look to your art. Nina details the differences between acrylics and other water-based mediums and begins to demonstrate the ways to create contrast between warm and cool colors, light and dark colors and complementary colors.

A Lemon in Acrylic (14:19)
Use your knowledge of acrylics to paint three lemons. Follow Nina’s contrast techniques between lights and darks to create spatial depth, then learn to use more than just yellow to create the lemon hue! Finally, finish your painting with a contrasting foreground and background to complete the illusion of depth.

Nina Weiss

In 1980, Nina Weiss left the cities of the East Coast for the farmlands of the American Midwest. The vast open spaces inspired her to begin her journey as a landscape painter. Today, Nina’s work is represented in private and corporate collections throughout the United States, as well as in a variety of books and films. Nina taught for more than 18 years at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and she’s currently teaching at Columbia College Chicago.

How will I receive my DVD class?
Your DVD will be shipped in the mail using the address you provide at checkout. Your purchase also includes access to a streaming version of the class and downloadable PDF class materials. After your purchase, you can find your streaming class and your PDF class materials by logging into your Craftsy account using the user name and password you established.

How do I access the companion materials for my DVD class?
Come to Craftsy.com and log into your account using the username and password you set up when establishing your Craftsy account or purchasing your DVD. In your “My Account” area, select the “Classes” content. On this page, you’ll see all classes you’ve purchased from Craftsy. Simply select the desired class from your content list, and you’ll be presented with your selected class page. From the class page you can easily view, download or print the companion class materials, which are in the “Bonus Materials” tab on the class page. You can log in any time, and download or print the companion materials as many times as you like. Companion class materials are not shipped in the mail with your DVD, and must be accessed on Craftsy.com.

How do I stream my class on Craftsy.com?
Come to Craftsy.com and log into your account using the username and password you set up when establishing your Craftsy account or purchasing your DVD. In your “My Account” content, select the desired class. Stream the video on-demand from the class page any time you like; your viewing access is unlimited. You can stream your class from any computer, tablet or mobile device with Internet access.

Do I have to purchase a Craftsy Membership to get my class?
No, you do not. Every DVD purchased on Craftsy.com includes both the physical DVD in the mail and unlimited on-demand streaming access at Craftsy.com. These benefits are yours with or without a Craftsy membership.

Are DVDs included in a Craftsy Membership?
No, they are not. DVDs can only be purchased on an individual basis and are not included in Craftsy memberships. For non-members, DVDs are a flexible way to purchase only the classes you love best. For members, DVDs are a great choice to build an at-home library you can keep forever and enjoy any time, with or without Internet access.

Do you ship internationally?
Yes, we do ship most physical products, including DVDs, to several International destinations. In addition to the USA and Canada, we ship to Australia, Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, and most Western European countries. If you live outside these countries, you can still purchase digital items including memberships, individual streaming classes, and pattern downloads.

Do your DVDs work on international players?
Yes, our DVDs should be compatible with any DVD player in use today. All our videos have been created with all current Region Codes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8). If you have trouble viewing a DVD purchased from Craftsy.com, please contact Customer Service.

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.