Mixing Paint for a Watercolor Landscape

Series Summary

The art of watercolor painting has been practiced since the time of the ancient Egyptians, when frescoes were created by a process of applying water-based pigments to wet plaster. Watercolor painting also has a rich history in Chinese and Japanese art, and has been used to add color to beautifully illuminated manuscripts in cultures throughout the world. What we think of as modern watercolor painting began to develop in the 1500s with Albrecht Durer's landscape studies. The popularity of this medium spread and spawned many disciplines of watercolor painting, including the 17th century British school and the California style of the 1920s.

In this free painting lesson video, a watercolor expert will demonstrate how to paint a landscape with houses. He will demonstrate how to mix colors, then talks you through each step of the way, from painting the sky and mountains to painting the details of the houses, such as chimneys and windows. Learn tips for creating textures and shadows from an experienced painting instructor.

Video Transcript

"Now we're using cobalt blue and yellow and producing color that's going to be on the roofs of the houses. This one's got a little bit more yellow than the other one. If it isn't yellow enough just add yellow while it's wet on the roof. Now this is too dark. Never fear, I can blot it up. Now this roof here is a little bit darker and a little bit bluer too. So, we're going to add a little bit of blue to it, just a little bit, and get the color that we need. So you can mix colors not only on the pallet, but you can mix them on the paper."