how to paint watercolor

We are going to be painting on my favorite watercolor support Ampersand's Aquabord, an 8"x10". I much prefer the Aquabord to paper.

For the composition I placed the butterfly to the right of center, facing into the painting.

The color scheme is a triad of colors equally spaced around the color wheel.

My painting colors are:

• orange, Cadmium Orange and Coral Orange
• green, Viridian Green and Sap Green
• purple, Quinacridone Violet and Dioxazine Violet
  

For additional watercolor preparations check out the watercolor basics page.

• Frisket sheets can be cut to shape. Use them to cover large areas. Cut them a tiny bit smaller than the area you are protecting. Then use the liquid frisket to seal down the edges.

• Masking tape may be used. It is good for straight lines like the horizon or the side of a building.

• Lifting preparation may be applied before painting. Then paint may be removed down to the white of the paper.

• Sand paper may be used to remove the paint from the tops of the bumps of watercolor paper for added texture.

• Scratching and scrapping tools are available to use on Aquabord.

• A brisk water stream from a spray bottle will wash some paint away. Then blot up the loose paint and water.

• A damp brush can also be used to lift paint. Rub the brush to loosen paint and blot it up with a paper towel. Or use the brush in a straight line to make tree trunks or leaf veins in a painted area.
  

Let's get started painting.

I applied frisket to areas on the flower and leaves.

The frisket needs to be dry before painting. It takes about 30 minutes to dry. You may speed the drying with a hair dryer. But don't get it too hot or it will not be removable later.

I mixed a dark color with Viridian and Dioxazine Violet.

Add orange to warm the mixture and make it brown for the areas closer to the body.

Use less water for darker colors. And obviously more water gives lighter colors.

Paint orange as you near the butterfly's body.

I would like to note just a bit of butterfly anatomy. Butterflies have four wings and six legs.

The wings and legs are attached to the thorax, the fat part of the body behind the head.

You can faintly see the division between the fore-wing and the hind-wing going at an angle up to the thorax.

Paint the dark border on the hind-wing.

Feather the colors together by running a clean damp brush along the juncture of the dark and orange.

If necessary, darken the areas around the white spots.

I used too much water to start with, so I had to paint them a couple of times.

Controlling the amount of water is one of the most important aspects of how to paint watercolor.

Adjust the shape of the white spots where needed.

Now turn your attention to the butterfly's body.

Paint the left, shadow side dark. Lighten the value toward the light and leave a few highlight for interest.

Notice the butterfly body is partially covered by the edges of the hind-wings.

The tail end of the body peaks out behind the wings.

Add a few dark veins to the fore-wings with brown.

Lightly suggest veins in the hind wings.

We will do the butterfly head and antenna after the flower is painted.

When you are satisfied with the butterfly, move on to the flower.

One of the basics of how to paint watercolors is to repeat colors throughout the painting.

The butterfly is obviously orange. So I used a pale orange wash on the edges of the leaves.

I also used brown and orange on the twig in the lower left.

The flowers on my purple Butterfly Bush have orange centers. So I lightly indicated them in a few places.

The flower is complete and the masking fluid has been removed from the butterfly's head.

Now we can finish the head and paint the antenna.