Are you ready to create beautiful and easy summer landscapes with watercolors? In this step-by-step tutorial, I’ll show you how to paint stunning scenes that are perfect for beginners. Follow along as we outline, paint, and add finishing touches to your summer masterpiece. Let’s dive in!
Remember, practice makes progress, so keep experimenting with different colors and techniques. If you enjoyed this tutorial, consider joining my watercolor membership TEAL for exclusive content and more detailed classes.
Materials You'll Need
Before we begin, make sure you have the following materials:
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Watercolor paper
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A set of watercolor paints (including cobalt blue, cerulean blue, ultramarine, raw sienna, and burnt umber)
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Brushes (large flat brush, medium round brush, small detail brush)
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Pencil for sketching outlines
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Clean water
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Tissue paper or paper towels
- Mixing palette
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Step 1: Creating Outlines
First, let’s add a few outlines to this paper to ensure we place everything correctly in the painting. I like to use the rule of thirds to allocate space for different elements such as the sky and the beach.
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Divide the Paper: Use your pencil to divide the paper into thirds. For instance, in one painting, give two-thirds to the sky and one-third to the beach. In another, reverse it to give more space to the sand.
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Sketch Basic Outlines: Draw a horizon line and add rough outlines for the water, beach, and trees. Keep these lines simple and avoid adding too much detail.
Step 2: Painting the Sky
Now that we have this outlines, we can start painting. Begin with the sky, as it’s one of the largest areas and sets the tone for the rest of the painting.
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Wet the Paper: Use a large brush to apply clean water to the sky area up to the horizon line. This helps the paint blend smoothly.
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Mix the Colors: I use a mix of cobalt blue, cerulean blue, and a touch of ultramarine. Swatch your colors to ensure you’re happy with the mix.
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Apply the Paint: Start at the top and work your way down, creating a gradient from dark to light blue. For clouds, use a brush with clean water to lift off some paint, creating lighter areas.
Step 3: Adding Water and Sand
With the sky done, let’s move on to the water and sand.
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Mix Colors for Water: Use a mix of cobalt blue, cerulean blue, and a hint of burnt umber to tone down the blue and make it more natural.
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Paint the Water: Apply the lighter colors first, leaving some white areas for waves and ripples. Use a dry brush technique to create texture.
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Mix Colors for Sand: For the sand, mix raw sienna with a little bit of cadmium red and burnt umber. This creates a warm, earthy tone.
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Paint the Sand: Start from the horizon and blend the colors towards the bottom. Add speckles of burnt umber for texture and shadow.
Step 4: Final Details and Trees
To complete this landscape, let’s add the final details and trees.
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Mix Green for Trees: Combine ultramarine, olive green, and burnt umber to create a natural green for the trees.
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Paint Trees and Shadows: Add the trees along the horizon, using a smaller brush for details. Pull the paint upwards to create the impression of palm trees.
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Add Shadows: Use a darker mix of the beach and water colors to add shadows under the trees and waves for depth.