With four lessons on the components of a watercolor seascape now on my palette approaching the water will be a bit more organized. I look forward to hitting the beach with my new skills!

Clouds. Waves. Sand. Horizon. All of the sketches in this class are from photographs.

No use of masking fluid when making waves!

When it comes to green many artists like to mix their own, but there is always room for Sap Green.

Sap green is a lake pigment and was originally made from the juice of unripe berries from the buckthorn, (Rhamnus) plant. In medieval times the extracted colour was reduced to a heavy syrup and sold in pig bladders rather than a dry pigment.

Winsor Newton

Sap Green is a favorite on my palette and here are some examples of tube and mixed greens to make the point that there are endless choices.

Cadmium Scarlet is a warm red, meaning it leans toward orange. Cadmium colors are opaque and that makes this color excellent for demonstrating how to create a strong ‘shadow in bright sun’ .

First fire hydrant is painted with a wash of cadmium scarlet. Next, to show the shadow on the hydrant Permanent Alzarian Crimson is added to darked the hue. To complete the illusion, the cast shadow on the ground is achieved by adding a touch of Ultramarine Blue to the mix. Viola! The fire hydrant looks to be in full sun.

Color week six I am thinking about iridescent color since my watercolor birds class is practicing Hummingbirds. We have watercolor tricks to create the look of iridescence and there are luminescent watercolors by Daniel Smith.

Why do those tiny Hummingbirds shimmer? Here is some recent research.

Here is info from Daniel Smith site …

Luminescent paints! The pigment includes mica, which are thin transparent particles coated with highly reflective metal oxides. When you paint with these watercolors, they’ll create a sense of depth and a sheen that changes with the angle of reflection and observation.

DanieSmith.com