Lesson No. 26. Drawing a landscape in watercolors: Australia, white lighthouse on the shore.
Let's continue painting lessons For aspiring artists. Today we will paint with watercolors a beautiful scenery: a white lighthouse that stands on the seashore in Australia.
How to draw white? Of course, just leave the paper unpainted, show a little how the shadow falls and paint small details with a thin brush.
I chose this photo for this lesson.
The sea, clouds in the sky and the white staircase that leads to the lighthouse. In order to depict the details, we will first have to make an accurate sketch with a simple pencil, and then carefully paint with a thin brush, allowing the painting to dry thoroughly.
We look at the photo and use a ruler to draw the horizon line, the lighthouse, the staircase railing and the bushes. At this stage we need to draw all the details: railings, fence posts and even steps and windows on the lighthouse.
Using a thick brush blue paint and immediately draw the clouds, trying to convey their shape.
Now you can paint the sky. Be sure to choose different colors: blue for the upper part of the sky and purple, which we will use to draw near the horizon.
We dilute blue paint water and draw the clouds so that they turn from white spots into cumulus clouds.
To do this, simply apply small strokes with a brush, making wavy lines. Near the lighthouse we draw very carefully and take our time so as not to cross the pencil lines.
If we start working on the sea now, the colors will flow and ruin our drawing. Therefore, we type on the brush brown paint and draw the ground in the foreground and near the bushes.
While the paint is still wet, add a yellow tint to the left, the sun is shining there, so the grass is not so green. On the steps of the stairs we paint with gray color, which we dilute well with water.
The sky has dried out, so you can paint the sea. We work carefully so that the horizon line remains smooth and the lighthouse remains white. For water, choose a mixture of blue, blue, violet and green paints.
First, we try the resulting color on the palette, and then apply it with broad strokes onto the water.
We leave the picture so that the paints dry, but in the meantime you can paint the green bushes. We just try not to go beyond the sea line so that the colors don’t flow.
We put grass green paint on a thin brush and paint the brightest places, where the bushes are illuminated by the sun.
We paint green leaves by mixing green paint with brown.
We work on the bushes until they are completely painted. If there are any white gaps left, don't worry, we'll paint them over a little later.
Now you can make the sea brighter; to do this, apply another layer of paint, making different mixtures.
On the lighthouse we paint the windows and door with black paint; at this stage of work we will need a thin brush. Add color to the leaves on the right and left, painting in the white spaces.
We put dark spots on the green bushes below so that a shadow appears in the picture. We paint between the leaves with the same color to convey the shape of the bushes.
Add to the ground green color, then grass that grows on the shore will appear in the picture.
We draw the grass that grows between the fence slats and along the stairs. You can add yellow and brown shades to the ground.
We definitely need to show which side the sun is shining from, so we draw a shadow near the bushes with a mixture of green and brown paints.
On the grass on the left we see the shadow of the stairs, so we draw several long lines along the fence. On the steps we draw thin lines with gray paint, working with the very tip of the brush, drawing the steps.
There is also grass growing inside the stairs, we choose dark green paint for it because now the grass is in the shade.
There is little left: we add details that are still missing in the drawing.
Making it very light grey colour and draw the railings. But we don’t paint them completely, but draw thin lines along inside so that the railings acquire volume in this place. We draw white columns in the same way: we outline each column on the left in gray, in this place they are darker because they are in the shadow.
Add to the lighthouse on the left gray paint and blue, having previously diluted them with water. After this, you need to let the painting dry thoroughly. Then we draw the door at the top and the red bars.
We draw several horizontal lines to convey the shape of the lighthouse.
Our picture is ready.
Necessary accessories^
Brushes:
#8 Columns
#5 Columns
#0 Winsor & Newton Series 7 red sable
Paints
Dark grass green, sap green, ultramarine blue, ceruleum blue, alizarin crimson, permanent pink, Indian yellow, raw sienna, burnt sienna, burnt umber.
Paper:
Cut Sheets (5.5" x 7.5") Whatman #200 Cold Pressed.
Other
Simple pencil #2
Eraser-knead
Liquid mask Grafix Incredible White Mask
Palettes Robert E. Wood & Eldajon.
Water container
Hairdryer (optional)
Raw material:
Digital photographs, sketches and imagination.
Step 1
First, determine what you will draw and draw the necessary contours on which the drawing will be based. Visually examine in advance all the elements that you will embody in the picture. I used photos of the Lorraine Lighthouse on Lake Erie as reference and made a cardboard template to size so I could move it around and play with the composition. Once you have decided where to draw the lighthouse, you need to define the sky and sea areas, and then cover the lighthouse area with a liquid mask.
While the mask was drying, I sketched a few boats on the horizon.
Step 2
Using a #8 brush I mixed in the blue ceruleum and wet some areas of the sky clean water, I applied this paint, varying the intensity and shape of the edge of the clouds.
While this wash was still wet, I added a touch of black (ivory) to the blue to create a silvery gray for the bottom of the clouds.
Next I re-wetted the bottom horizon line and applied a light wash of Indian yellow, glazing with the underlying blue layer.
I then intensified the color of the sky with a deep blue while the sky was still wet.
Step 3
Suddenly I realized that the paper I took for the drawing was damaged by mold since I kept it in the basement. The mold was not visible until the paint was applied. The areas affected by mold absorbed the paint like a blotter. This is such an unexpected texture. Using the same wash of ceruleum blue, I applied the first layer of water, trying to create a reflection effect. Then I let the painting dry.
Next, by mixing two greens and burnt umber, I made several variations of the green shade for the lake water. I pre-wet some areas of the water before working on the dynamic wave lines in the foreground. I paid a little attention to the reflection of the lighthouse in the water, outlining the red roof with a mixture of Alizarin and Permanent Pink.
Step 4
For some reason I didn't like the foreground, so I used a #5 brush to paint some rocks near the shore using grass green, ceruleum blue and burnt umber.
While the stones were drying, I mixed a blue-gray tint for small strips lands on both sides of the bay and drew them approximately.
Having collected some of the remaining ceruleum, I diluted it with a drop of water and drew the nearby sails of the boat to give direction to its movement.
I then went back to the rocks and brushed them with the grey-green paint left over from the previous water washes.
I have an endless love for lighthouses, and even my wedding took place at the top of one. So I was there and did a lot of sketches of Maine lighthouses. I plan to draw them all! Portland Head Lighthouse is considered the most amazing and suitable for painting. It changes completely depending on the angle of view and the weather. Bright red against a stormy gray sky can look grand!
This is the traditional image and everyone will recognize the Portland Lighthouse, whether it was there or not. In fact, this place is difficult to imagine as a location for drawing, since there is practically no foreground (Unless of course you depict tall grass), middle line divides the picture, and the red roof stands out against the sky. There is always an incredibly luxurious sky there. Gorgeous wild nature, which still boldly resists all attempts by humanity to tame her and shows him clear disdain.
I really love lighthouses!
Necessary materials
- Arches Rough Press Watercolor Paper 14" x 20"
- Thin round sable hair brush Isabey No. 14
- Isabey Long Bristle Brush No. 1
Paints
- (Transparent watercolors by M. Graham)
- Azo Yellow
- Cadmium Yellow
- Cadmium Red
- Phthalo Green
- Phthalo Blue
- Cobalt Blue
- Ultramarine Blue
- Cobalt Teal
- Ultramarine Pink
- Burnt Sienna
- White Gouache
Let's start by boldly applying a layer of ultramarine blue (ultramarine blue) and cobalt (cobalt) in the sky area. Such a magnificent sky stretches in this area. I know for sure that this will require several layers of paint.
In the sea area we add a few strokes of Phthalo Blue, leaving small gaps on the paper.
I use Phthalo Blue and Burnt Sienna to create dark areas in a deep rock crevice. It is incredibly deep exactly where the water flows, and the color should be deep, but muted dark. The shadow of the rock is of no interest to us!
Now let's get to the fun part of the job! I love painting endless expanses of sky above the ocean!
I take ultramarine blue and mix it with nickel azo yellow and ultramarine pink to tone down the color a bit. I need a gray base for the cloud shadows. To this base we add a few touches of three shades and Cobalt Teal. This part of the job is easy to handle.
When I'm almost done with this layer, I blur out some of the sharp edges on the clouds. Big fluffy clouds do have sharp edges, but they also have vanishing edges. The picture turns out to be a little blurry!
Artist Tips: Take a shade of paint twice as dark as you need. It becomes lighter as it dries!
Notice how much lighter the sky became when the paint dried. You need to know in advance what the paints will look like when they dry!
We begin to work more carefully with the rocks. I would like to add darker shades in the water area.
Since the work on the sky is almost finished, and dark stones have appeared in the rock area, it's time to pay attention to the details of the lighthouse itself! If I started with the lighthouse, then all the other parts wouldn't look so great.
Since the building white, then you should start with a warm shade of Azo Yellow (nickel azo yellow), to create some kind of glow in the shades. While the paint is still wet, you can start outlining the doors and trimming the details using Cobalt Teal and Azo Yellow. I draw the windows completely, without trying to outline only their outline.
We paint the top of the lighthouse with Phthalo Blue and Burnt Sienna. Note what shade it turned out to be when you stretched the black paint with a towel. It reflects incredibly accurately Blue colour sky - just perfect!
Some areas were left unpainted to represent the glass. If you can’t do this, then use white gouache.
Now let's move on to darker outlines and darker windows. I do this with a thin round brush.
The bright cadmium red on the roof looks attractive. It stands out clearly against the sky. This is how it should be! But leave a few unpainted areas in it so that it fits better with the overall composition of the painting.
We need to darken the highlights on the rocks to match the lighthouse. Lots of dry brush strokes in the rock area will create a finer texture.
I use the same greens and yellows as in the lighthouse to subtly outline the distant islands. Light brush strokes create a feeling of the depth of the ocean on the horizon line.
The final stage in depicting the Portland Lighthouse!
And now that the painting is completely dry, it’s worth noting the benefits of rough paper! Notice the texture of the ocean, rocks and sky. The type of paper you use for drawing can radically change the way you draw.
I used a damp towel to tone down the red on the left side of the roof somewhat. It's like a distraction from the real lighthouse.
I'm happy that the image of the Portland Lighthouse turned out so classic. My unique mother-in-law said, looking at the painting (and she loves lighthouses more than I do), that it was like a Christmas present for her. I thought it was really appropriate for Christmas because of the abundance of green and red colors.
I have 2 more types of lighthouse that I would like to depict right now. After all, they are a unique, but at the same time traditional detail of America, which I will probably paint countless times in my life. I really can't wait until the boys are grown up and I can safely draw my favorite place. Someday, in next year, I will finally draw another lighthouse for you.
I can't wait to start, but I'm still thinking about drawing lessons, it's better to change the topic a little. So many artists get used to depicting only one subject, or different subjects in the same style!
STEP IV
Add some cobalt blue to paint the area under the clouds. And then a darker blue to create haze on the horizon - to do this, mix ultramarine with speck and Payne's sulfur.
Continue to maintain the softness of the cloud silhouette using a damp brush and paper towel. Then mix ultramarine with kraplak and Payne's sulfur and paint shadows on the clouds, which will give them the illusion of volume.
Dry your work thoroughly before moving on to the next step.
STEP V
Determine the tone of the buildings and lighthouse and mix the shade using ultramarine with speckle and Payne's sulphur. It is similar to dark areas of the sky because shadows always reflect surrounding objects.
Use thin round brushes to paint buildings.
Since the lighthouse is round, when drawing its shadow, give it a soft border where it meets the light. You can also add warm shades of orange for reflections in the shadows to avoid monochromatic color.
Finally, don’t forget to write the falling shadow of the lighthouse.
STEP VI
Leave the shadows to dry and continue painting details of the lighthouse and buildings.
Mix Payne's gray with blue and speckled paint, paint the lighthouse balcony, roof and windows. Make sure the shadow is dry before painting the windows. To do this, check the paper's moisture content by touching it. back side hands - if the paper is still cold to the touch, it means the layer has not yet dried enough. But for now you can add details on other buildings.
STEP VII
While you're waiting for the buildings and lighthouse to dry out, start painting the ocean.
Mix a large amount of paint to cover a large area. You will need: ultramarine, ceruleum, Peacock Blue with cobalt blue and a little Hooker's and Sap Green and a little Payne's gray. This mixture should resemble the color of the sky, since water always reflects its surroundings.
Using a large brush, moisten the horizon line with clean water. Add some Payne's Gray and Hooker's Green to the ocean color mix and start painting the water from the horizon line down. Try to merge the boundary of the sky with the boundary of the ocean.
STEP VIII
As you move down and get closer to the background, work your way around rocks and foam areas, adding more and more dark colors(more blue or green) where necessary.
You can add burnt sienna and some speckle to tone down the color.
Try to draw the movement of the water and leave areas unpainted for foam. For areas where water turns into foam, soften the edges with a #0 brush and clean water until the edges are dry. Continue alternating between filling the ocean surface and softening the edges until you are done.
STEP IX
While the ocean is drying, draw the roofs of the buildings.
Mix yellow ocher with cadmium orange and coat the roofs. Because the watercolor paint is transparent, you can even apply it over the shadows if necessary. This will add harmony and depth to the picture.
Add cadmium red dark, more cadmium orange and some burnt sienna for shingles and rusty areas.
To paint the color of the roof in the shadow, you can add kraplak and ultramarine for dark purple. Use this color to paint the underside of the roofs (i.e. the shadow of the roof).
Mix blue with a little Payne's gray to paint the remaining details of the building, such as the windows. Don't overload them. Use a paper towel to remove excess paint. Keep a reference picture and sketch handy to help you stick to the right tones and shades.
STEP X
Clean your palette with a slightly damp sheet of paper towel, then determine the tone and local color of the rocks nearby.
Mix ocher, cadmium red and a little violet, adding enough water to lighten the color.
Start filling the rocks with this color, leaving the foam and splashes white. Soften the edges at the interface between rocks and water using a damp brush.
Use the local color of the rock as a base layer, since even the shadows and highlights contain this color. You can mix more Cadmium Yellow Orange or Cadmium Red in a few places to make the rocks in the foreground more interesting and give more depth to your painting.
STEP XI
When the base layer of rocks is relatively dry, add more burnt sienna and a mixture of blues to the original orange to paint the mid-tone of the rocks in the middle of your painting. You can add a few cracks and other textural details, but don't overdo it, as it's important that the stones frame your lighthouse and not be the main focus of the painting.
For the darker areas of the rock (where they are darker because they are wet from the waves), add Burnt Umber, Ultramarine, Violet and Payne's Gray to your rock color mixture and use a #1 brush to paint them in. Again, avoid foam and surf as they should remain white.
STEP XII
To paint the splash of water where the waves hit the rocks, wet your brush with clean water and remove some paint from the base of the rock where you want the splash to appear. The resulting soft spot should look like a cloud. If it's still too dark, you can use a paper towel to remove more paint.
Continue adding splashes here and there as you paint along the base of the rocks, but don't repeat this too often or it will look too monotonous.
Add more burnt umber and sienna where needed to integrate the rock with its shadow, and use the same color to paint cracks or other textural details on the rocks.
Be selective - details should be clearer in the foreground, so don't add them to rocks that aren't the main focus.
STEP XIII
Then mix the color for the meadow using Sap Green and Cadmium Yellow Dark to highlight the sunlit area.
Apply to the surface of the rocky island under the buildings and lighthouse. Pay close attention to the shape formed by the grass on top of the rock and how it clings to the surface.
When you're done, add some burnt sienna to paint the shadow and underside of the grass, this will add some dimension to the grass.
STEP XIV
Add shadows to these rocks using the same color as the other rocks and paint the rocky effect with uneven brush strokes. Keep checking the tone and using your sketch for reference.
You can also add cracks to the foreground, but again, creating the right shape for the shadows is more important than adding too much detail.
Add ceruleum to the mixture at the base of the rocky island where it meets the sea. For the darkest areas where the stones are always damp, mix burnt umber and violet, especially as you approach the front edge of the painting.
This is the best way to add aerial perspective into your painting - objects closer to you will be darker in color than objects further away. Also, avoid using black at all costs, as it will reduce the brightness and lifespan of your painting.
STEP XV
Sometimes you can add a little cadmium red dark to the shade. And don't forget to soften the base where the stone meets the water. Use the same paint stripping technique mentioned earlier to create a splash of water crashing against the stone.
As you paint in the darkest areas, add more violet, burnt umber and sepia, and paint in more cracks and detail.
To replicate the rough texture of rock, you can use the dry brush method, which is where you remove most of the paint from your brush before putting it on paper. The roughness of the paper should accept a small amount of paint in some areas, resulting in a rough, craggy texture. You can test this on a piece of watercolor paper before adding this effect to the rocks in the foreground.
STEP XVI
Finally, add finishing touches to your painting, e.g. more waves, splashes, etc. Try not to overload your painting, as this may drown out the signs of your unique artistic style and the painting’s own individuality.
However, if you have planned your work well in advance, you won't need to spend too much time adding finishing touches or correcting mistakes.
As final step wait until the painting is completely dry and then use an eraser to remove any pencil lines that are dirtying up the white or light areas. They should be easy to remove as long as there are not too many layers of paint on the surface.
And when you're done, feel free to sign, title, and frame the painting for everyone to see!
Translation: Marina Trushnikova
Today I will tell you about the process of creating my painting “Lighthouse”. I will try not to go into too much detail, because... It took three months to create this painting, because I had to work on it only in my free time. I will try to recreate the entire chain of creation of this painting, and I will do it in a way that will be interesting to you!
INTRODUCTION
When creating this painting, I pursued one goal - to achieve a mood of loneliness and coldness, but at the same time, so that the focal point would give off warmth and comfort - creating protection from wind and cold. Initially, the picture was not intended to be gloomy and frightening, as it turned out to be in the end; I conceived a lighthouse standing on the coast, showered sun rays, and on background the pier would be visible.
I wanted the tower to look like stone, because by that time I had a passion for creating ancient buildings and architectural structures. I also loved the detail of the rocks and rocks, so the rock was jagged and jagged, with lots of broken pieces and cracks. This became my favorite part of painting...that and the crystals sticking out of the rock!
Speaking of crystals, they appeared in connection with the desire to add something unusual when working with the highest point of the rock that would attract the attention of viewers.
Well, enough about that, let's get to work!
SKETCH
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As always, I start by drawing lines in my sketchbook until I find exactly the composition I like. Then I scan the drawing. At this stage, I realized one thing that annoyed me - working with a sketch was always difficult until I started making it in Photoshop! I also realized that the best way to create a sketch is to reduce the saturation of the image as much as possible and increase the contrast until you get a black and white linear image. Then set the layer mode to Multiply and you're done. I thought it would be a good idea to mention this in case anyone else had problems with it too!
FILLING WITH COLOR
Without forgetting how the drawing should turn out - light and positive - when working with color, I encountered a number of problems until I finally understood what result I was going to.
The rock initially appeared to me as simply an upward slope. But, because As I painted it, it became more and more of a massive rocky mountain, I started drawing more directions of the rocky rocks, and experimented with colors. The end result was a rocky gray shade of rock.
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I wanted the clouds to look very thick, ready to rain down, so I used a dark blue as the base color, and used light and bright blues where the sun's rays were shining through.
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I then went back to the rock and refined its details before removing the mountains in the background, following the new idea that the lighthouse would sit on a lone rock rather than on the shore.
At this stage I came up with a bright balloon, so I continued to paint over the rock and crystals, intending to continue working on all the little details.
ROCK
As I said before, this is my favorite part of the painting process, mainly because of all the trial and error I had to go through to get it just right. To say that I used a lot of brushes to achieve something I liked is an understatement. I tried every possible brush!
I ended up using a lot of grainy brushes and some diffuse pattern brushes that I created from photos of moss and mushrooms. The cracks were painted with black lines using a small round hard brush and the Blur tool. Then all these actions were repeated with the same small dark gray brush. This, I noticed, rounded out some of the edges without being too sharp.
I didn't want the rock to just look like a gray block because it would be boring and not eye-catching, so I started looking and studying photographs of colored graphite to find inspiration. With fresh ideas, I started working on the rock again, adding some light pink and warm grays, while adjusting the brush settings and choosing the ones that suited me best.
LIGHT
Next I started coloring and processing the light and rays coming from the lighthouse itself. He was the main focal point, so I gave him maximum attention to bring everything to perfection. This stage was the most difficult, because I could not achieve the desired result - the one I imagined in my head. Ultimately, I decided to create more than just a lighthouse on top of a cliff; I wanted to depict a flickering light, bright and warm, shining through the darkness, because this light served as a guide for the balloon that I eventually decided to add.
MIST AND CRYSTALS
When I had just finished painting the balloon, I changed my mind about the clouds because the painting looked so flat. I decided to fill the void that annoyed me with a second rock in the background. This created a vision of a mountain range.
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I added fog between the two rocks to give a better feel for the depth and atmosphere of the area. I also added thick fog to the foreground and blurred the rock in the background a bit. I then lightly highlighted the area around the tower using a soft round brush and orange paint to show that the fog absorbs and reflects the light coming from the lighthouse.
Having finished with the balloon, I returned to the crystals, darkening them so that the light from the balloon could be seen falling on it. I trimmed the ends of the crystals and added transparency to them, while always having a quartz crystal in front of me, looking at which I could complete this step correctly.
The appearance of a hot air balloon is inspired by the Steampunk genre. I wanted to depict a massive structure, hand built, as if it were someone's home or project. In connection with this, I drew the outboard ship in the form of an old boat, renovated for new purposes. I also added two slopes and a copper pipe to fill the balloon with hot air.
It's always very useful to watch various materials, such as metal and stone, to see how they react to light and shadow. The balloon itself is also made taking into account the texture of the fabric and looks like a real balloon. And again, a dotted brush will help in this situation to achieve age and wear, which is exactly what, according to my idea, the ball itself lacked.
CONCLUSION
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And here is the final result!
I enjoyed creating this tutorial and I hope it helps you in some small way. One big thing I learned while making this painting that I would like to avoid is how much your brain can become overextended when working on a single painting. Don't think too much about the picture because you'll end up obsessing over every little detail!
Thank you! And good luck in your creativity!
