Use Reference Photos to Create Beautiful Watercolors Oct 09, 2023

While I love plein air painting, much of my painting happens in my studio. And when I work inside, I often use reference photos as inspiration to paint a watercolor scene.

But rarely do I find a photograph ready to be painted as is. Before you try to paint a...

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How my John Pike Palette Helps Me Increase the Vibrancy of My Watercolors Oct 02, 2023

Do you ever wonder how much difference the right watercolor supplies can make in the outcome of your paintings?

Take if from the guy who used his kid's paints to paint a not-so-bad watercolor landscape: supplies aren't the end all be all. I wouldn't want to overstate the impact of any...

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Improve as a Watercolor Artist with These Strategies Sep 25, 2023

Learning to paint watercolor can be overwhelming. Progress can be slow sometimes.

So, today, I'm offering you seven valuable watercolor tips that will help you learn faster. These aren't complicated technical lessons, they are practices that you can implement today and...

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The Secret to Great Watercolor Composition Sep 18, 2023

Have you ever completed a watercolor painting and stepped back to assess your work to find that you're not happy with the results - but you really have no idea why?

There's just something awkward about it, you think, something not quite right. 

It's likely the problem has to do with...

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Easy Watercolor Tutorial: Paint Powerful Waves Sep 11, 2023

There's something mesmerizing about the movement in waves - an unfathomable, otherworldly power.

And it is a watercolor subject that is really fun to paint. Let me show you how!

How to Paint Waves in Watercolor

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Watercolor Sunset Tutorial (step-by-step demo) Sep 04, 2023

Every day, we have the opportunity to view a truly remarkable sight: the sunset.

Especially when we're situated in a particularly scenic spot - the beach, a lake, the mountains, a meadow - this experience can leave us speechless. It's incredible. 

But how do we convey this beauty...

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Painting People: Free, Full-length Watercolor Tutorial how to paint people Aug 28, 2023

More often than I can count, I have people say to me, "I can't even draw a stick figure," which always makes me smile. We are most intimidated, in many cases, when tasked with depicting people. It makes sense, really. They are so dynamic and can have so much variation. And, of course, we can get...

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How Do you Paint Trees with Watercolor? Aug 21, 2023

Trees are a common watercolor subject. They can be the focal point of a painting, part of the background, or in the foreground, framing your scene. For each of these situations, there is an ideal way to treat the subject.

You'll want to use a different colors, apply...

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