NOT JUST FOR NEWBIES* - WATERCOLOR PENCIL LIGHTHOUSE DEMO - 2

Please note that I consider this a painting and will refer to the watercolor pencils as paint from time to time. So, don’t be confused – paint means the watercolor pencil.

I didn’t decide to blog this whole process until after I had begun the picture so . . .

What you don’t see is just the first step, which was to draw out my picture onto the watercolor paper. Since I don’t have any lighthouse photos of my own, and since this painting is only for educational purposes, I used a photo from a magazine. You can use my drawing here, or perhaps you have your own lighthouse photo to use as a guide.
*Newbie Alert - COPYRIGHT INFO – always remember – if you are going to put your painting out for sale, be sure you use your own photo or get permission from the photographer to use a photo. Never put anything out for sale, or in any show, that is not completely, totally, 100% your own. It is OK to use a photo for educational (learning) purposes – just don’t enter it in a show or sell it.

After drawing the picture onto my w/c paper, I used masking tape as a resist, covering the lighthouse and the buildings.

*Newbie Alert – a resist is anything used to prevent paint from adhering to the paper. There are special resists for watermedia called, variously, masking fluid, miskit, maskoid, and drawing gum, all liquid resists; and friskit film or watercolor washout tape, both sticky plastic tape. You can also use other tape, such as good old Scotch transparent tape, packaging tape, and masking tape.

In this instance, the masking tape is going to keep my lighthouse and buildings white while I paint in the rest of the picture. Then I will paint those objects.

In the photo below I already painted in the sky, leaving cloud shapes white.
After my sky was dry, I took another piece of tape and laid it along the edge of the horizon line so that I would have a sharp line for my horizon line between the sky and water.

*Newbie Alert – never adhere tape to a wet or damp painting; either it will not stick, or it will stick and then later tear your painting when you try to remove it. Also, the term “dry” means 100%, totally, absolutely, Sahara DRY; not even the tiniest bit damp! You can use a hair dryer or walk away for a while to let the paper dry on its own.

You will see here the difference between the sky and water – the water looks very “crayon like” while the sky looks like it has been painted. The difference is – water!

The sky was laid in exactly the way I have laid in the water – simply coloring in the area with the w/c pencil. Then, take a wet brush and wipe over the applied pencil and you are painting the picture!