I paint a lot of custom home paintings {house portraits}, and thought it might be fun to take photos along the way. This is my latest home watercolor and I am very pleased how the colors turned out. The burnt red shutters are a wonderful contrast to the lights in this piece of art. The first step is to lightly sketch the home to get the perspective correct. I use a Faber-Castell B pencil. It is not too hard on the paper, and it doesn't smudge either. When I start to paint, I always have clean water and fresh paint on my palette. I clean the water multiple times throughout the painting process.
I begin with the important details of the home. I want to make sure I don't overlook them. these include smaller items that require a small brush, such as a number 3 or 4 watercolor brush.
I like to jump right in with the foliage, plants and trees. You will be amazed how much of the painting is the natural landscaping. Once I lay some initial color down, the whole project is less intimidating!
I clean my brush after every color, and almost after every stroke, to keep the paint fresh on the paper. Oh, the paper I use is Arches 140 lb bright white. There are many many great watercolor papers, I just started with Arches, and love the way the paint moves, so I have never changed.
I start adding different colors by painting the roof, window panes, driveway and stairs. I also loved the red shutters - it wakes the painting up!
Don't get too fussy. Once I lay the paint down on the paper, I like to blend it with other shades in the same color family, and then leave it alone. The magic of watercolor is how the paint blends all on it's own. Add a few more touches like shadows and linear details, and sign it. One question that most every painter asks is, "How do you know when a painting is done?" A couple of years ago, I was taking a watercolor workshop, and the instructor said, "If you think your painting is 80 percent finished, then you are done!" Whether you agree with this statement or not, it works for me - so I stick with it.
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