Tutorial #3 – Trees with Negative Painting

Learn the basics of negative painting by creating a forest of trees and build depth with layers of glazing. Add a little salt for texture. The image below is from a class demo I did and has become one of my most popular pins on Pinterest, inspiring the following tutorial.

Some students find negative painting tricky because we are used to seeing and painting objects instead of the spaces around them. Practice with this basic tutorial to understand the concept and soon it will be easy to flip back and forth between observing positive and negative shapes. It’s a useful tool for improving accuracy in drawing and can be integrated into paintings to varying degrees. We’ll start with this simplified design so you can focus on the process without too many confusing little overlapping shapes. Then I’ll provide additional suggestions and examples so you can see the potential and challenge yourself with your own ideas!

Supplies:

140 lb (300 gsm) watercolor paper

3 colors of transparent watercolor paint. In the example below I used permanent rose, sap green and burnt sienna. (The sienna could be substituted with quinacridone gold or gamboge.)

2b pencil and kneaded eraser

Low tack tape (masking, painter’s or artist’s tape)

Board (hardboard panel, gator board, or Coroplast sheet)

Round brushes and a flat for the first wash

Salt

Hair dryer (optional)

Step by Step

Step 1: Random Variegated Wash

Tape your watercolor paper to a hardboard panel with masking tape to ease the buckling from this wet technique and to preserve a neat border. I used a 6″ square. Mix up 3 puddles of paint with a 3/4″ flat brush. The paint should be a thin consistency, similar to coffee. The goal is to create a light random wash over the whole paper, maintaining areas of pure color.

Using a flat brush, wet the whole paper with clean water to help the colors mingle and maintain soft edges, then add some of each pure color, staying mostly warm. Try to create small, medium and large areas of each color. For this step, I find using a flat brush helps to create irregular shapes. Try to avoid ending up with a layer of similarly sized polka dots. If you do use a large round, move the brush around randomly rather than dabbing repeatedly. Allow the colors to touch and mingle but try to keep them pretty pure at this stage. If the paint is wet enough, you can tilt your board to encourage movement. Spatter some of the colors on top for some smaller patterns.

While the paint is still wet with a glossy sheen but no puddles, sprinkle on some salt and leave it to dry. As it dries, the salt will create some additional random textures.

Once completely dry, brush off the salt.

Step 2: Draw a Tree Shape and Paint the Negative Space

Since these are whimsical trees in an imaginary landscape of distorted shapes and wonky lines, freehand drawing works nicely. Drawing one layer at a time, on top of dry paint, allows for easier erasing and the opportunity to preserve appealing areas of texture and color passages. Before drawing, I rotated my paper and decided on the orientation I liked best, considering the random results that were achieved in the first layer and where I wanted to place the first tree.

Draw the first tree including the branches, canopy, and ground it stands on. Consider this as one large shape that will be preserved as the foreground. The negative space/shape is the rest of the area around the tree including the spaces between branches. Paint only this negative space with the second layer of coffee-strength transparent paint. This is called glazing and can serve to unify a layer with common color. Each layer creates a value difference with the previous layer that defines the objects and builds depth. Unique areas of optically mixed color result from transparent layers overlapping previously painted layers.

Prepare puddles of color so you can complete each section in a continuous, even manner. A gentle touch, soft brush and single pass is essential to prevent disturbing previous layers that will become re-activated with water. I used a round brush that allowed me to work quickly on this small format (#10). Since warm colors visually advance and cool, de-saturated colors recede, the colors used are the original colors pre-mixed into secondary and tertiary, less pure colors. Pre-mix a puddle of rose with burnt sienna for an orange. Mix a small amount of rose into a puddle of green. Mix a second green with a small amount of the orange or burnt sienna. As you paint, switch from one puddle to another to vary the color. There’s no need to clean the brush when switching between these mixtures.

Let dry or use a hair dryer to speed things up.

Step 3: Draw Another Tree and Paint the Remaining Negative Space

Here I’ve drawn a second, smaller tree and hill shape that will become the middle ground in the painting. Using a toned-down green, I’ve started to paint the remaining negative spaces that now consist of everything except both tree shapes. I will vary the color but not the value as I go, getting cooler in this layer, with less of the orange.

The negative space gets progressively smaller in each layer so I switched to smaller round brushes (#6, #8). Mix the paint as in the previous step. Staying transparent will build depth while achieving darker values and giving a sense of shade in the woods.

Step 4: Draw the Third Tree and Paint the Last Layer

With the middle ground defined, draw a third tree and hill that will become the background once defined by painting the negative space that remains.

Mix up more paint, eliminating the orange. Using a variety of greens mixed as before, paint all but the three tree shapes.

Let dry.

Step 5: Final Touches

Depending on your results, you may or may not want to make adjustments. After my painting dried, I decided the last layer wasn’t dark enough to differentiate the third tree and create a sense of deep, dark space. So, I glazed over it with a final layer of dark green. Notice how the cooler, more neutralized layers enhance the first tree, making it seem more colorful and warm than before.

After it dries, you can use a kneaded eraser to remove visible pencil marks. Peel the tape off carefully, pulling away from the image to reveal a tidy edge and professional looking painting. Sign it!

Step 6: Share Your Work!

Thank you for joining me and giving this a try. I hope you enjoyed this project and learned something. I’d love to see what you’ve done! You may post your work with proper credit using #watercolorwithstephanie and/or tag me @Stephanie_Fielden.

Tip:

Staining and transparent pigments tend not to lift as easily so are well suited to practicing glazing.

A friendly reminder: This tutorial is provided for your personal education only. The line art design, tutorial instructions and photos may not be reproduced for commercial purposes. Your painting may not be entered as original work into shows or contests unless it is your own unique design and not a tracing of mine.

Further suggestions:

Once you’ve got the process straight, try it with a more complicated subject. You can have several trees, shrubs, grasses or animal silhouettes on each layer, work on a larger format, add more layers and experiment with different colors to achieve different moods or seasons. Try adding details within the shapes.
Try using negative painting selectively within other paintings. For example, add a new shape on an existing layer of background color, such as a leaf in a floral bouquet or a bottle in a still life, by painting around it in just that local area. While the paint is still wet, soften the outer edge with a damp brush or feather it out with clean water to blend it in to the background, rather than painting the whole background in a uniform layer as we did in the tutorial. You can use the technique to visually separate overlapping objects or strategically emphasize an edge for compositional purposes. See a variety of examples below.

If you enjoyed this tutorial and would like to support my efforts to provide free content, you can “buy me a coffee”. Pay what you can and help make art accessible to all. Make a donation here. Thank you!

Happy Painting!

To see more of my work or purchase prints, please view my shop page.

Tutorial #2 – Stained Glass Tulips

This beginner level painting tutorial is a versatile project. It reminds me of a stained glass window or even a patchwork quilt, depending on the choice to add black outlines or a dashed stitch line with a white gel pen. Practice mixing variations of color and edge control. Experiment with different color schemes or adding ink doodles. The design can also be used as a coloring page with crayons, markers, colored pencils or whatever art supplies you have on hand. Try making a puzzle out of it! Just let your imagination go.

I have broken the design down into two steps below to help you see the shapes before you start to paint.

Step 1: Design

Draw a simple design with a variety of shapes keeping the following in mind:

Try to have small, medium and large sized elements for interest.
Odd numbers of objects work well for asymmetrical compositions.
If drawing flowers, rather than repeating a bloom too similarly, try to create some variety by including a bud, partly opened and fully opened bloom. This with help with variety in both size and shape.
Vary the angles of the stems and leaves.
Create a shape you like for the vase.
Imagine that some elements in the scene continue beyond the edges of the paper. In the design below, notice how it extends off the page and breaks up the background into interesting negative spaces.

Experiment with these ideas to plan your original design, or you can use the designs below.

Step 2: Line Overlay

Break up the design into abstract shapes by drawing lines across the page. These can be curvy or straight, angled, or like a grid. Be sure to pass through some of the shapes. I drew two curved lines from top to bottom, right through the tulips and some leaves. I added another 4 curved lines across the image.

Step 3: Transfer Image

Transfer the design to watercolor paper. (see Step 1 in Tutorial #1 for details)

Step 4: Choose Colors and Paint Each Shape

Decide on a color scheme. I suggest choosing 4 different colors. One each for the flowers, foliage, vase and background. Paint each individual shape separately with a single solid color but vary the color within each object (flower, leaf, vase, background). You can vary a color by warming or cooling it with a little of it’s analogous colors or neutralize it slightly with its complement. Alternatively, alter the value by adding more or less water to the paint. The goal is to achieve variety between adjacent shapes but unify the objects with related colors.

Step 5: Finishing Touches

Go over the lines with an ink or paint pen if you wish. You can do this step before you paint, with waterproof ink. Embellish it with doodles, cut into a puzzle – do whatever you like.

Tips:

Pre-mix large puddles of a color on your palette so you have enough paint to complete several, non-adjacent shapes for repetition.
Don’t paint a shape that touches another that is still wet to prevent bleeding across the lines. You will need to skip around the painting, working on different areas.
I used a round brush with a good point. For large shapes with uncomplicated edges, a wide flat brush works well.

Below is another version, without the black lines.

Step 6: Share Your Work!

Ready for something more challenging? Take a look here.

Tutorial #1 – Vase of Ranunculus

If you are brand new to watercolor, I recommend viewing my Tips for Newbies first.

In this tutorial we will paint a vase of beautiful bicolored ranunculus, with a focus on wet-in-wet petals. Learn how to mix a range of colors including “black” with a limited number of paints. Practice edge control and wet-in-wet color mingling. A supply list, step by step instructions with photos, plus a line art image to trace are provided below.

This is a great beginner project because it provides a chance to practice the petal technique repeatedly and there is no background to complicate things. The random effects within each petal are what give this piece its charm. Relax and resist the urge to fiddle too much in any one petal so the watercolor can do a little of its own thing. It will usually dry differently than expected anyway, but that’s part of the fun!

Supplies

9″x12″ sheet of 140 lb cold press Arches watercolor paper.

#6 and #10 round brushes by Princeton Art & Co. 4050R series. Or use any synthetic round watercolor brushes of similar size. Either one size larger or smaller than recommended will do.

Mijello Mission Gold watercolor paint in the following colors:
Permanent Yellow Light
Vermillion
Permanent Rose (optional)
Permanent Alizarin Crimson
Peacock Blue
Hooker’s Green

Suggested substitutions:
A cool yellow such as Winsor Yellow, Lemon or Hansa
Red-orange such as Scarlet Lake or a warm red like Winsor, or Pyrrole
A cool red like Quinacridone Rose or Permanent Carmine (optional)
A darker cool red like Quinacridone Magenta
Any complementary blue such as Cobalt, a teal, turquoise, blue-green or violet
Sap Green or another warm green

Pencil
Kneaded eraser
Transfer/graphite paper (waxless, erasable, smudge-proof) or a window/light table
Container with clean water
Rag or paper towel
Palette
Masking or Painter’s Tape (optional)

Step By Step

Step 1: Transfer Image

Transfer the image to your watercolor paper. A line drawing is provided below. Trace this image by printing the line drawing or a screen shot and re-sizing if necessary to fit your paper size. Then, using either a light-table or window, tape the watercolor paper over your image and trace all the shapes with pencil. Alternatively, you can use transfer paper.

Tip: use light pressure to achieve an image you can clearly see but that is not darker than necessary as it may be difficult to erase cleanly. Ideally the lines will not be very noticeable when the painting is complete.

Note: If you are using a loose sheet of paper as opposed to a block, it’s best to tape the paper securely, all the way around, to a board or other rigid, move-able surface. This will prevent the paper from buckling and ensure that it dries flat. Since we are not wetting the whole paper or using a lot of water, this step is not that necessary for this tutorial. You can always flatten the painting after you are done, if needed.

Download PDF: Ranunculus line drawing

Step 2: Petals

Tip: If your watercolor paints are hard and dry, hydrate them a little first with a mist of water from a spray bottle for easier re-wetting and use.

For the wet-in-wet petal technique, we will be working on one petal at a time. Start by getting your paint ready, using the #10 brush. In your palette, make a puddle of each red and the yellow. The puddles should be the consistency of whole milk for vibrant color. Choose one petal and wet the entire area evenly to the edges with clear water. It takes some practice to get a feel for how wet the area should be. This painting will give you plenty of opportunity to practice with each petal. Careful observation will inform you. There should not be so much water to form a puddle or dome of water but, enough to assist the paint in flowing and the colors to mingle. The petal needs to stay wet long enough to add paint and manipulate it if necessary. Once it starts to dry, it’s best to let it be. It’s always possible to add another layer of water and paint if needed after it’s completely dry. You’ll know it’s starting to dry when the glossy sheen of water disappears. At this point, the paper is still damp. Resist the urge to continue painting during this stage to avoid streaks and blotches caused by disturbing settled pigment or creating areas with different levels of wetness.

Add the yellow into the petal area nearest the center. The paint will flow into the wet area but not beyond it.

Next add the Vermillion into the wet area on the outer edge of the petal, letting it bleed toward the yellow. Add more paint if necessary to make the colors approach each other.

Manipulate the transition area by tilting your paper back and forth to encourage the colors to blend into each other. If the paint is not flowing, use the brush to help the colors mingle with each other. It’s best to gently drag the lighter color into the darker color and wipe the brush between drags. You just want to “tickle” the area between the two colors enough to get a softer transition.

Repeat this process on another petal, being sure to skip adjacent petals. Do not paint a petal that is beside one that is still wet or damp to prevent them from bleeding into each other.

For dimension and variety, introduce a little Permanent Rose into some of the petals. Consider areas that may appear darker, such as the underside of a petal or along an edge that that lies under an adjacent petal.

Continue to work your way around. It helps to work left to right or clockwise, and top to bottom if you are right-handed. This will give the different sections time to dry before you go back in between to fill in the remaining areas.

Add Alizarin Crimson or the coolest red to deepen some petals.

Tip: Keep in mind that watercolor tends to dry lighter than it looks when wet and some colors tend to dry much duller than others depending on brand, pigment and paper used. This may be improved somewhat by repeating the process to build layers of paint. Wait until you are finished to decide which petals need adjusting.

Step 3: Stems, Buds and Sepals

Create a range of greens in your palette using Hooker’s Green in a strong mix (less water), a lighter mix (more water), a warmer green (mixed with yellow), a darker green (mixed with blue). Using the #6 brush, wet a stem or sepal with clean water. Then add the main green paint by touching it into the wet area. For dimension add variety to the greens with a warm green to some areas that could be catching more light. Use the blue or a cooler green in such areas as the base of the bud, a stem that underlaps another, turns away from the light or along an edge to differentiate between two adjacent green areas. To avoid making the shape look too flat, try to add the variation along one edge to imply a light and dark side to each stems and petals.

Continue working on the green areas until complete, remembering to allow sections to dry before painting directly beside it.

Step 4: Flower Centers

Mix a deep, dark, nearly black color with green and red (Hooker’s and Alizarin Crimson). Use the tip of the #6 brush to dot in the center on dry paper, creating an irregular edge to imply texture. Leave some flecks of the white paper showing for more texture and interest.

Add some more red to the black mixture for a warmer black and dab this into the middle. While the middle is still wet, lift a highlight out to define the very center. This can be achieved multiple ways. A cotton swab or a tissue over the end of a brush handle works well to blot a dot of color out.

Repeat for each center.

Step 5: Vase

Using the #10 brush, wet the vase area with clear water first. Working fairly quickly while all is still wet, swipe in a strong mix of your selected blue closer to the left side, leaving a sliver of light along the left edge. If the paint bleeds into this area too much, you can use a thirsty brush to lift some paint out or smooth out the transition from the intense blue to a softer blue. A thirsty brush is achieved by wiping a clean wet brush against a paper towel or rag so it is just damp. Consequently, it will remove or lift some paint out when dragged through a wetter area.

Fill the area to the right of the intense blue with a more diluted mix of blue, all the way to the right edge of the vase. Before the area dries, use a thirsty brush to lift out a highlight in the right third of the vase.

Step 6: Finishing Touches

You may want to tidy up some areas at the end but less is more at this point since it’s easy to overwork areas, create muddy colors, and spoil the fresh quality. Assess the overall painting. Touch up any odd or distracting edges. Differentiate between overlapping petals or stems if they are blending into each other too much by using another layer of paint. The first layer must be completely dry. You can also try lightening an area or lifting out a highlight with a clean, damp brush. Erase visible pencil lines using a clean kneaded eraser. Wait until completely dry before removing tape, if used, for the flattest result.

Step 7: Share Your Work!

Inspired? Check out the next tutorial.

If you enjoyed this tutorial and would like to support my efforts to provide free content, you can “buy me a coffee”. Make a donation here. Pay what you can and help make art accessible to all. Thank you!