Learn how to paint these gorgeous rainbow leaves with this simple watercolor tutorial!
All summer long in the studio, my staff and I have been going live on our studio facebook page with little lessons and art ideas for home. My most recent video is seriously a combination of my favorite things: It’s watercolors. It’s botanicals. It’s loose and gestural. AND it’s rainbow!
If you want to learn a simple watercolor technique to paint leaves (either in rainbow OR in the more traditional green color), definitely check out below.
The biggest complaint we hear from students is that observational drawing is boring. So, to beat the boredom, I’ve put together the ultimate observational drawing idea list for kids.
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The Purpose of Observational Drawing
Observational drawing is an incredibly valuable practice for young artists. It trains our eye and our hands to work together.
Keep in mind, the purpose of observational drawing is the process of drawing. PERIOD. The goal is not to create a winning composition. It’s not to create a beautiful piece of artwork to hang on the wall. Or to draw perfectly. It’s not even necessary to FINISH the drawing.
How do you know if you did it right? Well, if you looked at something and then put a pencil (or pen) to paper to try to replicate it, then you did it right. It’s that simple.
Observational Drawing Tips
Beyond simply doing your best to replicate something on paper, here are my best tips from years of experience in the studio:
Manage your expectations – it’s not always going to be pretty, and that’s okay.
Short 5-10 minute drawing is plenty of time – you don’t have to finish it
Draw something you find interesting to look at
Spend more time looking at the object than you do at your paper/drawing
Draw without an eraser – seriously, try it.
For younger artists, attention to details is the first goal. Don’t worry about scale or perspective yet.
Encourage your artists to change their view point to make their drawings more interesting.
Birds Eye View
A top shop like this one is a really common perspective that we see in contemporary still life photos on social media, especially Instagram.
birds eye view of cupcakes
Low Angle Observations
Getting your eyes low on your subject (1) magnifies the smaller object to look lifesize, and (2) changes the background of your composition.
low-angle view of a chess board
Close-up and close cropped drawings
Draw your object so that it fills the entire page and leaves very little background.
close-up drawing of sushi rolls
Use a Viewfinder to help you draw
A viewfinder is a tool used by artists to help narrow in on a subject. It creates a frame for the artist to see a two-dimensional composition in a three-dimensional world. It’s the same term we use to describe the window on a camera.
In my next post, I’ll show you my favorite viewfinder the best way to use this tool!
Well, what do you think? What am I missing from my “ultimate” observational drawing idea list for kids these days? Let me know in the comments and I’ll get it added!
Practice your watercolor skills with today’s poppies video lesson. Since poppies are one of the the few flowers that I can identify with ease, AND with Memorial Day coming up this weekend, I thought I’d film a demo of how I paint these wildflowers.
If you know me, you know that I love watercolors, and you might even know that flowers are one of my favorite subjects to paint! They are so fun and fresh and doodle-friendly. As some who appreciates the beauty of flowers but knows nothing about gardening or keeping plants alive, I’m usually just make-up my flowers.
In the video lesson, I’m using a set of everyday watercolor paints (nothing fancy) so you should be able to follow along no matter what supplies you have! Bare minimum, you’ll want a red and a green paint! Alright, let’s get on to our Watercolor Poppies Video Lesson:
Painting Lesson Supplies
Watercolor paper
Watercolor paints (pan, tube, or liquid)
Paper towel
Watercolor brush (I’m using a round #6)
Water jar (Or two. I like two)
Watercolor Video Tutorial
If you try this lesson out at home, I’d love to see your work! You can comment below, post it Instagram (and tag me @do_art_better_), or send it via direct message.
Why Poppies?
Every wonder why poppies are the symbol for Memorial Day?
The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem In Flanders Fields. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I; their brilliant red color became a symbol for the blood spilled in the war.
In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 1915
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields
Today I’m sharing an exercise to practice color pencils techniques such as blending and burnishing. I find completing these forms to be so relaxing! It’s the type of practice that you can work on just alittle bit each day whenever you need a brain break!
I’m using Prismacolor brand pencils for this color grid.
The finished product makes a great reference tool for colors!
Begin by figuring out the order of your pencils. You can do them in rainbow order, a random assortment, or whatever organization method makes sense to you. For my example, I used my pencils in the order that they came in the box!
Whatever order you choose is, make a note of it so you remember! It doesn’t matter how many colors you have because you’ll start back over at pencil #1 when you reach your last one.
In progress. This is my adult coloring class that we held at the neighborhood brewery!
Starting with pencil #1, lightly color the entire first column from top to bottom.
The key here is to color LIGHTLY. We’re going to be building layers of color and if you start off too heavy, you can’t get the blended effect of the multiple layers.
Once you’ve got one light colored layer done with pencil #1 in column #1, then you’ll move onto to pencil #2 and column #2. Repeat this step until all the columns are filled. (If you have more columns than pencils, simple circle back around to pencil#1)
After all your columns are filled in lightly, you’ll begin the same process with the rows. Lightly color row #1 with pencil #1. Row #2 with pencil #2. And so on.
When you’ve finished your rows, go back to the columns again.
This is an exercise in patience as well! I think, each of my boxes have 10 layers of color!
After enough layers, you’ll see your boxes begin to look glossy (burnished) and that’s when you know you’re do
Not only is it a relaxing coloring exercise, it produces a pretty cool effect, AND it’s a great reference tool for future color mixing!
Have you ever done a color wheel or color reference exercise that you love? I would live to hear about!
Want to make the most of this beautiful spring weather? Try taking CREATIVITY outside today! Here are three ideas to get you started:
? DRAW OUTSIDE – any drawing materials will work. We like sketchbooks because then the papers don’t blow away! Draw “big”, like the scenery you see in front of you. Or, draw “small”, like the details of a tiny flower you find or a small bug
? FIND TEXTURES – take a sheet of paper and a crayon or charcoal stick and find different textures. Place the paper over a tree trunk and then rub with the long side of the crayon. Next try the sidewalk, or the picnic table. Or a leaf! How many textures can you find? See if your friends can identify the textures!
? TAKE PICTURES – take the camera outside with zero pressure of making a great picture. Just have fun. Zoom out. Zoom in. Go on a treasure hunt. Teach the kids how to use the camera and notice how different their perspective is!
What will you do to be creative today? (Inside or outside!)
