One of my methods of painting a still-life watercolor
Step-by-step still-life watercolor painting demonstration

0 _ 1 _ 2 _ 3 _ 4  Main Page

Balance the dark and the light areas

Next I worked on the light and dark areas of the painting (The fabrics used in the background and the foreground) and worked to develop the color and value relationship between the major areas. This was the time to orchestrate the overall harmony of the watercolor painting.

I used a large brush to wash the top and left dark fabric areas with a mixture of blue, red and burnt sienna. In the light-color fabric area I mixed burnt umber and yellow with good amount of water to paint the shadows.

I squinted my eyes when I looked at the still-life setting so that I would avoid noticing the small details, thus keeping my focus on the balance of the major areas of the painting. Each wash and stroke on the painting needed to work together to bring out the concept and impression of the painting that I had developed in my mind while creating the initial setting. I next worked on introducing more colors and value balance to bring more life to this watercolor still-life painting.