Painting a Venice Bridge
Watercolor Painting Tutorial

Painting Demonstration 1

In the spirit of full disclosure, the painting took me an hour and a half of actual painting time, though the video is edited down to 27 minutes. I painted it in 2 sessions. It's nice to know how long paintings really take to paint!

Painting Demonstration 2

The photo is lovely, but a bit dull. I love the lines of the gorgeous bridge seeming to float in midair. The lack of railing really adds to the beauty. I carefully plan my value pattern before I put a brush on the paper.

I start out with a basic wash of quinacridone gold. I like to have one color tying the entire painting together. Even in the cool areas, I still want the lovely golden light glowing under the cool blues and purples. This isn't a given - sometimes I don't want to have the gold underneath to avoid greens and make it absolutely cool.

Make certain to leave lots of white paper!

Painting Demonstration 3

While the gold is still very wet, I start dropping in a few colors. I want to get some darks in the painting. Remember that watercolor paint always dries much lighter than you paint it!

I'm staying with fairly warm tones in this wash. I still am painting the warm glow of Venice stucco and light under everything. Even ultramarine blue is warmed up with ultramarine pink and pthalo green.

Painting Demonstration 4

Everything is starting to dry, so I wet it with splattered clean water! Splattering clean water is a good way to loosen up a painting. Watercolor painting is hard but it's not serious. So don't treat it to preciously, your painting won't thank you!

Edges blur naturally when water flows, unlike oil where you have to force edges to blur with a brush or knife. Oil painting is all about complete control of the painting. Watercolor painting is about recognizing happy accidents!

So when you see those wet edges feathering out in a very un-stuccoey line, realize that texture underneath might be just what gives you a ancient mottled stucco in the next layer.

Don't forget to just dash in the bridge bricks. Not too much detail since detail would distract from where I want my viewer's eye to go.

Painting Demonstration 5

Now it's starting to look like something! This is always a really fun stage, when I've finished the first wash that has to mostly dry before I add anything else. If I hadn't waited for that gold to dry, I wouldn't have been able to get the lovely scratchy dry brush on the far pink buildings. Without that dry brush, not only do I miss the stucco texture, but it doesn't have the sparkle of Venice.

I'm building up to have the bridge light against a dark background, so that's a bit of negative painting. Even these extreme ultramarine blue and burnt sienna darks will dry much much lighter. Layer them on, but use lots of paint and lots of water!

Painting Demonstration 6

Just a few dashes next to suggest doorways and windows. It doesn't take much so I don't want to spoil the misty Venice light with fussy details.

Painting Demonstration 7

Now the watercolor has dried and look at the difference. Much much duller. Don't worry, I'll change that!

I'm just dashing in little bits of detail around the painting. I add a bit of shadows to make the white marble of the bridge stand out. I take advantage of the dry paper to add roof beams and shadows to the buildings. And I dash some ultramarine under the bridge since it's still not dark enough!

A few more details are added here, but the real difference is I took the painting from a very warm painting to a warm surrounded by cool colors painting. The cool blues of the bridge shadow and the cool blue of the left building lead the viewer into the painting. Sometimes I might blur the edge of a strong line leading out, like this building. Sometimes I don't. It's best to wait until the end so you can really see it clearly! But this painting would not have worked without that cool building framing the warm and light center of interest.