Practicing Watercolor Buildings in the Idyllic English Countryside

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Watercolor is perfectly suited to painting the soft, organic shapes in landscapes…but what about the hard lines of architecture? If you find yourself avoiding adding watercolor buildings to your art, this video is for you! Artist Geoff Kersey takes you to the Peak District to practice this essential skill, from sketching on location to building up two paintings layer by layer in the studio. Keep reading to see useful tips for painting windows and weathered stone!

Improve Your Watercolor Buildings with Geoff Kersey | ArtistsNetwork

“When I paint a window like this, I’m not painting the frame. I’m putting in the dark color behind the windowpane inside the cottage. And the bit of white paper we’re left with, surrounded by the stone color, becomes the casement or the frame of the window. And then we can just emphasize how the foliage is creeping around the bottom of this window frame. A bit of Lemon Yellow in here, let it drift amongst the dark.”

Improve Your Watercolor Buildings with Geoff Kersey | ArtistsNetwork

“I’m going to mix a little bit of Burnt Sienna and Cobalt Blue to give me a sort of mid-brown color. The very top of the church is quite darker in color due to weathering, so I’m going to try and do that with this #6 brush, almost by dry brushwork by dragging it across. Then I’m going to thin that paint down a bit more and create a bit more dry brush work. The stones are quite small at this distance, so I’m just going to try and suggest them with this hit and miss effect, using the texture of the paper. Your brush needs to be fairly dry, and think about the direction of the brushstrokes as well. They need to follow the perspective lines.”

Improve Your Watercolor Buildings with Geoff Kersey | ArtistsNetwork

Improve Your Watercolor Buildings with Geoff Kersey | ArtistsNetwork

Preview this watercolor buildings tutorial below, and watch the full demonstration now streaming on ArtistsNetwork.tv!

Want more watercolor? Give these demos a try!

Capturing Light in Watercolor: Landscape Painting
Watercolor on Location
Improve Your Trees in Watercolor
From Photos to Fantastic: Painting Watercolor Landscapes

About the Artist

The English landscape throughout the seasons offers wonderful opportunities to experienced watercolor artists such as Geoff, who works from his studio in Darley Dale in Derbyshire’s Peak District, but travels further afield for inspiration from time to time. Geoff is now in demand as a teacher for beginners and improvers and runs regular painting holidays in Derbyshire and Norfolk.

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