Bonus watercolor demonstrations are copyrighted by Lian Quan Zhen | Originally published by North Light Books © 2013

BOATS IN SPRINGThis watercolor scene in spring is of a boat I saw in Gibsons Harbour in British Columbia, Canada. Follow along using the ink pouring and nega-tive painting techniques.

FREE BONUS DEMONSTRATION | WATERCOLOR

1 Reference Photo + Sketch

2 Use the wedged end of a ½-inch

(12mm) flat brush to apply masking

to the boats with the exception of their

windows. For the riggings, use a ruler to

guide your brush. Block the birds, frames

of the houses and some of the water

reflections, too.

Ω  MATERIALS FOR WATERCOLOR DEMONSTRATIONS

SURFACES140-lb. (300gsm) watercolor paper

PIGMENTSPrussian Blue, Antwerp Blue; Pyrrol Red, Naphthol Red; Hansa Yellow Deep, Hansa Yellow Light—choose one each of blue, red and yellow

BRUSHES¼-inch (6mm), ½-inch (13mm) and ¾-inch (19mm) flats

nos. 2, 4, 6 and 8 rounds

OTHER SUPPLIEScopy machine, craft knife, light box, masking fluid, no. 2 pencil, paper towels, pen, spray bottle, tracing paper, water and mixing dishes

3 Start the painting at the top and spray

water on the upper center of the paper to

lightly wet that area.

Bonus watercolor demonstrations are copyrighted by Lian Quan Zhen | Originally published by North Light Books © 2013

4 Pour yellow, blue and a small amount of red on the wetted

area, laying the colors next to each other rather than on top. Our

plan is to create a blue-greenish and a little orange for the trees.

5 Use your fingers or a round brush to mix and guide the color

liquids to paint the treetops and edges. Spray a little more water

on them to encourage blending. Try not to brush more than 3

times on the same spot or it may become mud.

Bonus watercolor demonstrations are copyrighted by Lian Quan Zhen | Originally published by North Light Books © 2013

7 Spray more water in the upper right to tone down the colors

and create depth. At the lower-middle and middle-left, pour more

yellow and red for the orange trees and weeds.

6 Pour or splash more color liquids on the right side to paint

more trees. Don’t worry about planning the houses’ colors, we

will simply use whatever pigment ends up in that area.

Bonus watercolor demonstrations are copyrighted by Lian Quan Zhen | Originally published by North Light Books © 2013

8 Use a flat brush to move some yellow into the tree area. Spray

some more water then pour on some blue, red and yellow

liquids.

9 While the colors are wet, load a fresh, thick mix of blue and red

on a brush with a tiny bit of water. Hold it as shown to paint the

water below the boats and waves.

Bonus watercolor demonstrations are copyrighted by Lian Quan Zhen | Originally published by North Light Books © 2013

10 Use the same brush to apply more of the step 11 mixture to

the lower part of the trees above the boats creating contrasting

effects. When the left foliage is almost dry, spray more water on

upper left distant trees. Drop more of red, yellow and blue on

the area and mix and guide them with your finger to paint the

background trees.

11 Carve out the tree shapes behind the boats. Mix thick red and

thick blue to paint around the outside edges of the trees. Immedi-

ately take a brush dipped in a little water and blend the dark blue

away from the tree edges using the negative painting method.

Bonus watercolor demonstrations are copyrighted by Lian Quan Zhen | Originally published by North Light Books © 2013

12 Continue using the negative painting technique (also called

the paint-around method) to call out more trees, trunks and

suggest the shapes of the houses. The closer the trees are to the

boats, the more definition they should have.

13 When the painting is dry, lift up the masking. Before beginning

to paint the boat, apply masking to block out the riggings and guard-

rails so that we may apply color more freely.

Bonus watercolor demonstrations are copyrighted by Lian Quan Zhen | Originally published by North Light Books © 2013

14 Using a no. 6 round, paint the two sail covers of the large

boat with a light mixture of yellow and red. Paint the other sail

and canopy of the further boat with blue. Continue painting with

mixtures of blue, red and yellow to color the pillars, rail, doors

and the buoy.

15 Use smaller rounds to paint the boats’ details with a variety of

mixtures of the three primary colors. When dry, lift up the mask-

ing from the riggings and guard rails.

Bonus watercolor demonstrations are copyrighted by Lian Quan Zhen | Originally published by North Light Books © 2013

BOATS | Lian Quan Zhen Watercolor on 140-lb. (300gsm) cold-pressed paper16" × 20" (41cm × 51cm)

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