I filmed a short video to show how I painted the illustrations for my September daily drawing challenge. Here is a demonstration of a satsuma watercolour study on a painted background.
Satsuma watercolour study step by step
Background watercolour wash
I started with a watercolour wash to create a background. I laid the paint down lightly with lots of water.
I put brighter touches and dropped in a few other colours. I find that painting backgrounds is fun to play and experiment with watercolour.
Draw a pencil outline
I normally only draw a pencil outline on more complex subjects. You might find it helpful to draw a quick pencil outline. If you do, draw quickly and don’t use a rubber to correct any ‘mistakes’. The lines showing through the final sketch will document your process and give the drawing more character.
Draw a pen outline
I went over the pencil drawing with a waterproof pen. I thickened lines in shadow areas and used line weight to convey a sense of depth.
Watercolour paint
For this satsuma watercolour study, I mixed a bright orange and started painting the dark areas. I pulled the paint with a clean wet brush into the lighter areas.
I painted the shadows with a dark cool grey and softened the edges with a clean wet brush. I added a little green to my orange to create a darker colour and paint a new layer in the darker areas of the satsuma. Here I used the paint to show the texture of the fruit.
I finished off with a few splashes of green watercolour and left the painting to dry. To make splashes – load your brush with paint and tap it on your hand above your painting.
Finishing touches
After the paint dried, I added a few highlights with a white gel pen.
Hello Sophie,
thank you for sharing this with us, I appreciate it very much. I am really enjoying your website and have spent the last hour reading through and looking at your lovely paintings. Thank you also for the “how to do” areas . I am new to this and I cannot wait to get started, I am doing lots of reading first, taking notes and advice from people such as yourself. Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Isabel
Thanks, Isabel. I am glad you like my paintings and web site. All the best with your drawing endeavors!