How To Paint a Tropical Beach in Watercolor {full tutorial} Video Lecture

hi there Lindsay here the frugal crafter
and by request today we are going to do
a watercolor painting of a beachy palm
tree scene for my friend Ella in Florida
she's been patiently waiting the request
list for a long time my request list by
the way is like I've got strips of paper
all around my craft room with various
eye when you guys ask for a request I
don't have a great way to organize I
just kind of like write it down and and
kind of tack them up here and there and
then when I feel inspired to do a
particular painting I do so I'm going to
use you can use whatever brush you want
I'm just grabbing this 1/2 inch flat I'm
going to wet the sky here and I am you
could tape your paper down if you want a
nice border but I'm just I just have it
clipped to my little piece of foam core
and I'm working on a watercolor greeting
card and I'm almost out of these I had
just ordered a new box from blick
because I was I was out I always keep
these in my kind of saved items list and
then if I need just a little something
to get me the free shipping I throw in a
box of these because they're really
excellent to have on hand I'm going to
use my coy watercolors and I'm going to
start with some ultramarine blue and
somebody to ask me about the equivalent
of the colors that are in this set and
then somebody else left a great comment
that actually if you go to the Sakura
website they have all the the colors
named so check that out now I want to
add a little something else into this
because this sky tropical skies are a
little bit more um greeny so I'm
actually going to add some of the
cerulean blue into that as well and I'm
using that rather than turquoise or
Prussian blue because this is easier to
lift and we're going to lift out some
clouds here so that's why I'm doing that
in case you're wondering and I also
really want to try out these these koi
water colors I haven't done a proper
painting with them yet I they seem to be
a little more opaque and I just I am
going to be teaching a new watercolor
class and I just want to make sure I
have some little kits that I can
recommend for beginners that don't have
a lot of supplies yet I'm just going to
add some water
here and blend it up if you hear the
dogs going nuts upstairs I've uh I've
been dog sitting I decided yesterday I
decide you know I'm gonna wash the
floors right before I dog sit and have
three extra children here so I hit six
kids and two big dogs and my floors look
worse than when I started
Oh what are you gonna do right okay so
there is my sky notice it's darker at
the top and at the bottom I'm gonna grab
a tissue or paper towel I'm just gonna
lift out a few puffy Q's here puffy
cumulus clouds and just make them
smaller as you come down the paper it
will add a little perspective when do
big ones do the big ones at the top or
you don't have to have any clouds I mean
that's up to you really
and my concern to the dog we have
spending the night is loves to bark
likes to bark at stuff like people
walking by minding their own business
alright so there we have some clouds
there and we're going to do the water in
very same fashion we're actually going
to make a little beach though so since
I'm using the koi here I'm going to grab
this ILO ochre we can use out in
whatever color whatever palette you have
you probably have yellow ochre and I'm
going to make a is to make a little
beach mmm just like that kind of coming
down here and maybe a little bit of uh
actually this is called light red but I
think it really is like a burnt sienna
and I'm adding a little bit of the
ultramarine to that to help gray it a
little bit there we go just kind of get
that in there and I'm just going to
bring the beach back there a little bit
oh we use that a well it's actually I
don't know what it's called with the
name of the colors but there's a peachy
color unless you could add to the sand
too if you wanted to I just want to keep
that kind of light bring it right off
the page and then I want to put some
water in and use the same blues that I
was using because the water in the sky
they're going to be very similar
we use the the cerulean where the water
is a little bit shallower and the
ultramarine in there too I'm going to
leave a little bit of a barrier there at
the horizon line all right now so it
doesn't bleed up into the sky and give
us a weird line there we're gonna have a
like a little um we have a little
mountain there a little bit of a
peninsula or something I'm not sure yeah
we'll see what a little needs as we go
along in our painting process and it's
our world so gars if there's you know
beach like this in reality or not
doesn't matter it's our it's our beach
we don't have to worry about that all
right and then maybe I'll just smooth
this little area out there so I'm
getting pretty close to juice fast time
I always do a juice fast the week after
my birthday which is coming up in a
couple weeks and I always gets me right
back on track to where I need to be
let's try this a little bit you can use
a hairdryer if you don't have one of
these this is a heat tool hairdryer
works just as well or paint outside will
be it'll be dry before you know it so so
I always like to think of the tropics
and you know tropical juices and things
like that
I've actually been Tahoe I don't like to
travel I it's no secret if you know me I
not like traveling I don't like flying
in the plane it only driving the car I
very anxiety go let's travel however
I've been to Hawaii three topics and I
live in Maine so let's go ahead quite a
journey but I do love Hawaii how I use
such them I'm such a beautiful such a
beautiful place it's it is paradise
honestly um I am envious of of everyone
living in Hawaii it's such a lovely
lovely place I'm gonna put a palm tree
I'm just gonna rip sweep it right up
like this and use a chisel edge of my
brush and this is going to be in the
foreground and we get some very very
strong light so I'm going to kind of
silhouette this when you use the
ultramarine and the light red use um
burnt sienna
instead of
light red if that's what you have and
actually think burn seein is a little
bit better because the light red wants
to make it almost purple it's just that
much more red but it isn't but it is a
comparable color to use instead and I'm
just gonna put in my little palm trees
kind of coming off the edge of my of my
paper here it's a little swoop yum if I
like it that curvy but what you can do
it's already there it's there that's
worth staying I'm going to do a little
yellow ocher in there I feel like it's
still even though I want it silhouetted
that's a little bright that's uh or
something it's a little something I
don't care for but when it dries it's
going to be a little mellower I could
definitely tell that these koi water
colors are more more like a gloss
they're they're a little bit more opaque
um so I just - that I like my
transparent color I'm a little I'm a
little fussy about that when I paint but
it looks really dark I think it's just
cuz the paint is wet alright now I'm
going to use a little of this uh
I would use SAP green if I were you but
I'm using this palette so the SAP green
looks really opaque I'm going to take
some of that umm let's see what the
screen looks like here take a little of
this right there I think it's a conker's
green I'm going to add some of this
olivey color to it to get kind of like a
SAP green again it's very opaque which
might actually kind of work into my
advantage on the sky because it's going
to cover up what's there um I'm gonna
actually call this more of a gouache
than a watercolour even though it's it's
called transparent watercolor that's
what it says on the on the package I
really think this is more gouache II I'm
just gonna throw some nice big palm
fronds here and then I think we'll
switch over to my round brush I'm using
a number six Cottman round to use
whatever round you have that will give
you a nice point I'm going to make a
puddle of yellow ocher tube so I'm gonna
have to dip I'm going to go between a
couple different colors and I think I'm
going to want a little lemon in next I
don't have any really nice bright green
or yellow so I think that's going to be
helpful um another nursing is paint's
drying really quickly today which is
I've been running the D hue
fire in my craft room so I think that
might be why my ears a little bit less
humid I was kind of nervous I printed
out all my photos and thank you to my
friends at the on the frugal crafter
Facebook page you I really appreciated
all the tips you gave me I switched over
to a new computer and lost my phone
collage software and didn't want to buy
it again so um so thank you so much for
your tips on the different photo collage
software's available I really like the
faux tar photo and the IP key those seem
to be the best the best ones I did do a
lot of editing and Paint Shop Pro just
to get my to get my photos you know
ready to go but I was I really did like
the like those options that you shared
I'm just going to flick out some palm
fronds from the from the stems that we
put in there okay and after I get one
kind of flicked out because I like to
have kind of like a variety of colors in
there I'm going to go in with a little
bit of that lemon and just kind of drop
a little bit of that in there just kind
of brighten it up a little bit I like
kind of like what's going you know it
kind of reminds me like what the Karen -
watercolor crayons look like when you've
been um if you've been painting with
them and using them as watercolors they
kind have that same subtle opacity to
them so I'm definitely going to these
will probably be my favorites are
painting these are going to be my
favorites for stamping but I think for a
watercolor I'm gonna go back to my more
transparent colors but there's
absolutely no reason you can't follow
along with any of my tutorials with this
I know a lot of people prefer an opaque
color so that's um that's why it's great
to have a variety of different supplies
or to have the options available so that
you know if you prefer this over that
you can use that so bye dripping in the
color after I've already painted on the
the palm fronds here you get this kind
of explosion of in with natural color
because when you look at like a palm
leaf even even if every front every
little blade of grass eNOS is the same
color it's going to look different
because of the way the light hits it so
that's kind of what I'm trying to
capture here I actually brought my
watercolors with me
went to why the last time my husband and
I honeymooned in Hawaii and it was so
nice to I mean like you can just pull
off the side of the road and be on a
beach and grab your watercolors and just
start painting it was
it's really something it's just now he's
my favorite but you know Honolulu is
very exciting I just love it it's a you
know for someone who doesn't like to
travel and to you know I totally thought
it was worth being in the air for you
know almost a day I don't know if does
that seem like a day I don't know maybe
it wasn't that long but uh yeah I just
um I just loved it
I never be so nice it's like they talk
about the spirit of Aloha everybody is I
don't think I met anyone that wasn't
just lovely it was it's such a it's
paradise I mean honestly I'm gonna write
dad who'd also doesn't like to travel
he's a look at homebody but he he had
said that you know if he was ever gonna
retire somewhere it would be Hawaii so
like hey I will visit you often it is
you like I get the frequent flyer my
life to get one of those frequent flyer
flyer mile
ARDS or something because definitely
trips to Hawaii you're not too
frequently in the budget um I want a
little bit more of that greeny green
that darker green in there just let just
tap tap it in and let it flow don't
don't be a just go with the flow man
hang loose as they say in Hawaii don't
worry be happy
that's Jamaica I guess hey love it all
they made the main girl who doesn't like
to travel except it looks up involves
something to really draw a girl I think
that's a thing I mean I live in Maine I
mean what's more beautiful than that
it's it doesn't get any better and let
you know except you know what you have
long cold winters and sometimes called
summers if you've heard my my furnace
kick on during some of these videos it's
actually going to be in the 80s today
which be very nice we're gonna have a
very beachy weeks I'm actually going to
do a few tutorials today and not have
them scheduled onto YouTube so I can be
out enjoying that you know looking that
I'm digging that you know so that's the
thing don't fight your materials that's
another tip I have to offer you
watercolors are usually transparent
don't fight
that work with it these tend to be a
little more opaque don't fight it work
with it always go with the flow and let
your paint do what it wants to do and
just kind of guide it along can you give
it that uh that guidance you need I'd
still think my credit card scraper which
is a free tool is better than anything
that you can buy so save those gift
cards or old credit cards cut them up
and cut up your credit cards at you that
are current
probably the best thing to do so there's
a little palm tree I'm really diggin
that and if you want to add any like
really really deep shadows in there what
you can do is a go with your green take
that really really dark green you see I
put that right there on the corner of my
pallet add a little bit of a light red
to it because we're not going to
introduce a new red we're gonna use what
we've already have this is brownish
light red and you'll get a really good
black that's actually really Brown I'm
going to take some of that and a little
bit of the ultramarine blue to it
because that will super SuperDuper black
it up okay now I've got this inky black
that if I want to add any of that in
maybe where the the palm fronds would
overlap I can do that I have a few
reference photos open on my Kindle just
so I can see what a palm tree looks like
I don't see too many of those up here
pine trees yes palm trees new so that's
a few see me reaching over I'm just
tapping my screen to keep it awake there
we go I like that just subtle bit of
contrast from the dark there and then
I'm just probably add a little bit of a
shadow on our beach here so I'm going to
water down that that color because this
is dry I can go right over that and I'm
going to just throw in a little bit of a
shadow here nothing too fancy just a
little bit of a shadow oh right now I
mentioned if I wonder if something kind
of um kind of back here let's put maybe
like oh we could put Diamondhead in
there I don't know if I remember all
there were probably a lot more little
hotels stick up in there but let's just
see if I can recall diamond dead I
figured something like this we stayed at
this I'm pretty sure it was the hotel we
stayed on Waikiki Beach where we could
see Diamond Head it's been a while but
oh it's so nice I could just the hole
you
no the ocean around here is cold and
rocky but oceans in Hawaii are so nice
they're so beautiful
let's get that little Peninsula here the
mountain does keep that kind of dull and
darks I don't really know I don't really
remember what it looks like so I'm gonna
try to keep it kind of um kind of baked
might put a little bit of green in there
just to that start the more that purpley
blue we mixed up earlier that I have my
palate will add some of that in there so
it's got a little color too but I don't
have to I don't have to really remember
exactly we're just gonna paint it
there's a mountain back there cuz that's
what you do and you don't quite remember
I just kind of give it a give it the
general the general feel and I want a
little bit more that Beach eNOS will
yell it will go back there I love to
dull that down bit and spread it on over
the rest of the beaches to kinda make it
act like it was there before I put the
palm tree down you do something to one
part of a picture sometimes you need to
do it to the other to make it seem like
it belongs and if one way for time well
16 months aren't doing too bad so you
can use these techniques for whenever
you're painting you know a beach or
something like that I just want to maybe
get a little texture a little napkin
here just dab it with this tissue just
to make it blend in a little bit more
and I want to have a little bit more
depth to the water so I'm going to go a
little bit of a ultramarine here and I
think I'll just kind of add a little bit
of depth over here maybe even add a
little bit of that ultramarine with the
light red mix which is like burnt sienna
just kinda add a little definition
between the water and the sky there we
go
and trying to think think if there's
anything else you really need here our
cloud should be nice and bright it's a
nice bright sunny day and oh a couple
birds flying in the sky I don't really
know what else to add to this it's an
unfamiliar well it's not something I see
every day so I'm gonna make up a little
really dark here with the I'll do my
green I'll do my light red and a little
ultramarine blue that'll give me a nice
black and I'm gonna dab it on my napkin
just to remove any extra color and I
think I will just do a couple little
birds falling off into the sunset or
well it's not really sunset it's just
flying if they're just lying and there
you have it give them a little bit of
bigger wings I could put a jumping whale
we saw some with gosh you could see the
whales right from just driving oh my
gosh it was it was beautiful alright so
there you have it um a quick little
watercolor card with palm tree for dello
thank you so much for watching if you
like this tutorial please give me a
thumbs up and subscribe and until next
time happy crafting