Step 1
Peaceful River 8 x 12 Watercolor painting by Roland Lee
Step 2
In the beginning stages I use broad loose washes to describe both the water and trees. I am preserving whites and lighter glazes which will become highlights in the finished painting.
Step 3
Examine the tree area in the upper right. I have used a 2B pencil to outline a few areas where I intend to create edges with succeeding glazes of darker paint.
Step 4
Using the negative painting technique I start to shape the white tree trunks and upper foliage as well as the distant spruces. Now I move to the foliage on the left of the painting and use my pencil to create more overlapping shapes. I also sketch in some more rocks and foreground detail.
Step 5
Can you identify all the places in this painting where I used negative painting to create positive and negative shapes in the foliage? Remember we only see shapes in nature because we see their edges. And we only see edges when there is a value change. Learn to look for this in nature.