Step 1
“Mirrors of Stone” – watercolor painting of Lake Powell by Roland Lee
Step 2
On the stone walls I use a very loose technique of wet into wet, allowing pigment to mingle. Then I use a dry brush technique, laying my brush on its side […]
Step 3
I’m adding the stains and varnish common to the desert southwest. The core shadow side of the stone pillars are warmer in temperature and have reflected light on the back side. […]
Step 4
I complete most of the cliffs, at least with basic washes before moving into the water. I need to know what the cliffs look like before I can effectively create […]
Step 5
The painting in progress in my studio. Notice my reference photo shot at the Lake. I have chosen to significantly change the scene to create more interest. I generally use […]
Step 6
Now I start to carefully build up the water reflections. The shrubs on the right foreground are created as I paint the darker water reflections behind them. See the close-up […]
Step 7
Using my pencil, I lightly sketch in the shapes of the shrubs and branches. This is my guide for painting the darker shapes around them.
Step 8
Now I have the overall shapes of both the water and the shrubs. All I need to do next is model the branches with color and value.
Step 9
I move back into the water carefully painting the reflections. Based on the law of linear perspective, the intervals between the ripples and reflection breaks get narrower as they go […]
