Urban Watercolor Sketching

Table Of Contents

INTRO
Watercolors—In or Out?
A Painting for the Emperor
Gum Arabic: Where the Watercolors Grow
Pigments: The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
Yellow and Orange: Of Camels and Crocuses
Red and Purple: Of Bugs and Snails
Blue: Of Lapis Lazuli, Indigo, and Woad
Green: Of Plants and Poison
Introducing Color to Sketches:
We’re Not in Kansas Anymore
 
FIRST ATTEMPTS
Multiple Choice: To Design Is to Decide
From Dusk till Dawn: Shadows and Light
Black Is Back: Glazing with India Ink
Layer for Layer: The Glaze
Mixing Colors with Glazes
Fish Soup: Practicing the Glaze
The Wash: The Paint Does as It Pleases!
On the Run: Graded Wash Techniques
Once More, with Feeling!: Washes
It’s a Give and Take: Applying and Removing Paint 
Wet-on-Wet
Combining Techniques: A Little Bit of This and That 
 
EXCURSION IN COLOR THEORY
Where Do Colors Come From?:  
The Simple Science
Arranging Colors
Opposites Attract: Color Contrasts
From South Park to Stoplights: Types of Color
True Color: The Effect of Light 
Every Color Tells a Story: Intensifying Your Sketches
It’s All Relative: The Effects of Colors
Color Harmonies: Simple and Complex
Analogous, Monochromatic, and Complementary Harmonies
Triadic and Tetradic Harmonies
Cool-Cool and Warm-Warm Harmonies
Collecting Colors
Designing Color Harmonies: Working with Color Code Strips
Getting Out of Your Color Comfort Zone  
The Blue Ridge Mountains: Color and Perspective
 
YOUR OWN STYLE
Less Is More
Me, Myself, and I: Finding Your Own Style
Style and Creativity
Throwing Down: Loosening Up Your Painting
Seek Not and You Shall Find: Imagination vs. Internet
Make It Matter
Priorities 
 
BASICS / TOOLS
Paintboxes
Watercolor Pencils
Buying Paints
Mixing Paints
Impossible Hues: Bright Colors
Pimping Watercolors: Making Colors Pop
Liquid Watercolors: Bright Now, Pale Later
Into the Wild: Brushes
Even More Brushes
Paper 
The Permanent Wave: Stretching Paper 
The Contents of My Bag

OUT & ABOUT
Bad Weather: Painting Outdoors
The Other Viewpoint: Changing Perspective
Painting Water  
Air, Fog, Smoke
Smog and Atmosphere
What Is Beauty Anyway? 

TIPS & TRICKS
Composition and Design
Smudges and Spots
Painting What’s Not There: Negative Space
White: A Special Case
Studies, Sketches, and Drafts  
Undo
Merging Colors: Working from One Color
Working with Colored Paper
Special Effects
Lettering and Writing
Layouts, Scribbles, and Storyboards
Watercolor Illustrations
How Much Is Your Picture Worth?
Everything Ends: When Is a Picture Finished?


Index