Dale Laitinen Combo Set

The Language of Landscape in Watercolor 

Learn to paint landscapes that make a statement. Follow watercolor expert Dale Laitinen on a quest to capture a sense of the monumental.

In this video workshop, you use bold color to create drama as you paint the great granite cliffs of Yosemite. Learn to see the landscape like an artist. You learn to take photos that maximize the glory of the mountains and modify your sketch to highlight features in the granite. You balance stable horizontal planes with energetic diagonals, and translate the lines into strong shapes in your watercolor.

Dale describes painting as a battle of the edges. You contrast hard and soft lines for variety, and learn techniques for creating lost-and-found edges that keep viewers curious. Dale teaches you to inject emotion with daring color choices and maintain transparency as you layer. As you move from broad strokes on the cliff to points of light in the trees, you learn to make each element say exactly what you feel.

BONUS CLIP: Tree Line and Rock Face

Landscape Essentials in Watercolor

From composition to brush work, you'll learn everything you need to paint your favorite places on earth. You learn to control water and pigment as Dale leads a quick tour of basic washes and brush strokes. Once you're comfortable with your tools, he helps you discover the most important elements in your photo. You capture basic shapes in a reference sketch, and you learn when to make the critical adjustments that create a strong design. Dark and light shapes form the basis for a successful composition, and Dale helps you master them with a black-and-white value painting.

You create deep, convincing shadows and paint realistic objects without getting bogged down in detail. You apply what you've learned in the value painting to a full-color demo that captures the majesty of the California coast. You learn when and where to use specific pigments and how to create interesting transitions by blending colors on your paper. By the time you add your last layer of detail, you'll never look at landscape the same way. See nature from a new vantage point in Landscape Essentials in Watercolor with Dale Laitinen.

BONUS CLIP: Stepping Down Values