Linda Baker: Layers of Design in Watercolor

Learn how to create complicated watercolor paintings in a straightforward way with Linda Baker in her first art art instruction video.

Linda starts with a road map that allows her to play with her favorite watercolor techniques to create texture and depth in her piece. Baker begins with sketches and thumbnails where she makes her value pattern decisions. She transfers her drawing onto the page and begins her masking process. Masking is a large part of Baker's process and it allows her to create clean crisp edges without the painstaking effort of carefully painting in each watercolor line. Baker's art lessons are really about texture.

You'll use different watercolor texture techniques in each of four distinct layers in your still life, and the watercolor painting techniques you learn will add excitement to portraits, landscapes, florals, and more.

Baker doesn't dwell on mistakes - you'll learn to make the best of what you get. You'll integrate layers by softening masked edges and blend colors with tilting and a spray bottle. Baker will teach you how to paint with a plan so that once the thinking is done, you can play with color, texture, and paint.

BONUS CLIP: Critiquing and Finishing a Watercolor Painting: Keyless Entry

In this demonstration watercolorist Linda Baker critiques a nearly complete painting and modifies it to strengthen the design. She softens graphic edges with clean water and scrubs pigment from distracting corners to keep the viewer's eye from leaving the composition. The painting she modifies, Keyless Entry, went on to win an award at the 2010 San Diego Watercolor Society International Exhibition.

Enjoy a two-part interview with Linda Baker