Watercolor Landscape Painting Lessons

Self-paced, in-depth, comprehensive lessons cover essential ideas and skills for painting landscape scenes in watercolor. 

LOGIN with your WATERCOLOR ESSENTIALS or WATERCOLOR MASTERY Membership

 

Lessons cover the “What’s”, ”How’s”, and “Why’s” of watercolor landscape painting

  • Complete, comprehensive lessons and tutorials
  • Supporting info and videos
  • Lessons integrate ideas about color and composition
  • Lessons broken into bite-sized sections – stop and start as you need
  • Download Info, Image References and Layouts For Each Lesson
yellow irises watercolor painting

Fall Landscape With Golden Foliage

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • How to use color harmony to create light, form and ‘glow’ on bright foliage
  • Use color contrast to boost apparent brightness and color intensity
  • The power of simple value compositions

GO TO LESSON

swamp scene on a misty summer day in watercolor painting lesson

Summer Swamp Scene With Aerial Perspective

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • Using the unusual Secondary Triad Color Scheme
  • Creating atmosphere and Aerial Perspective
  • Using a simple Value Composition to enhance space, distance and Aerial Perspective

GO TO LESSON

Winter Landscape Stream Watercolor Lesson

Winter Landscape And Frozen Stream

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • Using a simple Value Composition for structure and light
  • Use a simple limited color palette that works well for any winter scene
  • How to create light and drama with value and temperature contrasts

GO TO LESSON

yellow irises watercolor painting

Barn In Late Fall

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • How to effectively use a Primary Triad Color Scheme for a full color range
  • Let the Value Composition form the structure of the painting
  • Create light even in darker value areas

GO TO LESSON

painting winter trees in a winter landscape in watercolor

Winter Trees In A Winter Landscape

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • How to create a simple, strong two value composition
  •  Practice mixing useful neutral color mixtures to keep the scene lively even though it is a gray winter day
  • Use a value composition along with lively neutrals to create a dynamic scene

GO TO LESSON

black eyed susans painted in a watercolor vignette

Paint The Early Spring Landscape

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • Learn how to make the best of a limited color palette
  • Learn to use the surface of Rough paper for sparkle and texture
  • Learn to make light the main subject

AN EASIER LESSON APPROACHABLE BY EVERYONE

GO TO LESSON

Forsythia in bloom and spring light in watercolor painting lesson

Forsythia In Spring Light

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • How to use a simple Value Composition to bring focus to the main subject.
  • Using a consciously chosen color scheme that works with the value composition to bring focus and to create the sense of warm spring light.
  • Use a combination of basic techniques and methods for variety and visual richness

GO TO LESSON

still life watercolor painting on hot press paper

Quiet Winter Scene On Rough Paper

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • Learn to create a value composition that interlocks planes of space and creates a strong center of attention
  • Learn how to make the best of the texture of rough paper
  • Learn to let the value composition guide the placement of hue and value

WORK WITH A DIRECT APPROACH ON ROUGH PAPER

GO TO LESSON

lemons and plums in a watercolor still life painting

Paint A Fresh Winter Landscape Scene

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • Learn how to make the best of a limited color palette
  • Learn to use the surface of Rough paper for sparkle and texture
  • Learn to make light the main subject

THIS LESSON MAKES GREAT USE OF BASIC WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUES ON ROUGH PAPER

GO TO LESSON

covered bridge in morning light watercolor painting lesson finished work

Covered Bridge In Morning Light

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • Learn to create a simple but dynamic value composition
  • Create a Color Studies to choose colors and guide the painting
  • Learn how to maintain value when working in color

THIS IS AN INTEGRATED LESSON WITH PRACTICE IN VALUE COMPOSITION AND COLOR STUDIES

GO TO LESSON

Paint a summer scene with sparkling water in this watercolor painting lesson.

Summer Landscape With Sparkling River

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • How to paint the deep greens of summer
  • Use a Value Composition to develop a sense of light
  • Develop the painting fast by laying in value areas quickly

THIS IS A MORE CHALLENGING LESSON

GO TO LESSON

watercolor painting of a sycamore tree and landscape

Sycamore Tree And Spring Landscape

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • How to paint the unique look of the Sycamore tree
  • To create the look of early spring with the right color combinations
  • Using a precise drawing when needed

THIS IS AN EASY LESSON FOR EVERYONE

GO TO LESSON