Watercolor Painting Demo: Fall Grapes & Leaves

Birgit O’Connor | Runtime (56 min)

Paint this dramatic arrangement of grapes and leaves from beginning to end with watercolor lessons from Birgit O’Connor. You’ll learn how to use big washes for smooth color transitions and texture tips that add realistic touches to create a painting that is loose and colorful, with just enough detail to understand the subject. The goal of this painting will be to let the brush do the work for you!

First, you’ll learn a trick for how to block out the grapes and leaves, so you can paint the background freely and let the brush, water, and paint mingle color on the painting surface. Once the rich background is in place, you’ll follow along to paint the grapes and leaves with big watercolor washes, adding layers to create texture and shadow for depth and details. Birgit then shares her color mixing techniques, shows you how to retrieve lost whites and highlights, and demonstrates how to use negative painting to give life to your composition.

Some of the watercolor techniques you’ll learn include:

• Lessons on color mixing, brushstrokes, handling water, using resist elements, and more
• How to use negative painting to create a unique, varied bunch of grapes with shape and depth without painting each one individually
• How to paint shadows to provide contrast and add interest to your painting