Light and Shadow

How to paint shadows in watercolor

One of the classes I had a chance to attend this fall was about how to make shadows in watercolor.

(Click on any of the images below to see the full version of each.)

Color Swatching

First we tested our neutrals colors, and did a few exercises and theory work. As someone who didn’t take any art classes or go to art school, much of this information is new for me.

Class notes:

Then we practiced loosely blending the neutral colors with each other, and created another swatch sample with primary colors. On the right of each color you’ll see a “gray” streak. On the left, you’ll see a series of neutral colors that were created using the original swatch color plus a complimentary combination to get a new gray color.

In a nutshell, we were learning how to create shadow by using a darker version of the object’s original color and mixing that color with its complement on the color wheel - avoiding black or gray pigments which makes the shadow too stark and unrealistic.

Here were the reference sheets for the following exercises.

And these were my practice exercises.

Here was my final image for the class, which was an amalgamation of the hills scene and the barn with shading. I ended up using the neutral palette for the hills and regular primaries for the barn and greenery, but learned that I’m not supposed to use these palettes together.

I’ve learned a similar concept in Shari Blaukopf’s online “Light, Color, Shadow” course for those looking for something remote.

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Thanks,

-Lana