Photo Reference: https://unsplash.com/photos/landscape-photography-of-field-Zm2n2O7Fph4
Hey everyone, it’s Kate here! Today’s video is a little different from usual. I’m doing a watercolor landscape sunrise painting using my MozArt Komorebi palette and trying out some Artist Loft watercolor paper I got on sale at Michaels. It’s a cellulose paper, which is different from the cotton watercolor paper I normally use. It was interesting to see how the texture would affect the painting.
I found a reference photo of a sunrise landscape with a big tree, and I linked it in case you want to follow along. I wanted to challenge myself with painting sunlight in watercolors, which can be tricky because watercolor is transparent and so you generally paint light to dark.
Since it’s a sunrise, I started with a big block of yellow where the sun will be. This will create a nice base of brightness that will peek through even with other layers on top.
I also love painting leaves, so I had a blast adding lots of color variation to the tree. I built up the tree with greens, Payne’s Grey, and even some golden tones to represent sunlight shining through.
This Artist’s Loft paper actually surprised me. As far as cellulose paper goes, I think I might even like it better than the Canson watercolor paper I used before.
While I don’t usually do super realistic paintings, I did enjoy doing this slightly abstracted but representational landscape. This painting kind of reminds me of a recent video where I did a flower pot and flowers against a brick wall. It was a fun change from my usual abstract style.
The process was all about building up layers, letting things dry in between, and experimenting with adding texture with my brushstrokes. I love how the contrast between the sunrise and the cooler tones on the left side of the painting makes the light really pop.
Overall, I’m really happy with how this turned out, especially considering I used a paper I’m not super familiar with. It just goes to show that you can create beautiful art on different surfaces, as long as you know what to expect from the paper.
For the finishing touches, I went in with my liner brush to add the tree branches. They really completed the whole look and made the tree come to life.
This was a fun and relaxing project, and I think it would be a great starting point for beginners. Just grab your paints, some watercolor paper (any kind!), and experiment with colors and techniques. There are no rules, so have fun and see what you create!
I hope you enjoyed this little experiment with me! Thanks for watching, and keep creating!