5 Free Watercolor Lessons to Start Painting in 2024

Unlock Your Artistic Potential in 2024: Get 5 Free Watercolor Lessons & Start Painting Today!

Watercolor paint is an ancient form of painting, if not the most ancient form of art itself. It dates back to the cave paintings of paleolithic Europe. Maybe you think you wouldn't fit in during those times, you might deem yourself to be too metropolitan for that kind of environment, but what if you knew how to paint? Perhaps that could save you from the "hunting a bear rite of passage"? Just in case you were planing on traveling to the past... This article will help you immensely!

These lessons will be open from the 12th until the 27th of January at 00.00H! What are you waiting for? This is enough time to take a taste sample of all courses these tutorials are taken from. Maybe not enough time to travel back to paleolithic Europe...

1. Free Class: Brushes

Inga Buividavice (@inga_buive) is not only the teacher of this free class but she is also a renowned graphic designer and watercolorist living in the UK. Her works easily catch our attention thanks to her unique style that clearly captures her love for nature. I will let her describe the lesson for us:

"In this lesson, we'll get to know our brushes while doing some pressing exercises and experimenting with brush strokes. Then we will try different watercolor effects and document each one of them."

- Inga Buividavice

Click here to acquire your free class.

And remember: this video lesson is part of the Domestika online course: Floral Watercolor: Connect with Nature where you will explore pigments and textures to create botanical compositions that represent the beauty of the natural world. Make nature jealous of your painting's beauty!

2. Free Class: Watercolor Washes

David Poxon (@david_poxon) is a celebrated English artist, specializing in pure watercolor painting. With a global reputation for his meticulous attention to detail and mastery of surface textures, his work has captivated audiences around the world. David has shown his art in solo and group exhibitions in the United Kingdom, China, Japan, America and Europe. Oh, and he will also be your teacher!

He will describe the contents of this lesson for us:

"I will explain and demonstrate the most commonly used washing techniques. You will see the amazing effects you can achieve using my variegated wash technique with a special 3-way color system. You will also learn to control and develop tonal values and moderate colors using glazing to create eye-catching images."

- David Poxon

Click here to acquire your free class

This video lesson is part of the Domestika online course: Watercolor Textures Masterclass. Discover the secret world of watercolor textures in this magnificent course.

3. Free Class: Wet Paper

Sarah Stokes (@sarah_stokes) is a self-taught artist from the Midlands region of England (is England a watercolor?), a place where she finds inspiration and creates works full of life. Since she was young, Sarah has always been happy painting and drawing, so after using her creativity to forge a successful professional career, she decided to return to her true passion. In this lesson she will teach us about the effect wet paper has on watercolor painting. I'll let her explain:

“In this lesson, we'll look at how to tell how wet the paper is and examine how the wetness of the paper affects the spread of the paint.”

- Sarah Stokes

Click here to acquire your free class

This video lesson is part of the Domestika online course: Artistic watercolor for bird illustration. Explore modern watercolor painting methods to illustrate wildlife.

4. Free Class: Watercolor Basics

Enya Todd (@enya_todd) is a freelance illustrator from Macau, China. Her first contact with watercolors was at the age of 6 and, as an adult, she studied Graphic Design in her native country. Fresh out of school she began working for advertising agencies in Shanghai and Macau, before moving to London to pursue a master's degree in design management. Later, on a trip to Paris, she began making illustrations of sweets on social media and, years later, on her own website. After all those trips she has gather the expertise and time to teach us what she has learned in this lesson covering the basics of watercoloring:

“It's time to start painting! You will see here how I paint my illustration from start to finish. First I'll show you how I set up my desktop and the tools I chose for my project... I will start with the lighter colors and then gradually move on to the darker areas"

- Enya Todd

Click here to acquire your free class

This is just one lesson from the whole Domestika online course:
Gastronomic illustration with watercolor. Just remember to paint the sweets before you eat them!

5. Free Class: The Glaze

Felix Scheinberger is a master in the art of expressing visual ideas freely and an expert at teaching others to do the same. To sum it up he is an "expert master"! He studied Illustration Design in Hamburg, Germany, and has illustrated for magazines, publishers, newspapers and even techno music clubs in Berlin. That shouldn't surprise anyone techno music clubs have their own ministry in Germany. Felix will teach us a more technical aspect of watercolor painting this time around:

"In the simplest terms, watercolor glazing can be compared to a pair of sunglasses in that it provides a darker coating over the light. If you were to put a pair of sunglasses on over another, you would notice that things get a little darker with each pair. A glaze works basically the same way: we see our drawing (or parts of it) through a layer of color."

- Felix Scheinberger

Click here to acquire your free class

This lesson is part of the Domestika online course: Artistic sketching in watercolor: dare to express your ideas. Learn to freely illustrate everything around you and inside you through watercolors and ink.

If free lessons aren't your "cup of tea" and you like to pay for your classes because you are a righteous individual with an immutable moral compass, suit yourself and check out some of our paying options. I hope you at least like discounts, jeez!

- Watercolor classes online
- Watercolor painting ideas
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