Looseness Leads to Likeness: Paint a Watercolor Portrait with David Tenorio
Looseness isn’t just a style choice—it’s a strategy.
What if letting go of control made your portrait stronger? In this watercolor lesson (81 mins), artist David Tenorio shows how looseness isn’t just a style choice—it’s a strategy.
Working in his signature sketchbook style, David layers gesture, color, and bold shadow shapes to build a portrait that feels alive without obsessing over precision.
You’ll explore how to let the paint lead, how to design interesting shapes rather than just filling them in, and how to balance control with spontaneity.
With an emphasis on suggestion over minutia, David’s process turns watercolor into a kind of expressive drawing, one that welcomes imperfection and rewards confidence.
Perfect for anyone looking to loosen up and build color courage, this lesson comes from Sktchy's latest 30-day portrait challenge. (Sktchy is our sibling site.)
Ready to loosen up and brush up with David? Let's get started!
