Orange You Glad You Got The Watercolor Blues?

This week, we dive into a vibrant, sun-soaked watercolor adventure with artist Lauren Arno. 

Explore how to heighten a painting's mood by leaning into intense color contrast, balancing deep, highly saturated blues against warm, glowing skin tones to make your portrait pop.

Get comfortable with the fluid nature of watercolor, experimenting with the timing of wet-on-wet washes, and navigating the playful "puzzle" of lifting highlights and letting colors bloom naturally on the paper.

What You'll Learn:

• The Magic of Complementary Schemes: See how mixing cool cyan and phthalo blues alongside warm oranges, roses, and yellows creates an electric, luminous contrast.
• Watercolor Timing & Texture: Manage the delicate balance of paper moisture to control fuzzy versus defined edges, and learn how to intentionally handle watercolor "blooms".

• Painting Shadows with Character: Discover how to build "shadows within shadows"—including the unique reflection of eyelashes and sunglass frames—by blending unexpected purples and rainbows into the deeper values.
• Working with Brush Snaps and Floops: Find out when to use a springy synthetic brush for irregular facial hair details versus a soft natural squirrel brush for seamless, sweeping glazes.

Grab your brushes, and let's get started!