Paint a Warm-and-Cool Watercolor Portrait with Jenny Barnes

In today's lesson (92 mins), Jenny Barnes shares her intuitive, playful approach to watercolor, where expression takes priority over precision.

Painting her own daughter, Jenny begins with a light graphite sketch to establish just enough structure, then quickly shifts to paint. She doesn’t map everything out in advance; instead, she lets the painting evolve organically. Her palette is limited—just three pigments—but her use of them is confident and bold.

Jenny demonstrates how to lay in shapes with gesture and spontaneity, balancing speed with control. You’ll see how she allows the paint to move freely on the page, using water to suggest form and mood rather than define it. When something feels overworked, she’s not afraid to start again, knowing each version brings something new.

This is a lesson in letting go of perfection, staying open to surprises, and finding character in looseness. Jenny’s process is unguarded, expressive, and refreshingly human, offering permission to explore, erase, and try again.

Ready to paint a warm-and-cool portrait with Jenny? Let's get started!