I will teach several techniques while at the same time they see, right before their eyes, a beautiful landscape emerge from their watercolor placement on the paper.
The creation of a watercolor painting  is unique.  It’s involves techniques that allow the paint to flow beautifully onto the paper. This class will allow the students to learn various techniques to create the illusion of depth while at the same time enjoy the creative process.

In this class , I will guide the  students step by step in the creation of a beautiful mountainous  landscape with a plum blossom tree as the foreground focal point. They will discover the wet on wet , wet on dry, and easy strokes while they create their masterpiece.  They will also learn how to saturate the paper with water, how to load the brush with paint and how to move their hands for the brushstrokes. The illusion of aerial perspective is explained and how the use of colors help create this distance between background, middle ground and foreground.

The class is structured in a series of demonstrations, practice time, open dialogue for questions and answers about the process and sharing of results.

Materials are discussed and different ways to add water to pigment are shown. Brush strokes are modeled for them to recreate.
Composition of the Landscape will be discussed. Background, middle ground and foreground will be identified and each will have variations in techniques.

I will guide the students in a combination of dialogue, demonstrations, practice and follow along step by steps to aid in the completion of the final composition.  The class demonstrations will be divided in several steps in using the watercolors, after which the students will practice and continue with their compositions a portion at a time.
Students having a more difficult time will follow along with brushstrokes as they are demonstrated again.
Students can talk about their doubts concerning the correct holding of the brush, pigment saturation, paper saturation and strokes.
At least two sheets of watercolour paper should be available. One is for practicing the techniques. The second is for the final composition.

1.  The background is demonstrated using wet on wet technique, students will be shown how to correctly saturate paper to do this technique. They will also be shown correct blue hue to correspond to the sky. They will practice it on a practice paper and then will do it on their project paper. Some areas are blotted to create “clouds.”  This allow them to create their own unique “sky.”

2.  The middle ground represents a mountainous area and is a combination of wet on wet and wet on dry techniques. The wet on wet on the middle ground  is demonstrated with color mixtures of blues and purples to create de illusion of distant mountains. Students practice and then do the  middle ground on project paper.  More pigment is added to first layer as it is drying.
The project paper is set aside to allow to completely dry (about 10 minutes)  This time is used to practice the different strokes that will be used in the foreground. 

3.  The foreground composition, which is basically the plum blossom, is demonstrated. First the tree bark and branches and then the flower clusters. It is done in using a wet on dry technique with simple strokes.
Correct holding of the brush and movement of the hand is demonstrated to achieve brushstroke control
Students practice holding brush, saturating with pigments and moving hand and arm to recreate the brushstrokes.

Specific brushstrokes of bark and branches are demonstrated and students continue to practice holding the brush and movement of hand to do brushstrokes. Black and brown colors are mixed for bark and branches.
Visual demonstration of adding water to pigment, saturating brush adequately and placing brushstrokes on paper with correct hand movement to create bark and branches of tree are repeated to help with learning the process.
Students will follow up while they listen to the step by step procedure to obtain the correct brushstrokes for the bark and branches.
They are encouraged to saturate well their brushes so that all the parts of tree are done in a multitude of simple stroke movements.
Finally, in the foreground, will do bark and branches on project paper.
Strokes of plum blossom flowers are demonstrated .  Mixtures of different hues of dark pink are seen and how the the flowers can vary in hues. Buds can also be added and these stokes are also demonstrated.  
Students will practice and then proceed to add flower strokes to their compositions.
They are reminded that pigment saturation of plum blossoms can vary to denote distance between the clusters. 

Other elements such as birds , leaves, buds and grass can be added in the composition and this will be demonstrated step by step. 
Students with difficulty in doing interior of flower or birds using brushstrokes can use their fine point marker.

The final touch is their signature, which they practice first if it is being done with a brush. They can also sign with the marker.


The possibility of changing the elements of the composition is discussed. Example: the tree to the right instead of the left, more or less birds and/or changing the height of the mountain area.