Watercolors in the Wild: Paint a forest sunset with watercolor & Gouache

materials list

For detailed art supply recommendations, please see Andie’s website here.

• Template: Before class, please be sure to follow the link below and print out this file: 9x9Template.jpg.

  Click here to open the template image file to save.

• Please assemble your reference material before class. This can be any photographs of sunsets and forest landscapes that you like. Also helpful: collected tree foliage, bark, and cones. If you can, it is wonderful to work with a window view of trees and/or sky.

• Grids: Before class, use your template to create two lightly-gridded sheets with 2x2 grids using the paper specified below.

• Paper: 4 sheets of hot press and/or cold press watercolor paper measuring about 10x10 or 10x11 inches (you can get 6 pieces measuring 10x11 inches out of one full-size 30x22 inch watercolor sheet). You may also use a sketchbook or journal, if you prefer. Be sure to choose a journal that opens flat, with pages thick enough to handle watercolors.

• No. 2 or HB pencil

• Pigma Micron or other fine-tipped pen in black or sepia

• Ink: dark color like black or sepia

• Watercolor brushes: No. 8 or 10 (or larger) round and a No. 4 round (or “water brush”) are recommended. Also helpful, is a “rigger,” “liner,” or “script” brush, an angle shader, and a short flat or filbert.

• Tube watercolors listed here (and on Andie’s website, link above) are recommended.

  The six recommended double primary colors are:

  • Quinacridone rose, or quinacridone pink, or permanent rose (purple-biased red)

  • Cadmium red or pyrrol scarlet (orange-biased red)

  • Ultramarine blue (purple-biased blue)

  • Phthalo blue, or manganese blue, or cerulean blue (green-biased blue)

  • Lemon yellow, or cadmium yellow pale, or hansa yellow light (green-biased yellow)

  • Hansa yellow deep or cadmium yellow deep (orange-biased yellow)

• Additional recommended colors are:

  • Burnt sienna and/or burnt umber

  • Quinacridone gold

  • Sap green

  • Chromium oxide green

  • Any purple or violet

  • Any orange

• Tube of permanent white gouache paint (not watercolor)

• Paint-mixing palette. This can be a plastic lettuce bin lid, a paper plate covered with saran wrap, a china plate, or a traditional paint palette.

• Paint-mixing containers such as a small cups or dishes

• Paper towels or rags

• Spray bottle and/or eye dropper for water is helpful

• Water containers

• Optional: a light-colored gouache, such as yellow, grey, or light green

• Optional: colored pencils: yellow, cream, light green, light grey

• Optional: a light-colored gouache, such as yellow, grey, or light green

• Optional: ox gall