Gareth Naylor

Atmospheric paintings of Japan

Category: Watercolor demonstration

  • Beautiful fluffy white clouds – Watercolor demonstration – Intermediate lesson

    Beautiful fluffy white clouds – Watercolor demonstration – Intermediate lesson

    Place

    This is Shikashima island. I visited this place in 2016 with my family. It is a small island and it only took about 15 minutes to drive around it. On the far side of the island, I came across a rugged seascape with beautiful fluffy white clouds. 

    Video 

    In the video lesson below, I will show you how to paint this scene in 5 simple stages.

    Main materials

    4 brushes

    Flat brush25 mm diameter (1″)
    Mop or quill brush10 mm diameter (just over 3/8”)
    Pointed oval10 mm diameter (3/5”)
    Bamboo brushLong and thin

    5 paints

    Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)Ultramarine blue is also okay.
    Cobalt Turquoise LightCerulean is also okay.
    Permanent Alizarin CrimsonAny cool red is okay, even a warm red will do.
    Yellow Ochre
    Titanium whiteAny white will do.

    Note: If you don’t have these colors and can’t wait, then just use the colors you’ve got.

    Paper

    Watercolor paper34 x 24 cms (13” x 10”)

    Note: I recommend a spiral bound pad.

    Reference photo

    Fluffy white clouds reference photoDownload

    Reference painting

    Fluffy white clouds reference paintingDownload
  • Sea scene with a dramatic evening sky – Watercolor demonstration – Advanced lesson

    Sea scene with a dramatic evening sky – Watercolor demonstration – Advanced lesson

    Place

    This is Beppu bay. It is in Oita prefecture, Japan. And this particular part of the bay is about a 5 minute bicycle ride from my house. In the summer of 2016, I often went to this bay to paint the sun setting over the sea. It is an inspiring place.

    Video

    In the video lesson below, I will show you how to paint this scene in 5 simple stages.

    Main materials

    4 Brushes

    Flat brush25 mm diameter (1″)
    Mop or quill brush10 mm diameter (just over 3/8”)
    Pointed oval10 mm diameter (3/5”)
    Liner

    5 Paints

    Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)Ultramarine blue is also okay.
    Cobalt Turquoise LightCerulean is also okay.
    Permanent Alizarin CrimsonAny cool red is okay, even a warm red will do.
    Yellow Ochre
    Titanium whiteAny white will do.

    Note: I recommend 15ml tubes. Also if you don’t have these colors and can’t wait, then just use the colors you’ve got.

    Paper

    Watercolor paper34 x 24 cms (13” x 10”)

    Note: I recommend a spiral bound pad. Also, I normally use a 34 x 24 cms (13” x 10”) pad. But in this video I use a 41 x 32 cm (16” x 12”) pad.

    Reference photo

    Photograph of Beppu bayDownload

    Reference painting

    Beppu bay reference paintingDownload
  • Japanese rice field at evening time – Watercolor demonstration – Intermediate lesson

    Japanese rice field at evening time – Watercolor demonstration – Intermediate lesson

    In the autumn of 2022, I visited a village called Akitsuki. This is a beautiful village in Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. It was a family trip. And at the end of the day, I wandered around some rice fields and came across the beautiful scene below.

    In the video lesson below, I show you how to paint this scene in 5 simple stages.

    Video lesson

    Main materials

    3 Brushes

    Mop or quill brush10 mm or just over 3/8” width
    Pointed oval10 mm or 3/5” width
    Liner

    6 Paints

    Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)Ultramarine blue is also okay.
    Cobalt Turquoise LightCerulean is also okay.
    Permanent Alizarin Crimson
    Yellow Ochre
    Imidazolone LemonAureolin is okay.
    Titanium whiteAny white will do.

    Note

    If you don’t have these colors and can’t wait then just use the colors you’ve got.

    Paper

    Watercolor paper34 x 24 cms (13” x 10”)

    Reference photo

    Rice field reference photoDownload

    Reference painting

    Rice field reference paintingDownload