Animals in Art Week
I feel very honored to write the tutorial for you this time. My name is Erdbeerstern and today I'm gonna show you how to paint 
a realistic traditional bird with watercolors. I tried to keep it as simple as I could, hope you'll enjoy!
What you need:

Two brushes. Small and middle sized, I used a 'da vinci' brush in size 2 & a 'van gogh' brush in size 6. 
A pencil for the draft is also needed!
You also need a cup of water
For this tutorial we won't need a lot of colors, don't worry if you don't have  a big palette.
We'll only need 4-5 different colors. As you can see I used the van Gogh ones but don't be afraid to use any other watercolor.
The colors are: 
1 - Lavender [525 in van Gogh colors]
2 - Phthalo blue [570]
3 - Payne’s grey [708]
4 - Ivory black [701]
5 - Prussian blue [508]

Gallery Descriptions and Miscats Month
Hi, I’m NykolaiAleksander, I am the Traditional Art CV…
… and we need to talk.
Houston, we have a Problem!
As one of the most extensive galleries on DeviantArt, Traditional Art is a vast cosmos of categories, sub-categories, and even sub-sub-categories. Okay, maybe not vast, but you get the idea. All in all, it is quite spectacular to look at. However, the moment you step a little closer and try to unravel its mysteries, there are a few things that might cause you to scratch your head in confusion.
Confusion is never fun. We don't want that. We want a little clarity.
Therefore go grab a drink and sit back, so we can get this party started and shed some light on the good, the bad, and the ugly.


What is Traditional Art?
As surprising as this may sound, from my time going through the Traditional Art gallery it’s become clear to me that apparently it is not al

Hello The title sounds interesting, right? And so should be also your watercolor landscape painting. There are many styles of painting from hyper realistic, semi realistic to abstract. Today I want to show you how to use 10 watercolor painting techniques to make your landscape more interesting. A fun side effect is, that it's even more fun for you to paint. I will take my own photo as a reference and won't worry too much about how realistic the painting will look like. It's all about pure creativity and having fun.I chose this particular photo because it has lots of green color and lots of foliage. If you ever painted such a landscape you know the outcome. A landscape painting that can easily turn into a green rectangular mess. Before I started to paint, I made a quick pencil drawing. Then it was time for me to decide which technique to use for what part of the painting. The easiest was to see what would be suitable for the plastic wrap technique and the masking fluid technique. For the other techniques I just picked the places more or less randomly.On the left side you can see my watercolor painting and on the right my reference photo. The number marks indicate the place where I used a certain watercolor painting technique.In this tutorial I won't go in detail how each individual painting technique is created, I will just try to show you, how you can also create an interesting looking landscape with watercolors.Let's begin with the first steps!Art materials I used:watercolor paper Fabriano watercolor studio 300g/m2 , 140lbswatercolor brush daVinci casaneo no.16, flat, daVinci Cosmotop-spin no.5, roundwatercolors White Nights no.215 Hanza Yellow, no. 727 Olive Green, no.725 Green, no. 408 Burnt Umber, no. 413 Sepia, no. 812 Payne's Greyalcohol, table salt, paper tissue, masking fluid Schmincke, kitchen plastic wrap1.) Wet on wet techniqueI started with the painting process by first wetting the first upper half of the watercolor paper with water. For this I just used a flat brush that was wet. Then I started to add different colors on the wetted area. The colors started to melt between each other and also into the area that was just wet on the paper. The first impression you get is mess...pure mess. But that's a good mess.A small tip: A wet watercolor painting will always look bad. That's why you shouldn't panic and no matter what stop the painting process. Wait for the painting to dry. When the watercolor paper gets dry, the colors always look lighter, smoother and more "dream like".Then I started to paint other areas like you would normally do (wet on dry). First layers are always light, then you can start to add darker colors. To keep some areas wet, I added lots of wet color. Another thing I did is hurry...like really hurry. It's one thing to do just one separate technique or 5 techniques at the same time to keep the painting color consistent and looking "together" without getting the sharp, transitioning edges in between them.I didn't think too much where something starts and something ends, but I more or less tried to capture the light areas and the dark ones, where something is green (foliage, trees) and where brown (rocks). I knew that the different techniques I will use, will do the job for me.2.) Plastic wrap techniqueA great technique that can be sometimes tricky to pull off. With me it's sometimes a hit, other times a miss. The darker colors you will use, the more the pattern will show. I used small pieces of the plastic wrap to make it more easier to spread on the paper. I left it on the paper for the whole time of the painting process. Only after it was completely dry, I have removed it. To add more drama to the texture, I have then painted some parts with brown color, to make them more darker.3.) Alcohol techniqueFirst I added some color and then added couple of droplets of alcohol. I think that I could maybe wait just a little bit more for the color to dry, because the alcohol droplets did "vanish" into the wet area a little bit. But it was still a good result.4.) Softening the edges techniqueIt's very simple and very useful for many occasions. For this landscape painting I added dark green and then cleared the brush off in a glass of water. Then I took away some excess water from the brush and when it was still wet, went around the edges of the green color to wet the area, to make the green color run into the wet paper area.5.) Salt techniqueIt's one of the most known and used technique in watercolor for creating special effects. The only problem is that most of the time you can't predict if it will work or not. The outcome depends on the color pigment, the dry/wet state of the color and on the salt. By salt I mean if it's wet or dry. I started to notice that because of the humidity in my room the salt likes to get wet and this isn't the best for a watercolor painting. That's why I sometimes end up with paper areas that never want to dry out where I put the salt on. So if this happens to you to, you know why. 6.) Paper tissue techniqueThis technique is most of the time shown in relation to cloud painting tutorials. But why just stick to clouds, right? You can use the paper tissue also to create interesting looking texture by lifting some parts of the colors. You just have to make sure to not be too late with it, otherwise the colors won't lift up anymore.7.) Lifting techniqueYes, there's also the lifting of colors technique with a wet brush. You have to pick the perfect time, to start to wet the area. The best is when the paper is still damp and the colors have a little bit of shine on them. Just make sure the brush isn't too wet either, so you won't get water droplets falling on the paper. You can always re-wet the brush and "paint" with it on the spot you want to remove the color. For the best outcome and to prevent any further running of color, use in between some paper tissue to collect the water on the paper. But do it gently. Just a little bit of pressing down and lifting up of the tissue. You can again repeat the process with the wet brush and the paper tissue.8.) Dry brush techniqueA very nice technique for creating light reflections on lakes or any water landscapes. I used it for the stone stairs. The brush needs to be more on the dry side, but still wet enough for the color to be transferred on the paper. You just gently glide with the brush on the surface of the paper, almost barely touch it. In my final painting this technique isn't visible anymore, since I decided to paint the stairs with some dark color afterwards. But I could have left it also that way.9.) Masking fluid techniqueWatercolors and masking fluid are best friends in watercolor paintings, so why not use it also in a landscape like this. The masking fluid can be added on the desired parts of the painting that you want to preserve. I could use it for highlights, but instead I used it for individual leafs. With that I made them look more 3D like and made them more stand out from the painting.10.) Splatter techniqueNot a must to use watercolor technique, but why not make the painting more loose looking, more artsy. You just make the colors more watery and splatter them with the brush around the areas you want the dots to appear. In case you want to avoid some areas, try to cover them with a piece of paper. We are done! We painted 1 watercolor landscape with 10 different watercolor painting techniques.Here's the final version of my watercolor landscape painting:You can use any kind of watercolor techniques you want in your painting. There are even more than those that I have just listed. Maybe you will use only one or two techniques or use more than five. It all depends on your style and what you like. But remember that using more watercolor techniques, doesn't mean that the quality of the painting will get better. Use the techniques wisely! Thank you for taking your time and going through my tutorial. If you have any additional questions or even some suggestions or tips, I would be very happy to hear from you....

TEN STEPS.Bonjour!!This is my first time writing a tutorial! Wish me luck. This is mainly for the group @watercolorists wich is planning run some tutorials in a lot of areas every three months (if people join, of course). So if you want to share your skills in anything related to watercolors (how to paint, brands, paper, tehcnique, business, etc) you will be VERY welcome.If you're reading this, it means you somehow love roses or do have some interest in paintint it. Or you're a BIG curious, haha.Whatever. I'm here to show you one of my ways to paint roses.I love lists, so: There's a lot of roses types. Our category here will be a sweet modern garden rose. (The popular rose that looks like a rose in fact, haha.) If my memory is good enough, since the pic is old and had been on my phone from a long time, it is an hybrid tea rose from David Austin. Read more here. This is not a tutorial for an extremely realistic painting. It's more a impressionist-like rose. The far you see it, the colors join in your vision. It is simple so everyone can join, even if it is you first time painting watercolors.This is our model girl. No source, couldn't find the direct link. :(((IMPORTANT: How to draw a rose?The best thing to paint something is to know the structure of that something.Roses are shaped like cups. The stem of the rose is centered with the core, where there is that beautiful yellow.The petals are born like fish scales, one above the joint of the other two. They are NOT born exactly one above the other. (You can see it in the example. The three petals at the bottom.)The amount of petals vary a lot. If you put too many or too few petals, you will end up making a rose, whether you like it or not. hahaI'm writing this because: I didn't take pictures. But I plan, I plan... It would be very long for only a tutorial.Let's get started! You will need:Magenta.Cadmium Red Light.Sap Green.Quinacridone gold. (Or ochre, or indian, any powerfull not so opaque yellow you have)300g paper. (Cellulose or Cotton)Water and brush medium to fine.1. Pass a very thin layer of paint all over the rose. Very thin. Use the magenta or cadmium. Or another pink hue you have.Let it dry.Ignore the hare looking at you.IGNORE.2. Those are the colors, and other colors all messy in my palette. (i've tried a rose earlier, but it was not my better.)I know, this should be posted as the first.3. Now that it dried, take the brush and mix your two paints. Don't need it to be equally. Don't worry about the hues, we want it to be fun.But pay attention, don't put too much water.The brush must not be dry, but it must not be dripping.We need the paint with a stronger color here.Use your color in the shadows. No, it is not to you to paint in the corners of your bedroom. The shadows of the rose!Don't let it dry for the next step.4. Scumble from the inside out of the petals. Just the tips, not too much water. Let it dry for the next.5. Dilute your red into something transparent that barely remembers red anymore. It's almost salmon.6. Use that pale red in the most light petals and the tiny petals in the core. PLEASE, don't cover everything. Only in the tips of the petals.Let it dry for the next.7-8. Use a light yellow, with a bit of water, to spread it into the rose, this is up to you how much you want it. Even if you don't want it at all. Skip this step.But I love it. It gives some warmth to the piece.Also, this is not in the picture, but I spread the yellowish for the left bottom petal. You can see it in the next.Let it dry for the next.9. This red/purple color is the darkest part of the rose. Attention to not drop it in the core. The core needs to be vibrant. ^^ <3You can use another tone of red and not use violet if you want it.Also, you can use sepia, or dark blue.Roses are incredible because you can use a lot of colors.The true is, you can use a lot of colors whenever and wherever you want since you know how to deal with values. :dBut this is for another tutorial. (I'm not the expert in values neither lol)Don't let it dry to next step.9.1. Repeat the step number 4.In the darkest areas, let the paint dense.If you need it, put more dark paint to it, but don't get too much.Can you see the dicotomy? The warmth on the left, the cold in the right.10. OH NO ARE WE OVER?YESSSS, this is our rose.Pro tip: put some green on the petals too! It gets cool. This is watercolor, let it blur and put a lot of tiny little watercolor marks on it. ^^I know, the photograph is not so fair with the colors actually, but the scan is. :PWe end our tutorial here. Any questions, just leave a comment. I love to explain stuff, really.Next time we will paint an Old Garden Rose together. They're different, they're awesome! Fluffy petals, cabbage-like flowers that I LOVE with my very soul.Bye bye. <3...

,Come here, come near, fellow artists and let me tell you about colours! They exist - end of journal Some people might already know everything that is talked about in this journal, others might feel like on their first day of school. I just hope, I can give a little knowledge of how colours work and maybe even on how that might help you with your art :DHere we go!What is a colour?I guess, we all have an idea or a concept of the answer to that question. But putting it into words is probably impossible for the most of us.Yet the answer is very simple: A colour is nothing but light. Light that is reflected by solids, to be precise. This also means (and now hold your brains in place) that solid bodies are not coloured. Their surface is constituted in a way that reflects the light, that we percieve as colour(s). How?,Light is made of different waves; x-rays, gamma rays, radiowaves etc. Colours are the visible ones. Prisms, for example, can break light into the different colours. ➡Source: White Light Split Into Colours By A Prism, by Pasieka There are three “main“-colours, primary colours, that are important now: Red, Green and Blue. If they get mixed with one another, they can appear as pretty much every other colour we can percieve.In school one of your teachers might have shown you an experiment with three coloured glass panels. Put over each other, with light behind them, it looked something like this: ,Beautiful isn’t it? To give you an example, let’s have a look at the surface of a lemon. And not of the rough and wavey peel, but of the surface microscopical:,When all the colour waves hit the surface of that lemon peel, the green and red waves are reflected, the blue ones are absorbed. Red and green light mixed, appear as yellow. With a tomato it would be the Red waves that are reflected and Blue and Green would be absorbed and so on. Of course there are a lot more colour waves, but as artists we should only care about those mentioned above for now.Knowing now the basics of how colours come to be, let’s talk about colour spaces.RGB & CMYK, letters of a modern artistA colour space is the variety of colours that can be mixed/ displayed with a certain colouring method. There are more than 70 known colour spaces, but important to us are only two: RGB and CMYK, light colours and body colours.RGB is, as you might have put together yourselves, the abbrevation for Red, Green, Blue and represents, of course, the light colours; also known as additive colour mixing. It is the colour space we are confronted with every day, for it is used on every screen (TV, Smartphone, Notebook etc.).CMYK, abbrevation for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and the Key-colour black, aka subtractive colour mixing, is used in printing. You might have seen them before, if you ever had to change ink cartridges in a printer. CMYK is reffered to as body colours. I’ve actually never been told why, but I guess it’s because they are literally solid.,,,This picture shows another important difference between those two: there are a lot more light colours than body colours. Which is pretty much the reason why, for example, photographs look different when you print them, than shown on screen. Source: printful.comBut many of you are painting traditionally only, so while light and printing is all interesting and stuff, you might wonder what you can do with this information.The (not so much third) WheelMany of us have seen it before, mostly in school:THE COLOUR WHEEL (circus music playing)For the ones who haven’t, here a little explanation:,As you can see, the colour wheel “is an abstract illustrative organization of color hues around a circle, which shows the relationships between primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors etc.” (source: Wikipedia)Thank you, Wiki. 👀What are primary and secondary colours? There is one colour wheel presentation by Johannes Itten, that is taught in most schools. It is the one you can see above. Basically it says, that there are three primary colours, in this case Red, Yellow, Blue, with which you can mix the secondary colours, Orange, Purple, Green. And with them you can mix the tertiary.Our arts teacher would give us a task, that looked like this:,We had to paint the primary colours from our paint boxes⬅,and with them, we had to mix the secondary colours ⬅We had to mix them, we weren’t allowed to use the ones from the paint boxes. And that led to a little problem. Orange looks okay, but Green and Purple always look dirty; purple even pretty dark. Maybe you came across this issue as well. Now, what does that have to do with me and anything?Well, I don’t want to say that Itten was wrong (because he obviously wasn’t ... not that much, at least 😬), but his concept appears to be not ideal when it comes to only use three colours for mixing everything you need. How can you make the purple shinier? etc.If just someone could come and save the day ...Time for Captain CMYK! ,If we do try it now with CMY(not so much K), the exercise would look like this:,First the primary colours⬅Okay for a start, but now comes the moment of truth:,mixing the secondaries⬅A lot better, don't you think? No? Blue and Red are missing? Well, remember tertiary colours?,BOOM! You can mix Blue from Cyan + Purple and Red from Magenta + Orange, thus the original primary colours become the tertiary. This wouldn't be working the other way around without adding more water (which would still look dirty and also make the paint more transparent) or using premixed colours.Like myself, I guess, that most of you have a variety of colours at home. But I remember a time when I started painting and was given Red, Blue and Yellow from a friend as a starter kit. I didn't have much money and you all know that good artist stuff is not for free. So I had to go with them, but didn't get very far. And maybe if you are in the same position, you'd rather like to try it with CMY (maybe even K). Wait! You can't find Magenta or Cyan???? There is only Red and Blue to choose from??? Don't worry! In this video the artist gives a demonstration of warm and cool colours and their relation to each other. And while doing so, she also provides a little more in depth explanation about why the secondary colours of Itten (can) turn out muddy in the first place and how you can avoid that by chosing the "right" Red and Blue. Well, this is all I can tell you. I am not a professional, so I still have to learn as well (contrast is my kryptonite), but I felt with understanding how colours work, it became easier to use them. And maybe this "little" post has the same effect on you. ❤Be creative, love what you do (even when it doesn't turn out the way you want it), stay healthy and thank you for reading this far :3...

Landscape and Scenery Week
Very few people know I paint (mostly because I don't have the space to set up an easel anywhere) but when it comes to painting, the only thing I like (and perhaps the only thing I am good for) is landscape. As such, landscape paintings have a special place in my heart. We see the world around us and it's only natural to want to record it down for others to see - whether out of the sheer sense of awe of the world that we live in or because of practical reasons such as navigation without getting lost, we have come a long way when it comes to landscape paintings. So, let us take a walk down the long path that is landscape painting. 

Just in case you were wondering... there's a reason why my paintings don't make it in my gallery...
Prehistoric History 
It's hard to say what really constitutes as the earliest examples of "landscape" painting. The prehistoric cave paintings depict

Community Week
Hi! I'm Luciferys and I'm going to show you a step by step of how I work with watercolors.
Art supplies: 

Not pictured here, but I also used a jar of water and a paper towel.
Step 1:
I chose 300 gsm hot pressed watercolor paper and I cut the paper in half (this making it A4 in size).
I taped the paper to a hard surface (this will keep the paper in place and also preserve a white border) and started sketching. I usually try to keep the sketch simple. 
 
References:

Step 2:
I covered the edges of the character with masking liquid using a silicone brush (it's easy to clean and it doesn't get ruined by the masking liquid). Masking liquid can be used to protect certain areas of the paper from watercolor. Be sure not to shake the bottle as it creates clumps in the li