This week, i’m painting a façade’s house, but not in a architectural sketch style. I prefer trying to use the techniques i use for my flowers paintings !e
My reference image (you can see on the left) was taken on my recent trip to France, in Arras. This house’s architecture is quite typical from the area : red bricks and limestone. But there is something more to this house that catches my eyes : the door and windows frames ! with this turquoise color ! As soon as i saw it i knew i had to paint it. But there is some challenges in this picture. And the first challenge is the perspective : the façade has a very strong perspective and i will have to draw it right !
Perspective is not my thing. I know the technique, but i have a hard time to apply it. So, in order to make it easier for me, i’ve taken my time with the drawing. I’ve observed how the lines are crossing and i’ve paid extra attention to the negative space (like the part of sky around the roof’s house). I’ve also simplified the house : i took down a couple of window and the arche in limestone. And thanks to all of this, i’ve managed to get a fairly ok perspective. When it was time to reproduce it on my watercolor paper, i’ve also taken my time. I’ve started with the most important lines with a ruler and i was very careful to every slants. For the rest, as i wanted a loose style, i didn’t go for precision and detail but i was reaching for character in my pencil marks.
A watercolor house in video
SUPPLIES :
Brush : Raphaël petit gris le “803” nº2.
Paper : Arches rough.
Colors : Ultramarine blue (Daniel Smith), Cerulean blue (Daniel Smith), Viridian (Schmincke), Verona Gold Ochre (Daniel Smith), Permanent alizarine crimson (Daniel Smith), Winsor red (Winsor & Newton), Burnt sienna (Schmincke), Neutral tint (Winsor & Newton).
And here you have the finished painting (click to enlarge) :
