Jenna Rainey

CEO + ARTIST + EDUCATOR

Course Login ➞

hey friend!


I’m Jenna Rainey. 

I'm an artist, self-taught designer, and multi-faceted creative entrepreneur who is hell-bent on teaching everyone how to find their inner creative voice.

CHECK OUT MY BOOKS
READ THE BLOG
WATCH ME ON YOUTUBE
WANNA JOIN AN ART RETREAT? ➞
READ MY STORY
BACK TO THE HOME PAGE

JR

                                              Take the quiz to get your flow back! 
Feeling creatively stuck?  
CEO + AUTHOR + EDUCATOR
Let's be friends!

A highly creative nerd with a unique breed of humor and the proud earner of a self-bestowed award for being the world’s most curious and driven human.

Hey I'm Jenna!

(with me)

HANG OUT
ON YOUTUBE

It’s like Netflix-binging Bob Ross videos, but with a dose of dry + quirky humor and fewer happy little tree references. 

Wanna Learn Watercolor?

i wrote some books

DEVELOP YOUR ARTISTIC STYLE

GRAB THE FREE GUIDE

The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Watercolor

Art Topics

5/19/2021

written by

4

comments

Jenna 

Looking for a complete, step-by-step watercolor video course for beginners? You've come to the right place.

I used to teach popular in-person watercolor workshops for over 8 years. And now, I'm taking you through one of those classes in this free video! You'll learn everything from supplies to color theory, basic shapes and strokes, brush techniques, and compound strokes. Then, the grand finale will be a full composition floral wreath to tie it all together.

For the full YouTube playlist of all the chapters broken down into individual videos, go here.

Let's dive in!

 

Music license acquired from Artlist

 

Beginner Guide to Watercolor Contents

00:00 – What this video covers and an FYI

SUPPLIES

00:50 – Let’s talk supplies!
01:39 – Explaining my palette (extra colors than what's listed?)
02:38 – Colors I use, how I organize them, pro vs. student levels
10:11 – Brushes I use: brand, sizes, quality.
11:21 – How these brushes are made (HIGH quality!)
13:36 – What I use different brushes for.
14:37 – Talking paper.
14:49 – Cold press or hot press?
16:24 – Cotton? GSM? Block vs. Pad?
18:38 – Paper brands: Legion vs. Arches vs. Fabriano
19:25 – Other necessary supplies…

COLOR THEORY

20:08 – Now for color theory.
21:48 – Important lesson from my piano teacher.
23:04 – What to learn from color wheel.
25:14 – Color relationships and why this matters.
29:17 – Analogous colors.
31:58 – Warm colors and cool colors.
34:17 – Get your brushes out as we talk VALUE scales!
37:42 – Practicing and chatting HUE scales.

TECHNIQUES

40:05 – Two techniques to must know: WOW and WOD
41:29 – Three ways to use Wet-on-Wet
48:26 – Using Wet-on-Dry
49:23 – Brush technique practice with circle painting.
51:02 – How you hold your brush changes outcome.
52:23 – Circle painting begins!
55:24 – Tip for shaky hands!
01:00:02 – Find the hold that feels right!
01:01:34 – Focusing on painting quickly.

COMPOUND STROKES: LEAVES

01:02:22 – COMPOUND strokes.
01:03:24 – Painting leaves with compound strokes.
01:08:41 – If you’re struggling, try longer leaves…
01:10:06 – Putting leaves on a branch.
01:13:38 – What to do with puddles at ends of leaves.
01:15:44 – Muscle memory and wonky stems.

FLOWERS

01:18:47 – Painting side-facing basic flower.
01:20:56 – Adding stem to the flower.
01:22:50 – THIS makes it look like a flower.
01:23:37 – Basic open flower.
01:26:06 – Biggest mistake when people paint flowers.

FLORAL WREATH COMPOSITION

01:27:46 – Putting everything together: full floral wreath
01:29:47 – Composition lesson: balance.
01:31:45 – Sketch before?
01:38:19 – Step back and look…
01:39:28 – Take note as you paint.
01:42:43 – These are easy and help with balance…
01:45:32 – How I am able to paint quickly…
01:46:57 – Final (important!) encouragements.
01:49:01 – Final details to the wreath.
01:49:53 – Further resources to continue learning.

 

Links & Freebies

Free Color Wheel Guide
Get access to my list of favorite art supplies and business tools here.
My Spotify painting playlist
My Floral Watercolor E-book 

 

Related videos

How to Set Up a Watercolor Palette
Watercolor Techniques: Wet-on-Wet
Watercolor Techniques: Wet-on-Dry
10 Tips to Improve Your Watercolor

… and for even more tutorials, subscribe to my YouTube channel!

 

Patreon Community

Join my Patreon community! You have a variety of fun options to choose from like:

  • Watch my YouTube tutorials ad-free
  • Get early access to the tutorials before they're released on YouTube
  • Patreon-exclusive tutorials

Head on over to Patreon to get all the juicy details.

by Jenna Rainey 

add a comment

  1. Amy says:

    Wow, an excellent class packed with a ton of information! Loved it – thanks for sharing so generously.

  2. Elaine Suber says:

    Can I purchase a hard copy of the watercolor guide for beginners teacher Jenna Rainey .
    I’ve been watching on utube but I seem to do better having a hard copy of the booklet I saw on utube. Is this available ? I can’t wait to get started on making on swatch color today!
    I’ll go back on utube to hopefully find the right video.
    I’m going to sign up for the on line booklet just in case I can’t purchase a hard copy.
    Thank you so much !!
    I’m truly motivated and not afraid anymore to put paint to paper!!
    Happy Bew year!
    Elaine Suber

    • Jenna Rainey says:

      We don’t have hard copies of the ebook, but you can buy my book, Everyday Watercolor…it includes that information and beyond!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Complete Beginner's Guide to Watercolor

Get a rundown of all my recommended supplies, learn fundamental techniques and tips including color theory and composition, and walk away feeling super confident with your new love of watercolor!

Free e-book

The Complete Beginner's Guide to Watercolor

Freebie Alert!

*Signing up will subscribe you to our email list, You may unsubscribe at any time, though doing so means we cannot contact you with more free, valuable education and tips on this topic. You also agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.