Simplifying Street Scenes

Urban environments are inspiring subjects to paint with the defining shapes of buildings, the perspective streets lend, the looser forms from plants, and the weather or time of day to set the scene! But it can feel challenging when starting a piece to know where to start with all the elements combined. 

In this class, Alice will break down a street scene into several steps following the principles of painting large continuous shapes rather than individual details, and layering paint from light to dark to create depth. She’ll also provide a few sample reference photos and paintings for you to view and paint from. 

Please bring the following materials:

• Watercolor brush - size 6 or 8

• Watercolor paint set 

• Palette for mixing paints - a white plate works well

• Water container - an empty jar works well

• A cloth rag or paper towel

• Watercolor paper - 2-3 sheets, size 4x6, 5x7, or notebook

• A street photo (from a neighborhood or a walk) to use as reference. 

   Or you can use some photo references I will share. 

• Pencil + eraser