Materials used:
Brushes
1 1/2" (381mm) Flat Winsor & Newton Series 965
1" Grumbacher Aquarelle Flat Red Sable
#12 Winsor & Newton Series 7 Red Sable
#10 Winsor & Newton Series 820 Red Sable
#6 Grumbacher Watercolor Classic Red Sable
#4 Round Red Sable
Paints
Sap Green, Hooker's Green Dark, Pthalocyanine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Dioxazine Purple, Alizarin Crimson, Permanent Rose, Raw Sienna, Burnt Umber
Paper
Spiral Pad (11" x 14") Canson #140 cold pressed
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Miscellaneous
#2 Pencil
Kneaded Eraser
Palette - Your choice. Mine is an old Robert E. Wood model.
Water container (2) and water
Hair dryer (optional)
Reference
Photo or Sketch big enough for you to see reasonably well.
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Step One: Do the work
Although not necessary, usually a light drawing is done to block in the shapes and arrange the composition.
NOTE: For a bit of fun and challenge, skip the drawing and start painting right away. It's a great visual skill builder, especially when it turns out well.
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Step Two: First Washes
Using my 1 1/2" flat brush I dampened the sky area of the paper, taking care to cut in the edges of the barn correctly. I used a mix of cerulean and cobalt blue for the initial wash.
I made a darker mix of burnt umber and cobalt and darkened the sky towards the lower left. I carried the same tone to a few foliage areas in the foreground.
I then took a 1/2" flat brush with the cobalt/cerulean mix plus some dioxazine purple, squeezed it fairly dry and pulled texture into the face and sides of the barn.
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Step Three: Laying the groundwork
Using washes of sap green, hooker's green dark, raw sienna and burnt umber I flowed on the fields.
I varied this tone to darken and gray down the background hills and woodsy areas.
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Step Four: A lot has happened...
...since the last picture. I became so frustrated I forgot to take an intermediate picture. I've added trees using hooker's green dark and burnt sienna. I made an attempt at the background bare trees.
The intriguing angle of the cast shadow was important to the composition and drama of this barn so I took some time getting the color and shape right. I then added a few building details to the rest of the barn using a #4 round sable.
Other fore- and middle-ground details were built up, such as the fence to the right and the drainage trough in the foreground.
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Step Five: Building the details
Using a combination of pthalocyanine blue, cobalt blue and burnt umber, I added the windows and open door details as well as picking out shadows on the rough surfaces.
I flicked in the lightning rods with the same mixture.
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Step Six: Working the foreground
The painting was looking too cool with all the blue in the shadows of the barn so I bumped up the warmth of the surrounding fields using raw sienna, cadmium orange and sap green.
To break it up the foreground and add a little interest, I added indications of grasses and a rolling hill.
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Painting a White Barn - Part 1
Step-by-Step Watercolor Paintings