Month 10 Tutorial - Coastal Cliffs

Sarah Burns Studio X Craftamo
Gouache Subscription Box 10

 

Living in Scotland provides me with endless inspiration, but there’s something especially magical about walking along the coast next to huge cliffs. I find so much beauty in the rocks, the waves, and am fascinated by how much variety there can be in one small area. 

 

Part 1: Unboxing, Color Mixing

 


Supplies

 

Materials in Box #10:

  • Paper
  • 2 brushes
    • ¾” Flat
    • ⅜” Flat
  • 2 colors
    • Cobalt Turqoise
    • Lilac

 

To get more out of your color mixing practice, it’s helpful to keep your reference close by, and try to match what you see in different areas. Focus on mixing a variety of options for each area (sky, sand, rock, etc). Don’t forget to take notes! This becomes very useful during your painting.

 

Mentioned in the video: How to “Save” gooey gouache!

 

Part 2: Color & Value Studies


Reference:


Take note that often times when light is bouncing around the rocks, we see subtle hints of color. As artists we can choose to emphasise this - in my case I used lilac. Feel free to try different colors, but remember that a little goes a long way! 

 

I also tend to paint my rocks lighter than what a reference shows, because I think this conveys a sense of light which is lost in a photograph.

 

Part 3: Demo


My Result:



I hope you enjoyed this! See you next month.

What’s coming in Box #11

 

For Box 11 we are doing something very different! I’ll show you how to make holiday cards inspired by Scandinavian-inspired design motifs. These 3D cards are so much fun and can be used for more than just the holiday season. See you then!

 

Supplies included in Box 11:
  • Paper
  • 2 brushes
    • ¼” Angle
    • #2 Round
  • 3 Colors: 
    • Copper
    • Silver
    • Rich Gold

Brush Care 

 

Never leave your brushes in water for too long. After rinsing, dry the hairs as best you can with a towel then let them dry on a flat surface. Leaving them in water for too long can cause the wood of the handle to swell, which can crack the handle coating. If that happens, the brush is still usable, just not as pretty! 

 

I usually clean mine with brush soap every few uses. You can find brush soap on the Craftamo website or any art store.

 

Community

 

Don’t forget to join my Discord chat server! You can share images of your sketches/painting and enjoy a sense of community. Or if you’d like to share your work with me on Instagram, use the hashtag #sarahburnstutor so I can find you.

 

Additional helpful resources:

 

Brand new to gouache? As you discover questions about gouache, I hope to answer as many as I can. For now, you can start with this blog post which goes very in-depth about what gouache is.

 

If you want even more instruction, I often post free tutorials on YouTube. Otherwise my Patreon is a great resource to learn even more. 

 

Additional suggested materials:

 

I use lots of different gouaches, papers, sketchbooks, and palettes for different purposes. You don’t need anything extra right now, except maybe paper as you will probably run out of that first. 

 

Craftamo sells extra paper (same as what is in the boxes) and it’s very affordable. 

 

Otherwise, I have lots of recommendations. I keep an updated list of all my favorite art supplies here.

 

How I use my different brushes: video

 

This video shows all the brush types you will receive over the course of the 12 month subscription. At the end of the video I show how to care for your brushes.

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