Simple & Stunning Watercolor Techniques (DVD + Streaming)

You’ll see how to create a complementary underpainting, use masking methods to preserve white space and achieve harmonious color shifts. Then, discover a simple strategy for making compositional decisions and apply a gridding technique to scale your painting to any size. Find out how to use a variety of household items to easily produce amazing effects. Then, explore other water-based mediums: gouache, acrylics and watercolor grounds. You’ll even build confidence choosing paper, brushes and pigments. Plus, learn to critique your work, fix mistakes and adjust values for a fantastic finish.

NOTE: If you’d like to purchase only the DVD for this class, you may do so through this link. (Please note, any class PDF materials are not on the DVD itself. You must have streaming access to download those materials associated with the class.)

Size & Composition (21:23)
Why you’re painting is often just as important as what you’re painting. Mary looks at the intention behind each work as a way of highlighting how to plan size and composition using thumbnails and sketches. She also offers a tip for scaling and paints a miniature square floral.

Creating Texture (23:24)
Mary will show you how to use a variety of household materials, from credit cards to table salt, to add texture and visual interest to your watercolors. Then she paints a scene near her home to put those principles into practice.

Exploring Water Media (13:54)
Learn how to complement your watercolors with other mediums. Mary introduces gouache and acrylic, which offers the exciting option of subtractive painting. Then she shows how watercolor grounds can help provide even more texture before combining all elements into one of her works.

Brushes & Paper (27:26)
The tools you use determine so much about what your painting will look like. Mary introduces a variety of brush types and techniques, from scumbling with a mop quill to writing with a rigger. Then she shows how paper weight and texture can give your final product unique effects.

Pigments (18:06)
No two watercolors are created equally. Mary walks through what makes some pigments transparent while others are opaque. She also introduces the concept of granularity, which helps produce more life-like skin along with skies and clouds, before finishing with a primer on staining pigments.

Rescuing Techniques (29:17)
Painting in watercolor means always having a chance to correct mistakes. Mary takes a painting she’d abandoned long ago and attempts to recover it in real time. In the process, she shows how to critique, introduces rescuing techniques and teaches how to check for value.

Mary Murphy loved art from a young age, but her initial career path took her in a different direction, toward life as an award-winning speechwriter. After 20 years behind a pen, though, she picked a brush back up and the rest is history! She honed her skills training with artists such as Martha Deming and Jim McFarlane, president of the American Watercolor Society, setting up an in-home studio so she could paint nonstop. Her exuberant floral paintings began to accumulate local and national recognition and awards, and now she’s thrilled to bring her passion to the Craftsy community.

How do I access the companion materials for my DVD class?
Come to Craftsy.com and log into your account using the username and password you set up when establishing your Craftsy account or purchasing your DVD. In your “My Account” area, select the “Classes” content. On this page, you’ll see all classes you’ve purchased from Craftsy. Simply select the desired class from your content list, and you’ll be presented with your selected class page. From the class page you can easily view, download or print the companion class materials, which are in the “Bonus Materials” tab on the class page. You can log in any time, and download or print the companion materials as many times as you like. Companion class materials are not shipped in the mail with your DVD, and must be accessed on Craftsy.com.

How do I stream my class on Craftsy.com?
Come to Craftsy.com and log into your account using the username and password you set up when establishing your Craftsy account or purchasing your DVD. In your “My Account” content, select the desired class. Stream the video on-demand from the class page any time you like; your viewing access is unlimited. You can stream your class from any computer, tablet or mobile device with Internet access.

Do I have to purchase a Craftsy Membership to get my class?
No, you do not. Every DVD purchased on Craftsy.com includes both the physical DVD in the mail and unlimited on-demand streaming access at Craftsy.com. These benefits are yours with or without a Craftsy membership.

Are DVDs included in a Craftsy Membership?
No, they are not. DVDs can only be purchased on an individual basis and are not included in Craftsy memberships. For non-members, DVDs are a flexible way to purchase only the classes you love best. For members, DVDs are a great choice to build an at-home library you can keep forever and enjoy any time, with or without Internet access.

Do you ship internationally?
Yes, we do ship most physical products, including DVDs, to several International destinations. In addition to the USA and Canada, we ship to Australia, Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, and most Western European countries. If you live outside these countries, you can still purchase digital items including memberships, individual streaming classes, and pattern downloads.

Do your DVDs work on international players?
Yes, our DVDs should be compatible with any DVD player in use today. All our videos have been created with all current Region Codes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8). If you have trouble viewing a DVD purchased from Craftsy.com, please contact Customer Service.

What is your return policy?
We want to be sure you’re satisfied. If you have trouble playing your DVD, if the content is not correctly presented on the DVD, or you are dissatisfied with the content of your class, we will work with you. Contact Craftsy customer service via email or phone. Upon your request, and upon your return of the DVD to us, we will refund your purchase price or send you another DVD to replace a damaged or incorrect DVD, whichever is your preference. If you do receive a full refund, your streaming video class will also be removed from your Craftsy account, so on-demand video access will no longer be available to you.