There are times when I feel like painting a particular scene but I don’t have any reference to work from. Resources on the web allow me a great deal of material to built the scene I desire.

Find three subjects…

Find a suitable background

In this example, I wanted to paint 3 red-wing black birds.
I found them in various locations on Pinterest.

The next step is to close crop them to eliminate their backgrounds.
This way I can move them individually.

Combine the two together

Next I combined the 3 birds with the bull rushes. I moved them around to find

the right balance. I also enlarged reduced them to be sure they were a pretty good match.

Lighting was also important to get consistent. Any lighting issue

I encounter can be adjusted in the painting stage.

Apply masking fluid

Masking fluid, also referred to as liquid frisket, is a latex-based medium

used to block out small areas and fine lines where you want to prevent
pigment absorption on your watercolour paper. I
t allows you to paint right through the drawing without stopping.

As mentioned in the step above the masking fluid allows you to
apply your background without stopping. In this case is the birds and bullrushes.

Once the background dries you rub off the masking fluid with your finger
or special eraser. Now all you have to do is paint in the rest.

Come to a watercolour class as I’ll help you with all my tips and techniques.