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Free Watercolor Landscape Painting Workshop – Skies, Trees, Grass & Rocks

Ready to level up your watercolor landscapes? In this free 6-hour workshop, you’ll learn my complete process for painting skies, trees, grass, and rocks in a loose, expressive style — with step-by-step videos, demos, assignments.

Robert

Robert

— 4 min read
Loose watercolor landscape painting workshop teaching skies, trees, grass, and rocks for beginners and experienced artists
Loose watercolor landscape painting workshop teaching skies, trees, grass, and more

Want to take your watercolor landscapes to the next level? In this 6-hour, no-signup workshop, I’ll walk you through my complete process for painting skies, trees, grass, and rocks in a loose, expressive style. You’ll get step-by-step video lessons, demonstrations, assignments, and plenty of tips to help you paint with more confidence and freedom.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced painter, you’ll come away with new techniques and ideas you can use immediately in your own work.

Watch the Full Workshop Here

Watercolor landscape painting workshop video

Section 1 – Best Watercolor Materials & Workspace Setup

Before diving into painting, we’ll start by setting the table for success. You’ll see exactly what materials I use, how I set up my workspace for maximum efficiency, and how the “finger test” helps you mix the perfect paint consistency every time.

Before we dive in, I’ll show you:

  • My essential watercolor materials for landscapes
  • How I organize my workspace for efficiency
  • The “Finger Test” for mixing the right paint consistency every time
Beginner watercolor tutorial for painting clouds using negative space techniques
Beginner watercolor tutorial for painting clouds using negative space techniques
Beginner watercolor cumulus cloud painting tutorial with soft, fluffy shapes
Beginner watercolor cumulus cloud painting tutorial with soft, fluffy shapes

Section 2 – Painting Skies in Watercolor

The sky sets the mood for any landscape painting. In this section, we’ll cover techniques that range from simple gradients to dramatic storm clouds, all while keeping the process approachable for beginners.

You’ll learn eight different sky techniques to set the mood in your landscapes:

  1. Simple gradated wash
  2. Gradated wash with cumulus clouds
  3. Multi-layered sky
  4. Soft sunset
  5. Winter sky with cool light
  6. Negative space sky
  7. Approaching storm sky
  8. Nocturnal sky

We’ll study Master watercolor painters and how they used these techniques.

Simple gradated skies for beginners using easy wash techniques
Simple gradated skies for beginners
Beginner watercolor storm cloud painting tutorial using dramatic values
Beginner watercolor storm cloud painting tutorial using dramatic values
Easy watercolor sunset painting tutorial for beginners with warm gradients
Easy watercolor sunset painting tutorial for beginners with warm gradients
Loose watercolor winter sky tutorial for beginners with soft gradients
Loose watercolor winter sky tutorial for beginners with soft gradients

Section 3 – Painting Trees in Watercolor

Trees can make or break a landscape. Here, you’ll learn how to suggest foliage and structure without overworking, using brushwork and edges to create believable, lively trees.

  • Tree Techniques 101: choosing the right brush and controlling edge quality
  • Using bristle brushes for texture
  • Wet-in-wet tree shapes
  • Winter tree branches
  • Birch tree demo
  • Palm tree demo
  • Scratch techniques for highlights and fine branches
Loose watercolor tree painting tutorial for beginners showing simple brush techniques
Loose watercolor tree painting tutorial for beginners showing simple brush techniques
Loose watercolor tree tutorial for beginners using wet-in-wet techniques
Loose watercolor tree tutorial for beginners using wet-in-wet techniques

Section 4 – Painting Grass in Watercolor

Grass is all about texture and depth. This section covers methods for creating grass that feels alive, whether you want fine details or a looser impression.

  • Fine detail grass
  • Splattering for texture
  • Creating grass with shadows & negative space
Beginner-friendly watercolor landscape painting tutorial with simple composition
Beginner-friendly watercolor landscape painting tutorial with simple composition

Section 5 – Painting Rocks in Watercolor

Rocks give structure and grounding to a landscape. You’ll learn how to use layering, wet-in-dry techniques, and color variation to create realistic forms without stiffness.

  • Field rocks
  • Round boulders
  • Layering & wet-in-dry texture work
  • Master examples of rock composition
Watercolor field rock painting tutorial for beginners using wet-on-dry layering
Watercolor field rock painting tutorial for beginners using wet-on-dry layering
Watercolor tutorial for beginners on painting warm red desert rocks with bold color
Watercolor tutorial for beginners on painting warm red desert rocks with bold color
Step-by-step beginner watercolor tutorial for painting mountains and landscapes
Step-by-step beginner watercolor tutorial for painting mountains and landscapes

Assignments & Practice

Throughout the course, I’ll give you simple assignments to help reinforce each skill, so you can build a strong toolkit for painting landscapes from imagination or reference.

Materials You’ll Need

Here are the materials I use all the time and have for decades. I only buy from Blick Art but feel free to shop where you prefer.

Recommended Watercolor Materials

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Love My Painting Style? Own an Original

If you enjoy the loose, expressive style from this workshop, you can own one of my original watercolor and acrylic paintings. I post new work almost daily — from landscapes to sports art.

Browse My Originals on Etsy

More Great Courses

If you enjoyed this workshop, check out my other free courses:

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