Jean Pederson: Wet Glazing Watercolor Portrait

Jean Pederson's gradual glazing process keeps portraits under control.

Wet into wet watercolor can get out of hand in a hurry. But Jean Pederson's gradual glazing process keeps portraits under control. In this watercolor workshop you'll build smooth facial contours with thin, deliberate layers of transparent paint.

Jean's in depth discussions of anatomy, lighting and color provide all the tools you'll need to capture the nuances of the human face. You'll see short, intensive demos on map drawing, managing moisture and layering values.

Jean gives valuable lessons on contour, facial proportions and reflected light. She applies every bit of theory in her final painting.

Jean blends and lifts to create multiple values from a single glaze. She develops the entire face with each layer to retain control of her values throughout the process. She rarely mixes on the palette, instead layering bright pigments to create organic neutrals on the paper.

Jean caps the portrait with a contemporary opaque background.

You will learn to build smooth facial contours with thin, deliberate layers of transparent paint. Jean Pederson's in-depth discussions of anatomy, lighting, and color provide all the tools you'll need to capture the nuances of the human face.

You'll see short, intensive demos on map drawings, managing moisture, and layering values. Jean leads invaluable lessons on contour, facial proportions, and reflected light, and she applies every bit of theory in her final painting. Jean blends and lifts to create multiple values from a single glaze.

She develops the entire face with each layer to maintain control of her values throughout the process. She rarely mixes on the palette, instead layering bright pigments to create organic neutrals on the paper. Jean caps the portrait with a contemporary opaque background.

BONUS CLIP: Layering the Eye

In this clip from her video workshop, Wet Glazing Watercolor Portrait, Jean Pederson layers transparent watercolors to create the illusion of depth in a painting of an eye. She starts with a yellow wash, lifts out highlights, and then builds progressively darker layers until she creates realistic contours.