UNC Old Well Watercolor Tutorial: Combining Multiple Watercolor Techniques
UNC Old Well Watercolor Tutorial: Combining Multiple Watercolor Techniques
What Watercolor Techniques Were Used?
- Wet-on-wet washes
- Drybrush textures
- Negative painting
- Splattering
- Lifting highlights
- Layered glazing
- Controlled blossoms
The University of North Carolina’s Old Well is one of the most recognizable landmarks in North Carolina. If you’ve ever visited Chapel Hill, you’ve probably seen it—or at least fought your way through a crowd of students taking graduation photos around it.
For this painting, I wanted to combine several watercolor techniques into a single image. One of the mistakes beginning watercolor artists often make is thinking they have to choose a single technique for a painting.
Not true.
Some paintings are perfect for pouring.
Others call for traditional brushwork.
Sometimes a little splattering is useful.
And occasionally it’s fun to throw everything into the same painting and see what happens.
The Old Well turned out to be a perfect subject for that approach.
Start Loose, Tighten Later
One of the biggest challenges with architectural subjects is avoiding the temptation to paint every brick, column, and decorative detail.
Trust me.
Nobody wants to paint every brick.
At least I don’t.
Instead, I begin with broad washes and large shapes. The initial layers establish the overall mood of the painting while allowing the watercolor to do what watercolor does best—move, flow, blend, and create unexpected effects.
The details can come later.
Watercolor rewards artists who think big first and small second.
Let Watercolor Look Like Watercolor
If you’ve watched my videos for any length of time, you’ve probably heard me say this before:
I want my watercolors to look like watercolors.
I want to see blossoms.
I want to see granulation.
I want to see soft edges.
I want to see the texture of the paper.
The Old Well is a beautiful architectural structure, but I wasn’t interested in creating an architectural rendering. I was interested in creating a watercolor painting.
Those are two very different things.
Rather than fighting the medium, I try to embrace the things watercolor naturally wants to do.
Combining Techniques
This painting combines several techniques working together.
Large washes establish the sky and background.
Controlled brushwork defines the structure of the Old Well itself.
Layering helps create depth and atmosphere.
A few intentional blossoms and softer passages add life to the painting and prevent it from becoming too rigid.
The challenge is balancing control with spontaneity.
Too much control and the painting becomes stiff.
Too much spontaneity and the Old Well starts looking like it survived a small tornado.
Finding the middle ground is where the magic happens.
The Importance of Values
One thing I stress repeatedly in workshops is that values matter far more than details.
If the values are correct, viewers will forgive a surprising number of drawing errors.
If the values are wrong, all the details in the world won’t save the painting.
Throughout this demonstration, I focus on separating light, middle, and dark values to create depth and help the structure stand out from the surrounding landscape.
The viewer’s eye naturally goes toward areas of contrast.
That’s where I want people looking.
Not at individual bricks.
Definitely not at individual bricks.
Why I Love This Subject
The Old Well is one of those subjects that immediately connects with people from North Carolina.
For alumni, it’s filled with memories.
For students, it’s part of everyday life.
For artists, it’s a wonderful combination of architecture, landscape, and history.
Most importantly, it allows us to practice a variety of watercolor techniques within a single painting.
And that’s where real growth happens.
The more techniques you learn to combine, the more options you have when facing a blank sheet of paper.
If you’d like to follow along and see the entire process from start to finish, watch the full-length tutorial on my YouTube channel.
Colors used in this tutorial:
Daniel Smith Rose of Ultramarine
Holbein Lavender
Richeson Silver Velvet #6
Richeson Silver Velvet #2
Harmony Squirrel Mop #6 Brush:
Harmony Squirrel Mop #2 Brush:
I also use a #4 Rigger brush to get details:
Pebeo Masking Fluid (small bottle)
See exactly how I created this painting in the complete video tutorial.
Purchase prints of this painting online HERE
Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Ryan Fox AWS, NWS, TWSA
Ryan Fox Painting
(919) 645-8345