Negative Painting Watercolor: Easy Step-by-Step for Beginners
Negative painting can feel confusing at first… but once it clicks, it completely changes the way you see watercolor.
In this beginner-friendly watercolor tutorial, I’ll walk you step-by-step through the process of negative painting and show you how painting around shapes can create beautiful depth, layering, movement, and atmosphere in your work.
This exercise is designed to help you slow down, loosen up, and better understand how watercolor shapes work together — without feeling overwhelmed. Whether you’re completely new to negative painting or simply want to build more confidence with watercolor, this is a wonderful place to begin.
One of the things I love most about negative painting is that it teaches you how to truly see a painting differently. Instead of focusing only on what you’re painting, you begin to understand the shapes, values, and spaces that bring a watercolor piece to life.
So grab your paints, relax, and paint along with me.
If you’ve ever felt unsure about what to buy or overwhelmed by all the options… then this is for you.
Inside my free mini-course“Supplies I Can’t Live Without!”, I walk you through the exact brushes, paints, paper, and materials I personally use in my own work and classes. And more importantly, why I use them.
Because in watercolor, your supplies shape how the paint moves, blends, and flows. And that directly impacts how confident you feel as you learn.
I’ve carefully curated this list to help you get started right away so you can spend less time guessing, and more time actually painting.
You can explore and shop everything through the links provided inside. These are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.