Summer Bucket List Watercolor Tutorial

A watercolor tutorial for your summer bucket list by artist Mou Saha! As summer rolls in, our goals and calendars fill in with lots of fun adventures – summer camp, pool parties and crafting with friends. Here is a quick tutorial on how to paint some of the fun in store with Watercolors in Pans.

Recommended Watercolor Materials:

Castell® 9000 Graphite Pencil - HB - #119000-1

Kneadable Art Eraser - Grey - #FC127220

Watercolors in Pans 48ct - #FC169748

Pitt Artist Pen® Extra Superfine - #199 Black - #800066

Watercolor paper

Start with a light pencil sketch of the activities. I decided on the graphic representation of some of the most fun activities on my kid’s summer calendar and sketched them using Castell® 9000 Graphite Pencil - HB as shown. I have also added the date and time for each activity.

Start painting the chart from the top of the page. I started with the whale – wetting it with water and then adding in pan watercolors in shades of blue and grey. Starting at the top of the page helps keep wet paints from getting smudged. You could even use a heat tool for faster drying.

Keep painting the various images in your chart. I colored the candy sushi and the birdhouse next.

As the paint layers dry, keep adding details to the images with Pan watercolors.

Once all the paint is dry, go over the written information with Pitt Artist Pen Extra Superfine in Black.

Erase all pencil lines with the Kneadable Art Eraser.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and have fun making a personalized summer activity chart for yourself or a child in your life and save it as a keepsake!