How to paint a picture of a sidewalk cafe is a fun project for the beginner.
I wanted to create this project for some time. There is something romantic and charming in the scene of a sidewalk cafe. It makes you think of leisurely afternoons in some exotic location.
I spent about a week designing and creating this picture. And another week to put it all together. It is helpful to use the internet as a research resource for image ideas and designs for your drawings. You can create a scene of some distant place and put in all the details as if you were actually there.
A WORD ABOUT PRINTING THE WORKSHEET
If you have any problems making the image below to print then see the HOW TO PRINT tab for some suggestions. There is a PDF below the worksheet below image that you can try if the one displayed is not cooperative.
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| Free How to Paint a Picture of a Sidewalk Cafe, Lesson, and Worksheet |
Below is a bonus image so you can trace it and paint a larger picture, this will enable you to add more detail and experiment on your own.
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| Free Design Sheet For How to Paint a Picture of a Sidewalk Cafe Lesson |
Below is a file for a PDF of the image above.
CLICK HERE for a PDF of the worksheet.
SUPPLY LIST
You can use any watercolor paint. I prefer my small Windsor Newton paint set; it has a nice selection of colors. I also use Grumbacher Paints in the tubes. You can easily find these at any craft store like Lobby Hobby or Michaels. (Look for coupons online.) You can collect lots of paintbrushes, but it is better at the start to keep it simple with a few small, medium, and medium-large brushes and a combination of flats as well as rounded paintbrushes. For these art lessons, I use Strathmore series 300 Watercolor paper. It is economical and available at Michaels and Hobby Lobby and online.
PRINTABLE NOTES
Start by tracing the design onto watercolor paper. The best is a 140 lb watercolor paper, it is heavy and will not buckle when wet. If you have problems try holding it up to a window with the light behind it and then trace it.
Do the light colors first. Use a large brush and a watery mixture of paint so it is light. Use orange for the bricks, light blue for the windows, light brown for the wood, and light grey for the left side bricks. You can use the same grey for the street. Let it dry before going on, EXCEPT FOR THE STREET. While the street is still wet, drag some other random colors like brown, blue, or light blue across it. Use a wet blue on the edges of the sidewalk then add a little water to pull it down a little toward the gutter.
Use a smaller brush and keep the colors light and watery as you do the first paint of the green door and plants. Use the tip of your brush and paint around the word CAFE, leave the letters white. After it dries add a little dark green to the top edge like a shadow. Do the same around the door.
Red is hard to work with don't try to lighten it with white, you just end up with pink. Use a small brush and a pale red for the window boxes, planters awning, and umbrella. Use a light lavender for the shadowy underside of the umbrella. After it dries come back with darker blue-violet and add an edge of shadow near the red edge.
With a small brush paint some random dark blue in the windows. If you want to use black be very careful and use only a VERY LITTLE amount of black.
Make a dark green with a TINY bit of brown and blue, use the tip of a small brush to paint the darker green areas in the planter boxes by dabbing technique.
Use the tip of your small brush and paint the light pole in light blue first and let it dry. After the light blue dries add a dark blue on one side so it is in shadow. After the dark blue has dried add a VERRY LITTLE BLACK line on the shadow side. It should look round with a light side and a dark side.
Mix a darker orange, red, or brownish-orange and add texture to the bricks. Keep your brush drier by tapping the extra water off onto a tissue first. Use the brush flat like it is lying down and drag it across short areas of the orange wall. Be sure to leave spaces of light orange around the bricks. Do the same with darker grey-brown-black for the stone on the left.
Do the shadows last. Use lavender-purple under the awning and under the umbrella, and under the chairs.
For the chairs, use the tip of your small brush and keep your brush dry by tapping the extra water out onto a kleenex. Use a very light grey-blue and draw the lines of the chairs. The legs near the view do not need much but the legs at the back are darkest. Make the shadow on the ground more purple or violet so the grey of the chair does not get lost to the viewer.
Sign and date your work about an inch up from the bottom so you have room for a frame.
I hope you paint a beautiful masterpiece!
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