Starting with a Brayer Gradient

This little plein-air landscape begins with a sky gradient laid down with a brayer.

I prime the page first in the studio with that blue sky tone and then paint the clouds over it. I demonstrate the process for this painting—including getting pounded by a rainstorm—in my new Gumroad tutorial "Gradients."

Tiffanie Mang says: “James Gurney's video workshop about gradients was the most concise, comprehensive, engaging and informative video I have ever seen about different ways of blending with a variety of techniques and mediums, from watercolor, gouache, casein and acrylic! I loved how his video was interspersed with foundational exercises to clearly demonstrate the fundamentals of the technique. James would then show how he applied the technique in a real life demo with very real life weather scenarios! Watching him tackle the paintings from start to finish was so fascinating and mesmerizing. As a gouache teacher who has mentored many students in gouache, the top question I always get is how to blend colors better, as gouache can be quite tricky since it dries so fast! I can confidently say James' video covers everything you need to know. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is beginner or advanced because it contains such valuable information not just about gradients, but about easel set up, brushes, values, color mixing, and problem solving that every painter should know how to apply in their paintings!”