Painting a Monochromatic Watercolor Study: Woman on Horseback in 15 Minutes
Hi, I'm Valerie Englehart, and today I want to share one of my favorite watercolor exercises: creating a complete painting using just a single color. This particular piece—a woman riding a horse—was part of my Inktober 2023 challenge, and it taught me so much about working with values, embracing loose techniques, and trusting the watercolor process.
The Setup: Materials and Preparation
For this painting, I kept my materials simple. I used an 8x10 piece of Arches hot press paper, 140 pounds, and my trusty size 8 Silver Black Velvet watercolor brush. This brush has been my go-to for almost everything for the past two years, and it's still going strong. Honestly, if you're just starting out or want to simplify your toolkit, invest in one good quality round brush that holds plenty of water and has a fine tip. It's the most versatile brush you can own.
The only color I used was Daniel Smith Rose of Ultramarine—a gorgeous purple that does something really special. It's a granulating color that separates with water, splitting into cooler and warmer tones naturally. The heavier pigment is ultramarine, and when you add lots of water, it creates this beautiful range of values all on its own. It's perfect for monochromatic studies because you get tonal variety without having to think about color mixing.
The Grid Method: Breaking Down Complex Subjects
I'll be honest—painting a woman on a horse is pretty complicated for me. I don't usually tackle subjects like this, and at the time, I was specifically challenging myself to paint people every day for Inktober because I'd been avoiding figures due to intimidation.
So how did I approach this? I used a grid system. Before I started painting, I drew a grid on my paper using a heat-erasable marker (more on that later). I also had my reference image open in an app called Grid Painter, which does two brilliant things:
It overlays a grid on your reference image
It converts the image to values—basically notinizing it into black, white, and shades of gray
This is different from just converting an image to grayscale. The app actually separates and simplifies the values, breaking down complex shapes into manageable pieces. It's an incredible tool for understanding where your lights, midtones, and darks should go.
My Painting Philosophy: Suggest, Don't Dictate
My approach to this painting was straightforward: anywhere in my reference photo that was white, I left unpainted. I started by laying in my midtones with a very wet mixture, working on one area while letting another dry.
I want you to notice something important—even though I was working wet-on-wet and needed to move while the paint was still damp, I wasn't rushing. Watercolor will stay wet for a while, especially if you're working in a cool, humid environment like I was (Pacific Northwest in October is perfect for watercolor). Factors like how wet your brush is, room temperature, and local climate all affect drying time.
The key is to work deliberately, not frantically. Make your strokes and leave them alone. I learned to resist the urge to fiddle and fuss. Once I made a brushstroke, I committed to it and moved on. It's a lot like sketching—instead of making lots of little jagged, hesitant lines, you make one confident stroke and trust it.
The Magic of Natural Drying
Here's something I've learned the hard way: let your watercolor dry naturally whenever possible.
Yes, I did pull out a blow dryer for this piece because I was on a time limit, but I try to avoid it. When you blow dry watercolor, two things happen:
You lose the beautiful organic textures that form naturally—those blooms and granulations that give life to your painting
The paint ends up paler than if it dried on its own
Look at the horse's face in my finished piece. Those blooms and textures that formed while it dried? That's the watercolor being watercolor, creating effects I could never replicate intentionally. They give dimension to shadows and bring the subject to life. If I'd rushed it with a blow dryer, those happy accidents would never have happened.
One Brush, Infinite Possibilities
Let me encourage you about something: you don't need to run out and buy a bunch of specialty brushes. A good quality round brush can do almost everything.
With my size 8 brush, I can:
Cover large areas by using the full belly of the brush loaded with water
Paint fine details by using just the tip with light pressure and controlled moisture
Create varied line weights by adjusting pressure and angle
I wouldn't tackle a 12x16 painting or larger with just this brush, but for most watercolor work, it's incredibly versatile. Instead of buying multiple brushes, invest in one really good one that holds lots of water and has a sharp point.
Working in Layers: The Back and Forth Method
As I painted, I constantly moved between sections. I'd work on the horse, switch to the woman while the horse dried, then come back to add darker values to the horse once that area was ready. This back-and-forth method keeps you productive without risking muddy colors or unwanted blending.
When I got to the woman's face, I kept it simple. I added a bit of shadow where the fabric of her hijab meets her head to differentiate the shapes, then just a couple of lines to suggest her eyes. In the reference image, she was smiling with those characteristic crescent-shaped eyes you get when you're genuinely happy. I didn't need to paint every detail—I just needed to convey the feeling.
Abstract Realism: My Painting Style
I think about storytelling when I paint. For this piece, my story was simple: "Quick painting of woman on horse." If by the end I had something that read as a person riding a horse and looking like they're having a good time, it was a success.
I like to paint in a loose, atmospheric manner. I want to give you just enough information that your mind fills in the rest. It's almost borderline abstract, but I use realistic proportions—I call it "abstract realism," even though that sounds like an oxymoron.
If I were painting a formal portrait, I'd worry about getting every facial detail exact. But for this? I just needed the idea, the suggestion, the feeling. And I think that approach actually makes paintings more engaging because the viewer becomes an active participant, completing the image in their own mind.
The Color Shift Phenomenon
One fascinating thing about Rose of Ultramarine: it shifts color as it dries. When it's fresh and wet, it looks more pink. After it fully dries, it appears more purple. This is beyond the normal "watercolor dries lighter" phenomenon—it's an actual hue shift, and I find it endlessly fascinating.
Pro Tips I Learned Along the Way
Don't touch your paintings to check if they're dry. Yes, I did exactly this in the video, and immediately regretted it. I left a fingerprint and smudged the paint, then had to cover my mistake with a darker value. Learn from my error!
Use heat-erasable markers for grids. I used purple fine-liner markers that disappear with heat. This is crucial because the marks don't run or mix with the watercolor, and at the end, I just used my blow dryer on high heat to erase all the grid lines. (Fun fact: I also use these markers when quilting because they disappear when I iron the fabric.)
One small caveat: on certain papers and fabrics, the erased lines can leave a very faint trace that's mostly visible only if you know to look for it. Most people would never notice, but it's something to be aware of.
Control your moisture. Getting excess water out of your brush and learning water control is essential for fine detail work. You don't need a liner or rigger brush if you master using just the tip of your round brush with the right amount of moisture.
Use a damp brush to soften or lift. If you have hard edges you want to soften or areas where the value got too dark, a damp (not wet) brush can gently lift paint or blend edges.
Final Thoughts: Embracing Challenges
This painting might have been the first time I ever painted a horse, and it was definitely outside my comfort zone. But that's exactly why I set myself the Inktober challenge: to complete a painting every day in roughly 30 minutes, and to force myself to paint people and subjects I normally avoided.
According to my timestamp, I finished this piece in about 15 minutes, well under my 30-minute goal. And you know what? It was a success—not because it's a photorealistic rendering, but because it tells the story I wanted to tell.
If you're intimidated by watercolor, by monochromatic studies, or by painting figures, I encourage you to embrace that discomfort. Set yourself a challenge. Use a grid to break down complex subjects. Focus on values instead of getting lost in color choices. And most importantly, trust your brushstrokes and let the watercolor do what it does best.
The magic of watercolor isn't in controlling every aspect—it's in knowing when to guide it and when to let it surprise you.