A Course Painting Full of Light and Texture

When Blurone Spain contacted me and confirmed we would be producing a watercolor course together, the first thing I asked myself was: Which subject would be the best to showcase my painting style and technique?

I have a folder on my computer titled “Potential Projects”, full of photos I’ve saved over the years. So I sat down and began looking for a subject that felt powerful—something with strong contrast between light and shadow, an appealing harmony of color and shapes, a composition that allowed for both foreground effects and midground detail, and one that could demonstrate a wide range of watercolor techniques. That’s when I came across a photo from one of my favorite places: the fishermen’s huts at La Casería beach, in San Fernando.

I have many references of this beautifully run-down and character-filled location, and it didn’t take long to find the perfect shot. What better way to introduce the world to my process than through a corner of my hometown?

Originally the photo was in landscape format, but I decided to crop it and center the composition around a single focal point: this old shack—cracked, rusty, covered in grime and mildew. A paradise of textures for any watercolorist.

A Professional Challenge

Unlike other works, which I usually complete over several days or weeks in short sessions, this painting had to be done in one go—while being filmed and explained step by step. It was my first time recording myself painting, and certainly my first time explaining my process as I worked. It was a challenge, yes… but nothing truly interesting happens unless we step outside our comfort zone. And this was a perfect example.

The full painting process, from the initial drawing to the final touches, is documented in my online course:
👉 Contrastes de luz y color en la acuarela

So I won’t go into every technical detail here. Instead, I’ll let the finished painting speak for itself. I believe this piece represents my personal style well, especially through the textures on the wall and ground. As usual, my goal was to capture the intense southern light of San Fernando (Cádiz), with a balanced use of warm and cool tones and a rhythmic interplay between vertical and horizontal forms.

Materials and Technical Details

🎨 Medium: Schmincke Horadam watercolors
📄 Paper: Hahnemühle, 600g fine-grain cotton paper
📐 Size: 36 x 48 cm
📅 Date: August 2023
🔲 Format: Portrait
🎨 Palette: Ochre yellow, burnt sienna, cool blues and rust tones—used to recreate complex textures and coastal light

Sketches and Color Studies

Here are some of the sketches, tonal value plans, and color palette studies I created to prepare this painting for the course:

🖼️ Swipe through the image gallery to see:

• Color wheel with my custom palette
• Comparison between saturated and broken colors
• Value structure and compositional grid
• Final sketch and full palette reference

Final Reflection

Creating La Casería for my watercolor course with Blurone was a truly enriching experience, both artistically and personally. Preparing a piece for an instructional video required a more deliberate planning process—from sketches and value studies to color palette exploration. It was the perfect opportunity to share my full workflow with students, from first pencil lines to the final layers of texture and detail.

Choosing such a meaningful and visually striking subject—a fishermen’s shack from my hometown of San Fernando—allowed me to stay true to my artistic identity while exploring light, balance, and surface richness. I’m especially grateful to Blurone for their trust and professionalism throughout the project. It was a pleasure to collaborate with a team so committed to quality and artistic education.

If you’d like to learn how I built this painting from scratch—step by step—check out my full online course on Blurone:
👉 Contrastes de luz y color en la acuarela

And as always:
You can explore the rest of my watercolor collection by clicking the link below.