I completed this painting in one day, on 30NOV2025.
A friend from AT&T in Austin visited me in Colorado. He bought me an expensive set of Windsor-Newton watercolor paints and 140lb watercolor paper. I have never painted a watercolor. This is my first. My wife, Sandy, does beautiful watercolors. She guided me on how to do it. Any mistakes are mine.
I enjoy painting from reference photographs. Several years ago, I experimented with creating a painting style in a digital app, but I gave up. My goal was to create a reusable digital style that I could apply to any photograph, and get a reference photo with my personal painting style as a result. However, I didn't have the requisite app skills or knowledge. Since then, LLMs (Large Language Models) have been developed. So, I used chatGPT to apply a painting style to a photograph.
To create this painting, I did the following step in this order:
I searched my images for a favorite. In the past, when I ran across a watercolor I liked, I would save it to my photos with the idea that Sandy could paint it.
I found a watercolor style I liked of an African lion (bottom left). I did not want to copy it. I live in Colorado, so a mountain lion is a more appropriate subject.
I asked the LLM AI ChatGPT to apply a very cool watercolor painting style to a photograph I took of a mountain lion (top left). My chatGPT prompt was, "Would it be possible to take my photo of a mountain lion and convert it into a watercolor painting using the style of a lion painting?" Usually, I can spend an hour or more prompting ChatGPT to get what I want.
The AI-generated image is much different than either. The style is similar but different (below).
I saved the ChatGPT-generated image as a PNG file.
To enlarge the image, paste it into Excel and then print it at the required size (~11x14 inches). The print area is set to the image.
The image is printed on multiple pages with a border and excess paper. I cut off the excess paper using a metal straight edge and X-acto knife.
I aligned the cut edges and taped the printed pieces together using see-through Scotch tape.
The resulting image wasn't exactly what I wanted. So, I did the following:
I "erased" parts of the drawing using white acrylic gesso and a fine-point paintbrush
The watercolor has rough sketch lines that match the African lion. Instead of the AI-generated mountain lion.
I modified the sketch lines using a pencil until they matched a mountain lion.
Some lion features were merged with the mountain lion. For example, the whites in the mountain lion are not white enough. Instead of a fluffy white neck, the generated image has the flowing lines of a lion's mane.
I also changed the width of the mountain lion's neck in the final painting.
I brightened the eyes' highlights. The bright points of light make the mountain lion look more alive.
The result is on the left.
The printed image above was taped to a sunlit window. Next, a sheet of 16x20-inch, 140lb watercolor paper was taped on top
The underlying image was traced on the watercolor paper using a MozArt mechanical pencil. Mechanical pencils don't need to be sharpened. So, drawing or tracing goes much faster.
I spent much of my childhood drawing pen-and-ink animals. So, I have the skills to sketch it, but my drawing is too slow and methodical. Drawing would have taken a day or two. Tracing makes the process quicker. Tracing took less than 30 minutes.
The traced lines on watercolor paper are on the left.
I taped watercolor paper with the image to an MDF board.
I like the drips and splotches (dots or splatters) near the bottom of the lion watercolor. The splotches disappeared when printed. I added the splotchess back to the drawing and added some additional drips and splotchess.
I added several lines that I missed while tracing.
It was challenging to draw smooth curves against a vertical window. So, I smotthed out some lines.
The darker lines were lightened by gently erasing with a Faber-Castell Kneadable Eraser.
Most importantly I had another sheet of watercolor paper used for trying out colors, layers, paintbrushes and so on before using them on the finished paainting.
I tried using masking fluid but it was a mess. I would not use it.
First, I tried a brand new bottle of Windsor-Newton clear masking fluid, but it didn't flow. It was lumpy. Shaking the bottle didn't help.
Sandy had an older bottle of slightly colored Windsor-Newton masking fluid. The colored masking fluid could be applied, but it left a yellowish color behind when removed. Don't use it!
Since I am color-blind, Sandy helped me pick the painting colors: yellow ochre, lamp black, raw umber, cadmium yellow hue.
Paint dark to light; get lighter tones by adding water to the brush and pulling from the darker area.
In general, don't mix colors.
Don't paint in layers. (Ooops, In places, I did anyways)
I used watercolor pens for some lines.
Windsor-Newton watercolor promarker colors: burnt sienna, yellow ochre, lamp black