9. Painting a Streetscape

Here is how Rita paints a streetscape.

1. Gather the Materials

watercolor paper
masking tape
scissors
watercolor painting supplies
chopstick

2. Apply Tape

Using masking tape simplifies the process of creating uniform rectangular shapes. Here’s a user-friendly way to paint a cityscape using tape to form buildings. However, be cautious, as masking tape can occasionally adhere too strongly and potentially damage your paper. To avoid this, opt for low tack tape or gently stick and unstick it on your clothing before applying it to the paper.

To start, cut several pieces of tape to form the buildings. It’s more visually engaging if you vary the lengths of the tape to create buildings of various heights. You can also experiment with different tape widths to make some buildings wider than others. In our example, Rita utilized 1″ diameter tape.

Next, lay a long strip of tape horizontally across the paper to symbolize the ground. Then arrange the “buildings” in a row along the ground as illustrated. Finally, moisten the background before proceeding.

3. Paint the Background

Now, let’s work on painting the background. Rita’s artistic choice was to add a touch of yellow in one corner to depict sunlight and paint the sky a shade of blue. However, feel free to use any colors you prefer, and if you’re creating a nighttime scene, opt for darker shades.

Once you’ve completed the background, allow it to dry completely. Afterward, carefully remove the masking tape from the buildings.

4. Paint the Buildings

Wet each building and paint it.

Allow buildings to dry.

5. Remove Ground Masking Tape

Remove the horizontal “ground” tape, then moisten and paint the ground. Rita decided to go for something unconventional and painted it pink to represent a road! (see below)

6. Add Windows

For adding windows to the buildings, Rita employed the rectangular tip of a chopstick commonly found in Chinese takeout food. She painted this tip black and proceeded to stamp the windows in her preferred spots on the buildings.

7. Paint line on the Road

To create a dividing line in the road, Rita painted as shown after the road had dried.