It's useful to remember that the white of the paper is like an extra color and we can use it for highlights, as here for a glass jar or the shine on flowers, the heads of figures, metal on cars etc.

Starting with a sketch

Quick and easy sketch for urban watercolor practice.

Here I,m starting with a very simple pencil outline, no detail just the general shape and position of the main features. I'm just concerned with getting the building placed comfortably on the page with plenty of white space all around. This time I've saved a 1/4 inch border using masking tape, to help with the appearance. I,ve added a car and might add some figures for interest. The next step will be to cover the sheet with my background glaze which will stand for the sunlit areas. In watercolor painting we usually work from light to dark and from far to near - just a general rule. In the 3rd pic I added a second glaze - which modelled the trees , strengthened the foreground, and started to define the car, fence, steps, doors and windows. I the 4th pic I added the shadows using a mix of blue, red and a touch of brown. I the last pic I added final touches and some birds and some lines to lead the eye in.

Sorry for the delayed follow up to the last post, but this is a quick little painting of the houses that was just meant to be a value study and play around with composition, so I didn't film or photo it stage by stage. But my friend said she and her neighbor would be quite happy with it, so that is a relief. My work is done lol. However I,ll do a step by step repeat for you if you,d like.