Pen and wash (or line and wash if you prefer), is a wonderful way of combining the strength of ink with beautiful soft washes of transparent watercolour. At its best, the sum of the parts adds up to so much more than the individual elements. But the most common question for those starting out is, …
Which should I use first in line and wash – ink or watercolour? Read More »
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get to know how your paints are going to behave, without just having to experiment and try them out? Could you find out what pigments are in them and instead of getting to know them over time you could see if you are compatible right from the beginning. …
Learn about watercolour pigments – speed date your paints – 7 things to look for Read More »
Sometimes a little detail turns a painting from good to WOW! and adding water drops, rain drops or dew drops to your work can be just such a detail. The other thing is that they are a brilliant way of practicing tone and shadow control, which was the subject of last week’s tip. They are …
Painting realistic dew drops in watercolour – 5 different simple ways Read More »
Our challenge is to represent our 3D world on 2D paper, and we do this by varying the light and the dark of our paints to try and mimic the light and shadows of our world. But watercolour is a transparent medium and we generally do not have recourse to white paint, so how can …
How to paint tone and shadows in watercolour – simply and effectively Read More »
Your watercolour paper is more important than your paints or brushes, but no one seems to mention it. It REALLY, REALLY matters! Why? Well in watercolour your paper is the lightest area – it becomes your white paint. So bare unpainted paper is usually visible. Lots of beginners think that they will wait until they …
The good, the bad and the ugly of watercolour paper – advice on 7 things to look for Read More »
The quality and variety of your edges in watercolour make a huge difference. Getting control of your edges will take your work to the next level. We are taking about lost/found and hard/soft. If we are being thorough we might talk about broken edges too, but I will leave that for another day! Looking at …
Edges in watercolour – 4 edges to take your work to the next level! Read More »
I love teaching workshops, as I end up learning lots too. The ‘Painting birds in Watercolour’ workshop I did last week was no exception. One of the students showed me a little folded concertina sketchbook she had made to keep all her samples in. Genius! Usually, I suggest sheets of samples, but this is so …
How to make a concertina sketchbook from a single sheet of paper Read More »
Why not join me on Monday 12 July at 2pm BST for an hour or so live on YouTube to learn about different watercolour techniques and how to put them together to capture a horse portrait? This is my first YouTube live, so it would be great if you fancied joining me… Starting at 2pm …
Masterclass – free on YouTube 12 July – plus discount for online courses Read More »
Masking tape is jolly useful stuff, but the big down side is that it may well rip your paper, as you remove it at the end. Needless to say, this is incredibly annoying! Let me share a few tips to avoid this fate. First of all – why use masking tape? Not only does it …
How to use masking tape without ripping your watercolour paper – 6 top tips! Read More »
The sun is shining and your thoughts turn to painting outdoors or maybe a spot of urban sketching, but by the time you get all your supplies together you have given up. Wouldn’t it be great to have a mini watercolour pocket set with all the essentials? Of course you can buy commercial pocket watercolour …
