I’ve been wanting to paint pigeons for ages. Why? The moment people describe them as rats with wings, I start seeing the beautiful colours and iridescent feathers. The canvas is 30×100 and prepped with watercolour ground. A light sketch, is the first step and then I painted the birds with Indian ink. I used salt …
If you are struggling to loosen up your work (and there is nothing wrong with tight work), try pen and wash. The pen or ink gives you the control you crave and acts as a scaffolding to hang loose watercolour washes upon. You can see a time lapse here: https://youtu.be/bEPJgnV4Tw8
Thought you might like to see some of the work from a session I ran yesterday on eyes. I love how if there are 16 people in a room doing exactly the same session, you get 16 different outcomes! Didn’t they do well? You can see re about our weekly class at www.lizsartclass.co.uk
Tawnies are lovely to paint – it’s all about those eyes! So, when I was asked to paint a pair on canvas to go live in a barn conversion, I jumped at the chance. Having discussed it with their soon-to-be owner we agreed on ink and watercolour on canvas in a subdued palette. Here’s how …
Thought you might like to see the finished Tui, from the idea sketch in my previous post. Here’s the ink work And here is the watercolour added Always with the aim of making 2+2=5 with the pen and wash.
I’ve been asked how I come up with ideas and concepts for paintings, so I thought I would share my process. Though for me it is usually an animal subject, the same goes for landscape, portrait, still life…. So by way of example let’s look at a commission I have been asked to do – …
How to paint a flying kestrel
Skies, or should we really say clouds, are rather addictive in watercolour! They can add drama, or be a soft backdrop to your landscape. Here are a few of my top tips: Take care not to make clear blue skies dominate landscapes – they can be flat and boring. Use clouds to balance compositions. Think …
So today I did a class and the focus was on whites and lights in watercolour. Flashes of white really add a sparkle to your watercolour painting, but of course we don’t have white paint at our disposal being a transparent medium. It is therefore vital to plan where the lightest passage is going to …
Sorry it’s been quiet. Having the children around does not make for having a clear head to get painting. However, I have been busy planning my new weekly classes (which start tomorrow – very exciting) and thought I would put together some top tips (using *top* in a very broad way) for loosening up in …