TIP 8 Don’t use too many colours! There are at least 96 colours in Winsor and Newton’s Artists’ watercolour range. I use about a dozen regularly which is enough for me. Spend some time finding out which ones you really like and experiment. The arrangement of different paints you can see on my drawing board […]
Top Sketchbook TIP 7 A new sheet of clean white paper can ofter appear intimidating to a beginner, even to someone experienced. to overcome any fears of making a mistake, it can be helpful to lay a pale wash of colour (for example Yellow Ochre or Raw Sienna) over the whole sheet of paper, whether […]
Sketchbook TIP 6 Receive instruction. I always take at least one Sketchbook on a painting holiday. Join a painting class or join us on one of our Painting Holidays You will be with like-minded people who will encourage you and offer constructive criticism. You will also have that regular weekly discipline that is so important to […]
Sketchbook TIP 5 If you want to start adding watercolour to any line work you are doing in your sketchbook, then you will need one with a decent quality paper. I enjoy using the “little black book” now branded by moleskine favoured by artists like Henri Matisse. You can get one with a stiff cartridge […]
Tip 4 Limited Palette Why don’t you try Drawing with a brush and paint with one colour or a limited palette instead of using a pencil. You will achieve a quality of line that will vary in thickness. This will make your brush strokes look far more interesting. You will also become more confident about […]
Newbiggen by the Sea A few weeks ago I was asked by one of my clients to paint a specific view of the Needle’s Eye. This unusual rock formation is situated at the south part of the beach at Newbiggen by the Sea on the Northumbrian coast. There are so many stunning places to paint […]
TIP 3 Be Inspired! If I’m ever feeling dry, I will spend a couple of hours browsing through my reference books of paintings by some of the great exponents of watercolour. Some of my favourites are Winslow Homer, Sir William Russell Flint and Joseph Mallord William Turner. More recently I’ve been studying John Singer Sargent, Arthur […]
Show Me The Monet Lucky Day Productions have been filming a new series for BBC 2 called Show Me The Monet. Artists from around the country were invited to submit a piece of art to be judged by a hanging committee of renowned art experts to then be shown to the public at the Royal […]
Painting Grey Street It’s often helpful for anyone keen on painting to see how other artists tackle a subject. On Saturday 4th September, I was doing a painting of Grey Street for a demonstration at Waterstones book shop in Emerson Chambers. Earlier that week, I called in and spent about 40 minutes on the preliminary sketch […]
Watercolour 2. For more Top Sketch Book Tips buy a small watercolour sketch book. I find that Moleskine do a rather handy size book with decent paper in. Try to paint a sky a day or even just one a week. At the end of a year you will have 52-365 studies that will capture […]