Secrets… I don’t have any I won’t share! I’m quite happy to pass along the art tips, techniques and shortcuts I’ve learned over the years….with a little ‘mini’ Watercolour Guide. Art Materials for Watercolour Beginners What should I buy? Where do I find them? Start Slow and Build Up Should I get all […]
DRAMA in the Outback. The dark blue of an impending storm creates a sense of unease as we are led from the dry arid land in the foreground straight into the path of the coming storm. Watercolour Landscape using Opposites This little impressionist landscape was inspired by the harsh condition of the Australian Outback. […]
Where does texture and detail belong? When to stop painting!? How to avoid fiddling? It is a matter of simply reminding yourself as you are painting, there are 3 main areas to your composition. Background, Middleground and Foreground. 3 Main Textural Areas: Background, Middleground, Foreground Each of these areas is to be handled […]
Sweet, the lovely enchantment of paintings in blue! Crystal clear and calming. Refreshing. Mysterious. Deep. Let’s dive into the mysteries of blue paints: Ultramarine, cerulean, cobalt teal blue, indanthrone, prussian, cobalt, phalo and manganese. Unravelling the Mystery of Blue Paints The beginner needs to dive headlong into the refreshing diversity and beauty of blue […]
I was perusing through my art files… aka boxes and stacks of notes, studies, colour charts, sketches. And rediscovered these 2 watercolour charts that I’d created from cobalt blue, winsor lemon and permanent rose watercolour paints. My eye gravitated to the deep purples the warm purple Big “R” small B and […]
Cobalt Violet watercolour paint is a soft, delicate pink – mauve that you either love or loathe. Full of quirks! With my watercolour landscapes, I’ve found its assets far outweigh any liabilities. Cobalt Violet paint information Cobalt Violet Pv49 is cobalt ammonium phosphate, sometimes I use the Daniel Smith watercolour, this time I’ve […]
Relaxing on a rainy day listening to Zen nature music, dabbling with my watercolour paints. Just what I needed. To have a little play, experimenting and creating many different types of trees in the process. Watercolour Painting: The Creation of Trees I’d played with watercolour paints blues and greens in the top image, with overlapping […]
I was busy with the paints today creating trees. It didn’t start off that way. I began with playing with the paints, warming up. I really wasn’t in the mood to ‘do a painting’ anyway. I just wanted to have a play and relax. Zen. Thats all. I began with mixing colours: lavenders, grey greens, […]
The Shasta Daisies grew profusely every spring, like weeds cropping up in abandoned fields and old homesteads. Growing up, I loved how they were June’s herald to a respite from the winter cold. Painted from memory only and as a demonstration painting for a workshop some time ago, I’m attached to my small memento that […]
A master at creating depth in watercolours, an artist I’ve long admired Ellis Rowan has returned to my attention. I was reviewing my posts and paintings the other day, assessing actually. When the vibrant scarlet of Red Dragon Maple Trees caught my eye and got me thinking that the Colour was reminding me of […]