Welcome to Learning with Debi
Transform your relationship with watercolour — from hesitant first strokes to confident, exhibition-ready work. Debi Riley’s structured online courses bring decades of teaching experience directly to your studio.
Choose Your Learning Journey
Three carefully designed courses, each building on the last. Whether you’re holding a brush for the first time or preparing your first gallery show, there’s a course made for exactly where you are right now.
🎨 Beginner
First Brushstrokes
8 weeks · 3 hours/week
Start your watercolour journey with a warm, structured foundation. You’ll learn to see colour the way an artist does, fall in love with the unpredictable beauty of wet-on-wet, and paint your first confident florals and landscapes.
- Colour theory made visual and practical
- Wet-on-wet magic and luminous washes
- Simple but beautiful florals & landscapes
- Build real confidence from day one
Supplies needed: 300gsm cold press paper · Cotman student paints · synthetic brush set · palette
🖌️ Intermediate
Painting with Confidence
10 weeks · 4 hours/week
You know the basics — now it’s time to make watercolour truly sing. Dive into glazing, granulation, and complex compositions. Develop your personal colour mixing vocabulary and tackle subjects with real artistic intention.
- Glazing & granulation techniques
- Advanced wet-on-dry & textures
- Complex compositions & colour mastery
- Professional-grade materials & workflows
Supplies needed: Arches/Fabriano 300gsm · Daniel Smith or W&N professional paints · Kolinsky sable brushes
🏛️ Advanced
Exhibition Ready
12 weeks · 6 hours/week
The ultimate course for serious watercolourists. Develop a coherent body of work, master a full professional palette, and prepare your paintings for gallery walls. Learn to write your artist statement and navigate the world of exhibitions.
- Develop a cohesive body of work
- Full professional palette (20+ pigments)
- Gallery presentation & critique sessions
- Exhibition planning & artist statement
Supplies needed: Professional palette (20+ pigments) · varied paper surfaces · specialty brushes · sketchbooks
Why Learn with Debi?
🎓 Decades of Teaching
Debi has taught watercolour painting at university level and through her own studio. Her structured, encouraging approach has helped hundreds of students find their artistic voice.
✍️ Rich Written Resources
Over 800 in-depth blog posts on every aspect of watercolour painting — from colour mixing to composition — form the living library that underpins every course lesson.
🌏 Learn at Your Own Pace
All course materials are available online, so you can study in your own studio, on your own schedule, at your own pace. No commute, no pressure — just painting.