Here’s a little idea for a sweet gift for a friend or relative who loves flowers and art. Ideal for beginners, as this style of watercolor requires no experience and no expertise whatever to achieve a light, modern look sure to please. You’ll be amazed when you pop your creation in a simple frame and…
Author: Diane
Use a Candle to Paint a Landscape
Here’s the easiest way I know of painting a birch tree landscape in winter. Use a piece of ordinary household candle and easily create a resist so that the watercolor paints give the effect of the tree bark. Let’s have a go! Materials And as usual there’s a free traceable sketch download available here on…
Starry Sky Bookmarks
I’d squeezed out a lot of indigo for the previous painting I’d done, and rather than let it dry and possibly go to waste, I decided to use it on a project I’d been back-burnering for a long time – some starry sky bookmarks. Maybe it was because I’d just watched “Don’t Look Up!” and…
Let’s go skiing with Rabbit and Hedgehog
Inspired by an article in my favorite art magazine I decided to paint a snowy landscape with a cute whimsical rabbit and hedgehog skiing across the paper, with a background a snow covered pine trees. The video includes instructions for how to paint a wintry sky, and how to make an effective skyline of trees…
Watercolor Flowers for your Journal
Earlier this year I discovered the art of journalling. As a former daily diary writer, I found myself attracted to the concept of creating a journal from scratch, incorporating all sorts of mementos and memories along the way. So much more satisfying than pages of longhand script I never re-read, my journal became a reflection…
Ten Minute Snowy Christmas Cards
Squeezing in painting time is often a challenge no matter how much you want to do it, and lengthy projects often fall by the wayside. I know – it happens to me too! So here are some quickies that you can do in just a few minutes, with the minimum of materials and hardly any…
Red Cardinal on Snowy Holly
Everyone loves the Red Cardinal, the brightest spot in the winter in many cold climes. Nothing says Christmas louder than a flock of cardinals feeding in the garden. So for the Christmas seasonal change in decor, I painted a single cardinal on a branch of holly. Materials Paper The paper I chose was a 140lb…
Christmas Stockings and the Mouse Family
Today I’m painting three warm and cosy Christmas stockings perfect for hanging in front of a roaring log fire on Christmas Eve. Santa has already been and filled the stockings to bursting, but now the local Mouse Family has arrived and is checking out the contents! For this painting I used a sheet of Etchr…
Baby Birds and Baubles
Today I decided to start the morning session in the studio with a loose warm-up exploring my Kuretake Gansai Tambi paints, before going on to the main painting of the day. So using my medium sized Isabey quill brush I simply picked up color at random from the set and made circles on a piece…
Paul Rubens Emerald Box Set
Let’s find out what’s inside a tin of Emerald Paul Rubens paints and then see how to paint a simple little seasonal wreath for cards or other Christmas stationery. The Product The tin of paints comes in a very sturdy green box with embossed gold writing on it. It would prove a very good way…
Wondering what to paint for Christmas?
Here’s a handy summary of all the Christmas themed tutorials we have in our back catalogue on YouTube.
Two Quick and Easy Christmas Cards
Today we’re painting two easy and quick Christmas designs to use as greetings cards, or to adapt for place cards or any other seasonal stationery. First, a bright and cheerful seasonal message with a simple design of five baubles, decorated with a snowflake pattern done in gel pen. You can get the sketch for this…
Exploring your paintbox with flowers
Loose watercolor warmup for recovery and relaxation Some days you just don’t want to concentrate on a complicated composition or a difficult project. If you feel like that – maybe because you haven’t painted for a while or for reasons of health, work pressures – or just feeling lazy, don’t let that put you off!…
Autumn Flavored Leaves and Berries with Gold
Today I’m using my Kuretake Gansai Tambi paints to create a colorful whimsical leaf design to help you practice your watercolor skills. Using a multilayered, mixed media method to develop the rich tones of the Kuretake paint with gold accents, you’ll be thrilled with your results and want to do more! My Materials I decided…
Foxes and Friends
Here’s a whimsical little landscape to celebrate autumn or fall depending on where you live! Also it’s the time of year when druids and pagans celebrate Samhain, as the old year draws to a close and the new year begins for them. Please download the sketch of this painting for your personal use – just…
Beautiful Florals Every Time
Today we’re painting a simple floral bouquet or spray, ideal for beginners and improvers. You can adapt the colors to suit any season, but this one is late summer roses and some imaginary flowers as it’s always good to let the imagination run free. I picked out four colors from my set of Kuretake, and…
Oak Leaf Fall Greetings Card
The leaves are starting to change color and fall now that autumn is here. So how about this pretty mixed media design to use for your autumn greetings cards? You can download the sketch to help you with the painting right here. Materials I recently received a pack of Etchr greetings cards with matching envelopes…
Paint a Cute Cat in a Flowerbed
Here’s a quick and easy floral with a cat which would be ideal to make into a cute greetings card. Use odds and ends of paint and a small piece of paper to create a whimsical moment in your day. This little painting is easy and effective and will banish the blues for a few…