Learn how to use a natural sponge and watercolour pencils to create the illusion of foaming Elderflowers and add three cute birds to make an idyllic natural world scene.
Spend a quiet moment in the garden and studio with me and a sketchbook. We’ll start with observation of the plant in its environment, then we’ll draw and paint some lavender flowers together, using several different methods. Finally we’ll use spatter and loose watercolour techniques to complete a beautiful spray of Lavender, complete with two
To paint this lovely bee you need two shades of yellow gouache (opaque watercolor) plus black and white gouache, some silver iridescent medium, plus a pencil and silver gel pen. Let’s get buzzy!
How to Paint a Bumblebee in Gouache on Black Watercolor Paper Read More »
Take a stroll through Woodland Grove with me! Let’s draw and paint a foxglove flower together, using the ones that grow in my garden as a model.
How to Paint a Foxglove Flower – Paint the Natural World for Beginners Read More »
I started an exploration of black watercolour paper and gouache today. You can buy really nice black paper by Stonehenge from Jackson’s Art.
Inspired by yesterday’s dabbling in iridescent medium from Winsor and Newton I decided today to jump into blue and paint a Seahorse. There’s something to be learnt from painting in one colour only in a painting. This seahorse is bathed in a loose wet in wet mixture of cerulean, cobalt, caribbean and turquoise blues which
Seahorse in Shades of Blue Read More »
Yellow flowers are the happiest flowers. Yellow is such a sunny colour, bringing a lift to your mood on a dull day. Who doesn’t love the happy daffodil, the cheerful buttercup and the gorgeous yellow waterfall of the laburnum tree flowers? So today we are painting a small section of a beautiful laburnum tree in
Laburnum Yellow Waterfall Read More »
Did you know there is actually a way that you can turn any one of your current watercolour paints into a sparkly metallic version quite easily? It’s done by adding a medium. No, not the kind who will put you in touch with the other side, but a little bottle of something special that you
How to Create a Metallic Version of Any Watercolour Paint Read More »
Another salt and saran wrap background sparks the idea to put a hedgehog amongst the leaves which seemed to have arisen from the loose paint I threw around with gay abandon. So here he is in all his glory, with his friend the dragonfly!
Hedgehog and Dragonfly Read More »
It’s been very blustery here lately, the wind being the latest trick the weather has had up its sleeve for us, following on from drought, weeks of frost, torrential rain and hail – all in May! But the swallows continue to share their aerial displays with us, and delight us that they are back for
Swallows in the Sky Read More »
We have a lovely collection of pansies in our garden. Nothing spectacular, but they self-seed every year and every year they come back with their lovely colours and cheerful faces! So every year I have to paint them, of course! So here is a tutorial for Pansies for Spring!
Pansies for Spring Read More »
This painting came about by chance, as is often the case. I made a few backgrounds using salt and saran wrap (clingfilm) and this one struck me at first as a bit dark and possibly difficult to paint on. But then I realised that a few dragonflies would be just the ticket, and would look
In this tutorial I talk about how to make a simple textured background for your painting, and then how to position the subject easily and effectively on top of that background. Then I show you how to paint a robin in a loose but realistic style, accompanied by his flowery branch of blossom. Why not
Robin in Cherry Blossom Read More »
These little cuties grew out of the page after I found a fallen birds’ nest in the garden. I picked up a Staedtler liner pen and sketched some bird-like shapes sitting on twiggy branches, and then coloured them in with loose, splashy watercolor brush-strokes. A satisfying way to spend half an hour – and every
Ink and Wash Flowers – Easy Floral Design – Step by Step Tutorial to Inspire Creativity Breaking away from the tightness of line drawing and “colouring in” even if only temporarily, can break an artist’s block and bring you back into the world of painting. Release your inhibitions and expectations and just play with colour
I want to be free! Read More »
As promised, another pen and ink tutorial, with a colour wash in watercolour bringing the geranium to life. We have a few geraniums which are determined to struggle into flower despite this very cold spring. Although they look complicated to paint, they can be simplified to individual flowers, the leaves can be thinned out a
Line and Wash Geranium Read More »
Why is it that often, the hardest part about painting is deciding what to paint, then running out of excuses or reasons to not get started? Why do I suddenly experience an irresistable urge to dust the furniture when I know a painting is waiting impatiently to be born? Today I wanted to do something
I want to give credit to Old Holland for producing this lovely blue colour which I’ve used to great effect in the background of this painting. It’s Caribbean Blue and is available from their suppliers which you can find if you go to their website at https://www.oldholland.com/watercolours/ The splashing of paint onto a watery stretched
Blue Dragonfly and Wet in Wet Background Read More »
