Happy Chinese New Year! 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit in Chinese culture and I decided to paint a rabbit in honour of the new year. Keeping it really simple I outlined a rabbit in Chinese style, and painted it in a traditional shade of red. Red is considered to be good luck in […]
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I felt it was time to dig out my dip pen and some ink and have a scratch into an abstract background, so that’s what I’m doing in this quick study. I picked a piece of paper from my stash more or less at random. It’s a piece of Saunders Waterford paper, 100% cotton, but
Easy Abstract Winter Mood Read More »
Easy Winter Watercolor Landscape for Beginners – PLUS How to Paint Snowy Trees and more Here’s a fun and easy Winter Watercolor Landscape for Beginners and Improvers full of simple but effective techniques for achieving a great painting. You can find the sketch for this painting here free to download. In this video I show you
Easy Winter Landscape Read More »
Learn to paint watercolor the fun and easy way In this video I show you how to choose a colorscheme from your Kuretake paint sets, plus ways to use a brush, different types of brushes, water control and much more. Plus you are going to create a super attractive abstract piece of art that will
Beginners Start Here! Read More »
Here’s a traditional version of a contented partridge nestling in a pear tree just in time for Christmas! The sketch for this painting is available free to download here and full instructions are on the video which you can watch by clicking below: Materials Here are the materials I used to create this painting. Paints
A Partridge in a Pear Tree Read More »
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 this time of year. I know – happens to me too! So here are some quickies that you can do in just a few minutes, with the minimum of materials
Easy Last-Minute Christmas Cards Read More »
Every year I hang three little wooden angels on the tree for Christmas. These little angels have been with me through thick and thin and have lived on three continents with me. Somehow they have managed to stick around despite all the upheaval in my life. This year I decided to use them as models
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
Watercolor Flowers for your Journal Read More »
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
Red Cardinal on Snowy Holly Read More »
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
Christmas Stockings and the Mouse Family Read More »
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
Baby Birds and Baubles Read More »
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
Paul Rubens Emerald Box Set Read More »
Here’s a handy summary of all the Christmas themed tutorials we have in our back catalogue on YouTube.
Wondering what to paint for Christmas? Read More »
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
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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!
Exploring your paintbox with flowers Read More »
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
Autumn Flavored Leaves and Berries with Gold Read More »
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
Foxes and Friends Read More »
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
Beautiful Florals Every Time Read More »
