Simple Circles for a Creative Afternoon! Would you like to paint something, but you don’t know what? Are you brand new to painting and don’t know where to start? Or would you like your picture to be simple, easy and full of joy? Then why not simply rely on simple basic shapes – for exampleRead more ⟶
Tag: tutorial
How to Paint Cute Whimsical Birds in Watercolor
The eyes have it! Start your whimsical animals with the big googly eyes all the best cute animals have and let your imagination run riot! Get started in whimsy with this easy beginner-friendly tutorial showing you some of the tricks you need to know to get a light and airy feel in your paintings. TheRead more ⟶
How to Paint and Draw Sweet Peas
Pretty Sweet Peas are everyone’s favorite, whether you’re a gardener, flower arranger or artist, and as well as being beautiful they have a lovely scent. In fact, in French they are called Pois de Senteur or “scented peas”. So today I’ve picked three colors – Cobalt Blue, Permanent Rose and Sap Green, along with myRead more ⟶
Three Whimsical Hens and a Surprise
If you’ve always hesitated over painting chickens, why not give these super-easy hens a whirl? Starting with nothing more than a watermelon slice shape, you can add the details that make the chicken a hen. When you read a book or watch a video on beginning watercolor the advice given is often “do NOT useRead more ⟶
Embellished Butterflies – Never Give Up!
Today I’m painting a little flock of butterflies with a romantic mood, using my set of six granulating Primatek colors, and the set of six QOR Introductory Colors as well. I am painting wet in wet on a 100% cellulose paper, Etival by Clairefontaine, and I am using Sennelier Walnut ink with a dip penRead more ⟶
Whimsical Watercolor Birds
Today I’m painting three whimsical birds with a vintage feel, using a few colors selected from two sets of Daniel Smith watercolor tubes – the set of six granulating Primatek colors, and the set of six Jean Haines All That Shimmers iridescent colors. I am painting wet in wet on a 100% cellulose paper, EtivalRead more ⟶
Can’t Sleep? Paint my Sheep!!!
This is the perfect painting project for a sleepless night – a quick, easy and stress-free way of painting a sheep! You only need three colors for this painting, plus some iridescent paint or a gold pen to add a bit of embellishment if you’d like to. It’s a simple design of a stylised sheep,Read more ⟶
Capturing Movement and Light with Watercolor
Today we are going to try to use granulating colors in a limited palette along with a little bit of ink and iridescence to capture the essentials of some pretty dragonflies. This is a very simplified way to paint these complex creatures. For the purposes of this exercise, I have deconstructed the insects into segmentsRead more ⟶
Three Cute Cats for a Cool Card
Today’s project is a two-in-one. We’re going to practice our wet-in-wet technique, and at the same time create a cute greetings card we can use for anyone and for any occasion. It’s a simple design of three stylised cats, and I’m using the lovely A. Gallo paints to create this, on a piece of ArchesRead more ⟶
Embrace the colors of Italy with this easy watercolor poppy field
Today we are off to Italy to enjoy the scenery and do some landscape painting of an easy watercolor poppy field! We all want to succeed with our landscapes and to do so you really do need a good quality paper, and there is nothing better than Arches 140lb cold press fine grain paper fromRead more ⟶
Three Cute Wet-in-Wet Birds
Today we are practising wet-in-wet and water control and having fun at the same time! If you want to succeed with wet-in-wet you really do need a good quality paper, and there is nothing better than Arches 140lb cold press fine grain paper from France – it’s widely available online. I buy mine in sheetsRead more ⟶
Loose Florals and Neurographic Art
Today I decided to start my painting session with another neurographic exercise. I found a different approach described on YouTube – there is so much variation out there in how to do this technique, most of which have gone a long way from the original methods, and which, to tell the truth, I find moreRead more ⟶
Paint a Sunflower on Canvas
On our Facebook group we have a challenge running right now, with a prize at the end of May, to paint a sunflower painting every day until the end of the month. The idea is to use the sunflower as a warm-up for your painting session, and to practice skills without having to decide whatRead more ⟶
Floral Cards to make in under ten minutes
Who wouldn’t love to receive one of these delicately painted but “oh so easy!” little cards? I know I was thrilled when I received a similar one from an online supporter who gave me permission to adapt her design into the cards I’m showing you now. For these paintings the requirements are absolutely minimal. AnyRead more ⟶
Sunflowers and Bird Houses
Sunflowers are one of the most popular flowers for artists to paint, and they also are very popular as themes for interior decor, especially for garden rooms, conservatories and even kitchens, as the cheerful sunflower face seems to fit well into places where the sun often shines. For this painting I decided to add someRead more ⟶
Easy Dragonfly and Neurographic Art
I did a great warm-up before painting today. For the first time I tried an exercise in Neurographic art, and you can see this at the start of the video below. I brought my own unique twist to it, so do have a look! Try Neurographic Art to Relax and Release Your Creativity We’re allRead more ⟶
Chickadee on Magnolia Flowers
How to paint this simple loose Magnolia branch with a tiny Chickadee sitting in the blossoms. After a recent short holiday in Canterbury, England, I just had to paint a branch of magnolia blossoms, as they were so beautiful this spring. The Chickadee is also on holiday from the States, and asked if he couldRead more ⟶
Let’s paint loose and splashy watercolors!
This week I’ve been focussing on loose and splashy watercolors, and trying lots of techniques for achieving a random, carefree and loose effect in various subjects – from flowers to galaxies! Here I’ve collected together the paintings I’ve done this week, with their tutorial videos on YouTube so that you can try out some ofRead more ⟶