This term I have taught 4 watercolour classes where most of the students are experienced watercolour artists. I decided to teach different techniques that help participants loosen up and push the boundaries of watercolour.   Teaching these techniques has been such a joy and I think most of the participants have got lots out of the experience. As the teacher I also learn and grow along with my students. I love seeing someone take something I have shown them and take it to a whole other level.

 

I enjoy experimenting with different papers, colours, brushes and other materials. One of those papers is Yupo paper which is actually made of plastic. Part of learning involves taking risks and making mistakes and I have been painting lots of pictures that are a total mess on Yupo paper. I am learning far more from my mistakes then my successes and failure is an important part of the learning process.  The picture of the wave painted on Yupo paper that is pictured above was my 5th attempt. 

 

 

I was trying to paint some gum trees on the yupo paper in the picture on the right.  It did not work out but I learned what not to do.  I am going back into the studio tomorrow to have yet another go.

  

As an artist everything we create is judged by others.  You become more comfortable with failure than most.  You just have to accept that not everything will be a masterwork and move on. It is the process of learning and moving on that creates the master artist or craftsperson. I think the day I am truly happy with my technique will be the day I stop painting.

 

 

 

 

 

Last month I wrote about painting shrubs in acrylic and this month I will write about painting shrubs in watercolour. The main difference is in acrylic you work from dark to light and in watercolour you work from light to dark. The painting I am using for the demo is a commission I painted recently. The commission was to paint the house but the client loved the garden. I decided to make the garden (which is beautiful) the main focus of the work so I put lots of detail and embellishment into the foliage to try and capture the garden in its full glory.

 

After masking the house with masking fluid I was then able to paint the background sky and trees wet on wet. First I floated in a watery wash of Cobalt Blue with a large brush for the sky and then while it was still wet I added the trees so that they softened and dried with blurred edges creating the illusion of distance.. The trees were created using partially mixed Raw Sienna and Cobalt Blue. This was mixed to a paste like consistency on my palette and then quickly and loosely brushed in with a large brush while the sky was still wet.. When this thicker mix of paint is applied to a wet wash, it softens and bleeds as it dries forming the out of focus trees in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

I also masked out the foreground roses so that I could paint the grass behind it very wet to get the feathering effect. Once the grass was dry I removed the masking fluid and painted most of the rose bush in a watery mix of Cadmium Yellow and Cobalt Blue leaving some white areas of the paper to be highlights or roses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

  

While this mix is still wet I drop in some more of this green colour but this time it has more of the Cobalt Blue in it and less water.   This thicker darker green softens and bleeds to create the shadows but does not run everywhere. If it does your darker green mix is too watery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

As the rose bush slowly dries I continue to drop in other colours. I love using Cobalt Turquoise as it granulates well. I may also drop in a touch of Cadmium Yellow, the Cobalt Blue and Mauve mix that is my trademark colour and finally the darks using Indigo. You can see the tones and colours bleed together in a controlled way to create the illusion of a 3D Shrub. This is a fairly difficult technique to master in watercolour so don’t feel too bad if you don’t get it right first go. The secret is how much water you add to your paint and how dry your paper is and this takes practice.

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

Sometimes when the bush is nearly dry I scrape out some highlights with my fingernail. If you don’t have a fingernail use an old credit card cut in half. The final step is to add some darks over the dried wash for detail. I may use a touch of White gouche to paint in some extra roses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

The lavender is painted in the same way but one bush at a time in a watery mix of Cerulean Blue and Raw Seinna. Each one is allowed to totally dry before I start the next one. Its time consuming. I leave a crisp white edge on the top of each lavender bush to create the effect of light and shade. My darkest colours are at the bottom of the bush.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

Another green bush is added at this stage and has a bit less detail as it is in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

    

 

This is of course only one way you can use to paint foliage or shrubs in watercolour and is quite controlled and detailed.  My main tip is to look at the pattern of the dark colours and paint these.  Stop thinking about painting a shrub and just paint the pattern that you see when you squint your eyes.  Have your brush strokes follow this pattern and you will find you can paint anything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

  

 

 

Finally when all the base colours are in I paint the flowers with Gouache mixed with different colours.

 

Here is the final result.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As part of the Artists Open Studio program in the Melbourne shire of Nillumbik I opened my studio to the public for a weekend . I had a constant stream of people through asking heaps of questions and wanting me to demonstrate some of my techniques. It was exhausting but rewarding. I wanted to welcome all the new people who signed up for my newsletter. I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to pass it on to others who may.  It is free to sign up and at no stage is the mailing list used for other purposes.