Flowers and florals.
Flowers and florals.
We're going nature themed this week!
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another loose watercolour week! What have you been up to in the last seven days? I’ve been painting - now, there’s a surprise. I’ve even ventured out to do a couple of plein air paintings now that the weather is (slightly) warmer, but they were more like speed paints than anything else, as it turns out that it’s fairly tricky to paint with thick gloves on.
So in the spirit of the weather - well, for those of us in the Northern hemisphere at least, I was inspired to paint some sunnier scenes this week. Last week’s live broadcast was in this theme, as it was ‘Tulip Day,’ celebrating the Dutch National Tulip Day. What better way to cheer up than painting some beautifully bright flowers?
Have you every been to the Netherlands? I’d quite like to go later this year. It’s only a few hours away by plane, and I think it would be an ideal spot to take my paints and set up - think of all the floral inspiration!
As always, it was fantastic to see so many of you join in the fun, and if you’d like to paint along with this week’s live broadcast, it’ll be on at the usual time, 8pm GMT. You can find it by following the link here.
If you want more nature-themed inspiration, there’s also a new tutorial available on loosewatercolours.com. Using primarily just two colours, this is a great one to follow if you’re looking to create a more dynamic effect with your painting. But don’t get scared by the fancy words! It’s much easier than you’d think. Plus, it’s a lovely little scene that’ll make you think you’re back in the peaceful climes of autumn, with the gentle rustle of leaves in the air.
Talking of trees, I was going back through all of my photo albums recently and I found this magnificent shot of Toby. This is the tree where Charles II hid up during the English Civil War, and Toby thought it was a good spot, so he left his bone there!
If you’d like some more painting practice this week, there’s also another picture on Patreon, ‘Blue Abstract Forest.’ It’s not a video yet, but there’s a tutorial on the way. But in the meantime, why not challenge yourself? See if you can use your well-honed loose watercolour skills to try and recreate it. I reckon you’ll be able to create something amazing. It’s an interesting subject, and the fun is having the paint bleed together to create something unusual - which is the best part of abstract painting!
That’s all from me this week, as I’m busy trying to warm myself up so I can paint some more. In the meantime, though, if you want to know exactly when and where all these videos are posted, and don’t want to miss a live broadcast ever again, why not join in the loose fun with the Loose Watercolour Beginners Facebook Group? There’s just shy of 2,500 members now, so there’s lots of exciting painting content being put on every single day, and there’s plenty of tips and tricks to help you get started on your loose watercolour journey. You can find the group here.
As ever, there’s also an exclusive video at the end of this post for all you paid subscribers - after all, it’s your generosity that helps run this Substack page! I hope you enjoy painting along with this beautiful Blue Flower, and keep your eyes on your inboxes, as there’ll be plenty more things heading your way in the coming weeks.
Until next week, though, it’s goodbye from Toby and I, and in the meantime, happy painting!