Happy New Year!
Present shopping all around!
Hello everyone, and a happy new year to you all! Hopefully 2026 has been treating you all well so far. How were your holidays? How was your new year? And however you celebrated the season, it’s a new year, and it’ll be a great one full of painting fun watercolours.
I’ve been enjoying having a little time off over the Christmas season, and I’ve had a bit of a rest and reset. And most importantly, I’ve had lots of thoughts about where I want to take this Substack over the next year, so there’s some exciting things in store for you all!
The main thing on everyone’s lips in January is often resolutions: what exactly you’re hoping the new year will bring. I, for one, have got some great new paintings planned. But what about you? Let me know below, and I can help you out!
I’ve already got a heads up on painting this January, and I’ve raced straight out of the park with this little street scene. I’m particularly fond of how all the colours turned out here, and it reminds me of a brisk wander around a European city around the turn of the new year!
And that’s not all! I also did this little number in my local church on a cold day. I think it came out rather well, but let me know what you think.
But what about you? Do you want to get some loose watercolour practice in this week? If you do, then why not try out this free tutorial just below. I can’t wait to see how you all get on with ‘Lilac Delight Floral!’
And if you want more painting practice, there’s also a new tutorial over on New tutorial on loosewatercolours.com. ‘Winter Plant Pot’ is a simple floral aimed at beginners to the loose style, so you can have lots of fun with this one.
If you want another tutorial, there’s also one freshly posted to my Patreon site. ‘Light on Life’ is available now - but there’s actually two versions. One with a veil, and one without, so you can decide which version you like best. You can watch along by following the link here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/andrewgeesonloosewatercolours
What are your plans for the new year? If you’ve got some free time and fancy painting, why not join me in beautiful Portugal from the 17th to the 24th October 2026, where you can enjoy a seven day watercolour holiday with five days tuition! You’ll stay at an amazing four star hotel, the Vila Do Obidos, and have a fantastic time painting all of the beautiful sights of the Iberian Peninsula.
If you’d like to find out more, you can visit Alpha Painting Holidays at alphapaintingholidays.com, by mobile phone at +44 (0) 1934 733877, or by email at joinus@alphapaintingholidays.com.
The Loose Gang have been enjoying the Christmas holidays, and have actually been on a few adventures. They travelled up to Scotland to see some snow, so here they are in action, enjoying a festive breakfast!
You might not have heard, but the loose watercolours website has had a little bit of a revamp over the last month or two. Why not head over there and check it out? There’s lots of exciting things to discover, but in the meantime, let’s take a closer look at what membership of the website entails.
You can explore yourselves by following the link here: https://loosewatercolours.com/shop/memberships/monthly-membership/
Maybe painting is a new year’s resolution for you, or maybe you’re just looking to treat someone special in your life. If so, why not upgrade to a set of Loose Gang brushes? If you’re interested, you can find them by following the link here: https://loosewatercolours.com/product-category/the-loose-gang
That’s all from me for now, as I’m off to grab a blanket or three. Somehow it feels colder now than it did before Christmas, which is saying something! A warm blanket and a freshly brewed tea might just do the trick. As always though, this week there’s an exclusive tutorial available especially for all of you lovely paid subscribers - after all, it’s your support that helps keep this Substack running! So I hope you all enjoy painting along to ‘Winter Clouds & River’ - a lovely outdoor painting and a great painting start to the new year.
Toby and I will be back in your inboxes very soon, but until next time, it’s goodbye from us both. Have a lovely week, and happy painting!
