July calling
There’s been a heatwave.
Hello everyone, and welcome back to this week’s edition of Loose Watercolours! How’ve you been? Good, hopefully. There’s been a heatwave in the UK over the last week or two, so it’s been very hot over here in Looseville. There’s no denying that it’s well and truly summer! That, and the fact that Wimbledon has started, so it’s the ideal season to get out and practice some plein air - while wearing sun cream, of course.
How’s your painting coming along? Did you get any practice in? Whether you did or you didn’t, every week is perfect for a fresh start, so just take each day as it comes. It was lovely to see you all at the last live broadcast, which was ‘Lavender Days.’ The live broadcasts are usually live on Monday nights at 8pm GMT, and you can watch by popping along to Loose Watercolours or Patreon. Either one is fine, as I broadcast on both at the same time.
And if you’re in the mood for some loose painting inspiration, have a browse through some of your own versions of ‘Pink Summer Florals.’ They all look lovely, and I’m very impressed with your brushwork. Let me know if you can spot yours! Click here to enjoy some more.
If you’re looking for a painting tutorial this week, then why not head over to Patreon? There’s a new subject for you to paint, ‘Lilac Vine.’ There’s something about the summer months that makes me think of rich, ripe vineyards deep in the south of France, so you can probably guess where I found the artistic inspiration for this one. If you’re looking to try it yourselves, follow the link here: https://www.patreon.com/cw/andrewgeesonloosewatercolours
And there’s also another tutorial available on the website if you’d like to give that one a go as well. This week’s subject? ‘Orange Tree Blossom,’ continuing with the floral theme. You can watch it by heading over to loosewatercolours.com.
What about another one? They say the best things come in threes. Brush up on your painting skills with ‘Big Red Flower,’ and watch the video below to see exactly how to get your floral paintings to bloom.
Sometimes, the best way to improve your painting is to break it down into lots of little steps. In that vein, I thought we could take a closer look this week at how best to create trees and leaves with a look at our Tips & Techniques series. After all, practice makes perfect! Watch the video below a few times to get an idea of how to practice, then put your newly honed skills to good use with few more loose watercolours paintings!
Are you excitedly counting down the days until your summer holidays? What about what you’ve got planned in autumn? 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.
And if you’re looking for a lovely little summer treat, then why not upgrade to some new brushes for your painting practice? You can get your very own set of Loose Gang brushes by following the link just here: https://www.patreon.com/andrewgeesonloosewatercolours/shop/loose-gang-brush-set-28089?source=storefront
That’s all from me this week, as I’m off to go out and enjoy the summer sunshine with Toby the dog. There’s a lovely spot of shade on the porch with our names on it! As always, there’s an exclusive tutorial waiting especially for all of you lovely paid subscribers. Your generous support helps keep this Substack going, and I’m very grateful for each and every one of you. This week’s tutorial is ‘Floral Joy Basket,’ so I hope you enjoy painting along.
Toby and I will be back in your inboxes very soon, but until then, have a wonderful week, enjoy the sunshine, and happy painting!
