Winter Warmers
Following up with more loose techniques this week.
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another edition of Loose Watercolour news, straight from HQ. How’s your week been? Good, I hope. Did you have some time to relax? Did you get any painting done? However you spent your time, it’s the beginning of a new week, so it’s time to rest, reset, and have some watercolour fun!
It was great to see so many of you joining in the festive fun over on the live broadcast last Monday. I’ve seen several ‘Glowing Candles’ on the Beginner’s Facebook Group this week, and I’m very impressed with the standard that you’re all at in painting in the loose style! After all, practice makes perfect, so remember that you’re improving every single time you pick up a paintbrush!
We’re back tonight with more live broadcast antics at 7pm GMT this week, so be sure to tune in for some more festive fun as we paint a ‘Winter Robin.’ If you’d like to paint along, just follow the link here: https://loosewatercolours.com/live-broadcast/
As a follow up to last week’s look at the techniques we use in the live broadcast, this week, I thought we’d take a closer look at how to paint within a shape.
Watercolour Basics #2: Painting within a Shape
There are lots of different ways to paint when it comes to watercolours. If you paint methodically, it’s easy to predict where the paint will end up on the paper - there’s no element of mystery there. The same goes for if you don’t add liquid. These approaches also means that painting takes a long time, as there’s more time required to get paint coverage over a specific area, but it’s perfect if you want lots of detail in your painting.
That’s the exact opposite of what we’re after in painting loose, though. Painting methodically can be good for other styles, but it takes away the fun of not knowing exactly what you’re going to produce on your paper. In painting loose, the name of the game is to use the liquid in the paint to allow the colours to blend together, move around the paper, and quickly cover big areas so that you can paint fast to get that lovely loose effect.
So how can we do this? Well, watch the video below to find out.
If you’d like to practice your new-found skills with a tutorial or two, you’re in luck! If you’re a Patreon member, there’s a new tutorial available this week for you to try. Continuing with the Christmas theme, this week’s subject is ‘Moon Bears,’ a lovely little tutorial perfect for any seasonal crafts you might be planning on making. Brrr. I can almost feel that snow from here! If you’d like to try it, follow the link here: https://www.patreon.com/andrewgeesonloosewatercolours
And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a new tutorial available on the website, ‘Cool Morning City.’ Can you tell that it’s getting a bit chilly over here at Loose Watercolours HQ? This is another winter-themed tutorial, a landscape this time, and it’s perfect to paint with winter just around the corner! If you’d like to give it a try, pop on over to loosewatercolours.com.
If you’d like more tutorials, then there’s over three hundred fully narrated ones over on the Loose Watercolours Member’s Group. There’s a subject for everyone, with lots of florals, fauna, landscapes, and cityscapes on offer, as well as lots more! Perfect for a new year’s resolution to start painting, or as a gift for any budding artist in your life, you can take a closer look by following the link here: loosewatercolours.com/product-category/membership
I was out and about this week as it’s well and truly workshop season! This week, I did a demonstration for Keyworth Art Society, which was great fun - it was an absolutely lovely group, and I was very impressed by their skills with a brush.
I painted a floral at their request, and then created a quick architectural painting to round off the day. Demonstrations are always a good way to teach in that people can freely ask questions about any bits of the loose style that they might be struggling with, which they did - they were a very lively and interactive audience!
That’s all from me this week, as there’s a village fair going on in the local church - Christmas themed, of course, and I can smell the delicious cakes from here! So I’m off to have a wander around the stalls and do some taste testing. Don’t forget to join me tonight for some more loose watercolour fun though!
And of course, as always, there’s an extra exclusive tutorial included at the end of this Substack as an extra special thank you to all of you paid subscribers. As I say often, it’s your help that helps me keep this Substack up and running, so I hope you enjoy painting along this week to ‘Simple Rose.’
Until next time, though, it’s goodbye from Toby and I. Have a lovely week, and I’ll be in your inboxes again very soon - happy painting!