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Who hasn’t envied the outdoor artist, set up ‘en plein air’ on a
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beautiful watercolour landscapes. Advice and tutorials from
award-winning professional artists will get you started, while
advanced tips and techniques will help you to explore what you
can do. You’ll discover how to paint complex effects with
sunlight, shadows and water, learn how to show perspective
and depth through your use of tone and colour, and mix your
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Contents
42
Learn to
achieve depth
with shadows

30
Top tips B asics
Basics
revealed
10 Mastering the basics
of watercolours
16 Composing landscapes:
Line, tone and colour

10
Get to
28 Colour theory
30 Tips and techniques
grips with
the basics

6
 TuTutorials
torials
50 Working freely in
watercolour
54 Winter farm
62 Capture spring light
in watercolour
50
Loosen up
your painting
68 Paint a dazzling landscape
74 Tips to paint vibrant water
78 Depict a luminous
harbour scene at dusk
84 Simple tips for an English
church in line and wash

Taking i tfurther
Taking it further
92 Capture light for a 68
harmonious result Create a
vibrant colour
98 Bring the outdoors in with harmony
ink and watercolour
104 Get outdoors and
paint with gouache
106 Paint the landscape
118
Learn how to
in gouache mount artwork

114 Create great quality digital

copies of your art
118 Mount your artwork
122 Frame your own art
Basics

10 Mastering the basics

of watercolours
16 Composing landscapes:
Line, tone and colour
28 Colour theory
30 Tips and techniques

8
9
Basics

Mastering the basics

of watercolours
Robert Brindley RSMA explains how to simplify a watercolour
by using a limited palette and interpreting tonal value

THE FLUIDITY, TRANSPARENCY

AND IMMEDIACY of watercolour allows
the artist to interpret a wide variety of
subject matter. Although challenging,
especially for beginners, watercolours
can be simplified by adopting a limited
palette and choosing a subject with good
‘tonal contrast’.
In the following snow scene
demonstration, I followed the above
criteria and worked from photographic
reference, in conjunction with a ‘plein air’
oil painting. Working from a sketch – or
even a painting in the final stages – helps
to eliminate the often overwhelming
detail in a photograph.

ROBERT
Carlisle, Cumbria, England
Robert aims to capture light
and atmosphere in a
contemporary impressionistic
style. He tutors watercolour
around the UK and abroad.
www.robertbrindley.com

10
 Basics

Reference
I used this reference image, but
altered it to suit my needs

Draw and mask

1 Using a 2B pencil, I drew out just enough of the
image to enable me to apply the initial loose
wet-into-wet colour washes accurately. The
predominant areas of sunlit snow, together with
smaller highlights, were then preserved with masking
fluid using an old No. 2 Pro Arte Acrylix brush. It is
important to mask these areas as accurately as
possible. Clean the brush immediately after use.

Ma terials
n Arches, cold pressed, ‘Not’ watercolour
‘block’
n Brushes: Escoda Perla - Nos 8 and10;
Pro Arte ‘Acrylix’ Series 202 Nos 2, 4;
203 No 2 Rigger
n Winsor and Newton artists tube colour:
Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Cobalt Blue,
Cerulean, Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt
Violet, Permanent Magenta
n Masking Fluid
n Masking tape
n Ceramic mixing palette
n Small tube of white acrylic paint
n 2B pencil
n Plastic eraser
n Kitchen towel

11
Basics

Mix colour pools

2 I prepared several colour pools for
the first wet-into-wet washes.
These mixes don’t need to be exact; I call
them my ‘first guess’. They were prepared
using the following colours: Cobalt Blue,
Cobalt Violet and Raw Sienna (these
three colours are the basic primaries
upon which the entire painting is based).
In addition, mixes using the following
colours were also prepared: Raw Sienna,
Cobalt Violet, Burnt Sienna, Cobalt Blue,
Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean and
Permanent Magenta.

3
Wet into wet,
diffused wash
Before introducing any of the pre-
mixed colour pools, I wet the paper
thoroughly. By doing so, a little more time
can be taken applying the colour and a
soft, diffused result is more readily
achieved. My aim was to place the colour
from light to dark and as accurately as
possible, letting the colours mix freely.

12
 Basics

Develop the foliage

4 When dry, the foliage on the main

trees was painted using the
following mixes: Raw Sienna and Cobalt
Blue; Cobalt Blue, Raw Sienna and
Permanent Magenta; Cobalt Violet, used
sparingly, was introduced into the above,
damp washes. I tried to keep this diffused
wash simple with only a little definition to
the edges of the foliage.

5
Remove masking fluid
Don’t Once completely dry, I removed all

overcomplicate of the masking fluid using a clean

finger. You should never attempt to
remove masking fluid until the painting is
For all paintings, especially watercolour, it is
completely dry. With a damp brush, I then
essential to keep things simple. Just a few
softened a few of the harsher edges. This
colours and brushes – plus a surface to
ensures a variety of edge and makes the
work on – is all that you need.
masked areas appear more natural.

6
Develop tree trunks
and branches
Using the No 2 Rigger and the No 8
Escoda Perla, I started to paint the tree
trunks and branches. I created a natural
taper on the finer twigs and branches by
using the brush from bottom to top,
finishing with a flick to end the stroke.
The two colour mixes used were:
Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue, one
with slightly more Ultramarine in the mix
and the other with more Burnt Sienna.

13
Basics

7
Paint the pony
To add life to my painting,
I included a pony, which
was taken from one of my
reference photographs.
Although I took care to retain
the masked highlights, I had to
use a little pure Titanium White
acrylic paint to reinstate them.
The colour mixes used were:
Cobalt Blue, Permanent
Magenta plus a touch of Raw
Sienna, making a grey-blue
colour. A mix of Ultramarine
Blue plus Burnt Sienna was
used for the dark patches.

Have focus
A successful painting is reliant
on a strong focal point. To
ensure that the focal point is
effective, consider the
following points:
1. Increase the tonal values
around the focal point. Strong
contrast draws the eye in.
2. Reduce the tonal contrast
and details around the edges
of the painting to ensure that
the viewer’s eye is not drawn
away from the focal point.
3. Try introducing a lead-in line,
which takes the viewer’s eye
to the focal point. This could
be a fence line or footpath.

8
Add details
and foreground
wash
I started to add the fence
posts and more detail to the
grasses and bushes on the
fence line. I also began to
develop the white building
further, giving consideration
to the tonal values with regard
to the lit wall and the wall in
shadow. These tonal values
ensure that the painted
building looks convincing and
three-dimensional.

14
 Basics

9
Paint
falling snow
I had not planned to paint
falling snow, but I felt that it would
add atmosphere, further interest,
and it would help to soften the
overall feeling of the painting.
I used a fairly fluid mix of Titanium
White acrylic and loaded an old
toothbrush with the mix. After
trying out the effect on a scrap
piece of paper, I spattered the
paint carefully using my thumb.
I built up the spatter in several
applications to control how far
that I wanted to take it.

10 Finishing
touches
In this step I gave careful
consideration to all aspects
of the painting, most
importantly to ensure that
the tonal values were correct.
I was also mindful that by
adding too much detail and
unnecessary information,
I could easily reduce the
effectiveness of the painting.
I did very little extra at this
stage, just adding a few
grasses, fine twigs and a few
more details on the building.

15
Basics

16

Composing landscapes:
Line, tone and colour
Lancelot Richardson
gives ten essential tips for
composing landscapes
using line, tone and colour
THE COMPOSITION OF AN IMAGE
is the arrangement and relationship
between the elements it contains.
This is an abstract property that lets
us reduce images down their to basic
elements, devoid of any identifying
details. By looking past the ‘window
dressing’ of details, we can use
composition to create more
appealing images with greater
emotional impact.
Composition allows us to make the
most of a subject. A crude drawing
can be interesting with good
composition. However, an otherwise
masterful painting will look boring if
the composition is bad; one might
appreciate the execution, but it won’t
be eye-catching.
In landscapes, composition is an
essential tool, as it allows us to
reduce the complex scenery around
us into pictures. Everything we see is
material we can select from, and
manipulate in order to describe that
scene. We are going to dip our toes
into this huge subject with ten tips to
get you started.
Sketch to explore ideas
Composition is an important step in
planning our work. A big challenge we
encounter is fighting our human urge
to straighten things out and divide
them equally. As much as we love to
do this, it often doesn’t make for an
interesting picture!
The solution to this, aside from
being more self aware, is brute force;
we must make lots of sketches to
plan our work. Use these as
experiments, and treat them as
disposable. Most of them will go no
further. By thinking on paper like this,
we get to explore and compare the
possibilities that we cannot picture in
our heads.
They don’t need to be pretty
sketches – in fact, the opposite is
better. If you have a polished sketch,
Composition
LANCELOT
Brighton, UK
Lancelot Richardson is a painter and freelance
illustrator. He also works at independent drawing
school Draw Brighton as a life-drawing tutor.
lancelotrichardson.com
you are more likely to sink time into it
without being critical of the
foundation, and find yourself with a
boring painting later. With 20 napkin
sketches that were run off in a few
minutes each, it is easier to thin out
the bad ideas – when something can
look good as a rough plan, it will look
fantastic as a finalised piece.
Understanding composition
Whilst these tips may seem close to
being rules at times, remember that
rules are made to be broken. For
every rule or convention, there will be
examples of excellent landscapes
that break it. Study artists whose
work you like and do compositional
sketches of their artwork. Make lots
Credit: Lancelot Richardson
of quick sketches whenever you can
and try to figure out what works.
Furthermore, figure out what doesn’t
work – learning what kills a good
composition is just as important as
what makes one.
17
Basics
1. Plan and select
One of the easiest steps to improving your landscape
drawings and paintings is to plan ahead first
IT DOESN’T TAKE long to make a basic
plan. Composition is all about
experimenting with the subject in these
early stages. If you want to invest hours
into a well developed painting, spending
15 minutes filling up a page or two with
sketches is a small price to pay to avoid
finding yourself working on weak
foundations. If you are worried about
making a mess in your sketchbook, get
some cheap copy paper.
Where to start? Well, first we need to
think about our format. Do you want to
These are all thumbnail sketches made in
sketchbooks, usually to help plan paintings
18
work in landscape orientation, or in a
portrait one? There is no rule you need a
landscape format for a landscape
painting. For example, some artists –
such as Turner – have even managed to
make notoriously tricky square
compositions work.
You might have preset sizes to work to,
such as primed boards, but if you can cut
your own, it is worth experimenting with
the proportions of your images. Long,
skinny formats can let wide spaces shine
their best, whilst more squat, near-
These sketches are variants of the same scene,
using landscape and portrait formats
Silhouettes
Rather than details, think
silhouettes! Clear, well drawn
silhouettes will add character to
your compositions, and help
viewers identify subjects.
square formats can help add a sense of
weight, or closeness.
We should also think about selection in
this early stage. Given a rolling vista
ahead of us, we could select anything
from a single tree stump, to the entire
expanse. Sometimes the subject leaps
out, but usually I will try zooming in and
out of the scene with different
thumbnails. This applies equally to
photos! You don’t have to draw the whole
photo, just select what makes an
interesting composition.
Credit: Lancelot Richardson
 Composition

2. Find a horizon
The horizon is a vital element of a landscape – all
structure hangs off it

ANY LANDSCAPE PAINTING that depicts a wide

space with land (or water) and sky will have a horizon.
This effectively is going to break the landscape into two Land-heavy
parts, and you want to be mindful of where it is from the composition – here
early stages of your image. we have a chance to
Placement of the horizon will determine whether you explore the textures
have a land-focused image, or a sky focused image. of the greenery.
Avoid dividing the composition in half. Whilst there are a
large number of excellent paintings break this rule of
thumb, it is generally better to make the division of land
and sky uneven. One should be bigger – an even
division typically looks boring.
Generally, I see beginners have a bias to land-heavy
paintings. After all, there are a lot of interesting things
down here. It is worth using thumbnail sketches to try
out compositions with a larger sky element to them.
Sometimes a large, empty sky space will create
breathing space for busy details in a land area. If
you are finding your sketches to look too dark or
cluttered, try changing the amount of sky you include.
Including more sky can also help indicate the scale of
your scene and lend your composition a grander sense
of space. This also opens up opportunities to show light
and weather.

Cloud-heavy
composition –
clouds can offer
interesting light
and colour
Credit: Lancelot Richardson

19
Basics

3. Structure and rhythm

A good composition will lead the eye using lines of
rhythm to emphasise its subject

1 2
LINES OF RHYTHM underlie a composition. Focal Point Verticals and
Sometimes people think of them as the ‘flow’ or This focal point has horizontals
gesture. This can be created by edges between been created by The horizon line of the path
different objects or shadows, by repeating directing multiple leading and brush meets the vertical of
elements, or structural components like lines to the same place the trees at the focal point
the horizon.
There are different types of line that can
underpin a composition; verticals and
horizontals, diagonals, and curved lines, as well
as many ways of arranging them. Usually eye-
catching compositions incorporate a mixture of
4
different rhythm lines to maintain interest, and
create a unified whole.
Horizontal lines help calm busy rhythms, whilst
vertical lines help stabilise the composition by
creating clear stops. Diagonals and curves are
more dynamic. If you overdo any kind of line, it 2
can harm the impact of a composition. Too many
horizontals and things can get a bit boring and
1
slow. Too many verticals can halt movement and
leave the image looking static. The opposite, an
excess of diagonals or curves, will start
3
overwhelm the eye and feel overly energetic, even

3 4
losing structure without the support of Leading lines Cascades
horizontals and verticals. These leading lines for the The slight change in the
We can manipulate lines in many ways. Pushing brush and path repeat the angle of the trees creates a
the contrast and hardness of an edge will add same curve as they lead the eye cascading pattern that leads the
emphasis, whilst softening an edge will let the eye into the composition eye to the left
leave that rhythm.
We can break up
lines to adjust the
rhythm as well –
mixing short and
long rhythms will
keep things
interesting.

20

4. Armatures
An armature is a simplified version of the structure of
the composition, often reducing it to a few lines
ARMATURES are a way to simply and
unify the rhythm lines underpinning our
compositions. Whilst I have picked six
that are common to landscapes, there
are countless more effective possibilities.
Letters of the alphabet, and simple
shapes or symbols can be effective, so
try experimenting. The key thing with
these is that they need to be as basic as
possible – if it is much more complex
than a letter or a circle, you are probably
over thinking it.
Seesaw
Two masses balance each other, with the
larger being closer to the centre,
emulating the balancing of a seesaw.
Letter ‘S’
An ‘S’ line that flows through the image –
this is a common composition to use
Composition
Go small
Alongside squinting to blur
details, working small is also an
effective way to force yourself
to simplify a composition.
These small
colour studies are
based off
simple armatures
Armatures
should be simple
enough to reduce
to a simple icon
with paths, roads and rivers when
painting a landscape scene.
Hole
The focal point of the image is seen
through a foreground layer, like looking
through a hole. This effect is sometimes
generated by framing the subject with
other elements. Similar to this are
compositions that lead the eye around in
a roughly circular flow.
can be rotated in any direction. Two
Diagonal leading lines work across the image
A simple layout that creates a strong to intersect with a focus, usually at
diagonal across the image. This can be the corner.
harsh, so it can be a good idea to include
some verticals to create a braking effect Triangle
– otherwise the eye falls off the edge. Leading lines form a triangle structure
with a focal point at one of the corners.
Right Angle This is a good way to unify busy subjects
Rhythm lines create an ‘L’ shape, that in a scene.
21
Basics
5. Design compositions
with value sketches
Value, or tone, is one of the most important
elements of composition
WHEN YOU HAVE selected your
subject, and have a feel for the rhythm of
the image, it is time to think about how
you will arrange the values. Simplifying
an image to clear value shapes is an
effective way to create a composition
that presents the subject clearly. We can
also use colour shapes to generate
contrasts as well.
We want to think in terms of the
biggest shapes at this point – no leaves,
just entire trees. Ignore the details. One
way to help with this is to squint at your
subject until the details blur out and you
are left with a hazy impression of dark
and light shapes. Simple value schemes
can underpin complex landscapes. It is a
good idea to keep it simple at this stage
and use between two and four values –
Black and white compositions reduce complexity
and let us see important shapes
22
Value shapes
Experiment with different
media when you do
compositional sketches. Pencils
are standard, but black ink is
great for value shapes!
black, white, and possibly a grey or two.
Anything else and the temptation to
work into smaller details is too much,
and our ideas start to lose clarity. Once a
lot of fragmented tones come into play,
our compositions become weaker and
look cluttered. These broad value shapes
we help us lay out clear areas of dark and
light in more developed work. Try to
avoid including any outlines, although
you might want to start with a basic
sketch underneath.
In these examples, the only colours
used are black and white, and a wash to
create midtones between the two to add
some depth. It can be a challenge to
ignore the details to find these tonal
shapes, but it is a very worthwhile
exercise to practice.
Tonal compositions with ink and wash
add a midtone to black and white layouts

6. Rule of thirds and divisions
The rule of thirds is a popular, and effective, convention, but there are
many ways to break up a composition
THE RULE OF THIRDS is a common
way to help break up elements of a
painting. It might help with placing a
focus point, or give you a good place to
put the horizon line. It works by dividing
up the frame into thirds vertically and
The rule of thirds
Credit: Arthur Streeton
can be an effective
way to to add more
interest by creating
an uneven
composition
Apply the rule of thirds
This example shows how the rule of thirds can be applied to a more static composition, and how
we can experiment with uneven divisions
1 2
Divide image evenly
Dividing an image evenly tends to
result in static compositions.
There is no variety, nothing attracts
the eye in any particular direction. We
look at the focus of the image, then
move on.
horizontally, the idea being that you
place focal points and major lines – such
as horizon lines or the edge of a large
tonal shape, on those markers.
This is an effective tool, and underpins
a lot of great artwork. However, there are
The conventional rule
of thirds
Focuses lie at either a division of
1/3, or at an intersection between a
horizontal and vertical 1/3 divider. This is
an effective way to avoid placing
subjects in the centre of a composition.
Composition
a lot of landscapes that don’t follow
this idea.
Rather than the rule of thirds, it is
probably better to think of the rule of ‘not
half’. Dividing or placing elements of an
image using halfway markers often
results in static compositions. (Like all
rules, there are exceptions!) Once we
start to introduce unevenness, things
start to get interesting. This is why the
rule of thirds works well. But it is equally
effective to divide into fifths. Or
intentionally introduce uneven divisions
and placements.
The rule of thirds is so commonly
used, it can sometimes be predictable.
We can intentionally avoid and ensuring
that the way we introduce uneven
placement and divisions. Or we can
tweak it. One way is to use it, and just
nudge elements of the picture slightly off
the third division markers. Another way
is to use it to place a first element, then
subdivide the next part of the image into
thirds – this works great for repeating
elements too.
3
Push the rule of
thirds
The focus has been nudged
slightly off the third divisions, but is
not on an even divide. This generates
a little more unpredictability, as we
can create unusual shapes.
23
Basics
7. Compose with value
With good planning, we can use value to add clarity to
our compositions, and create striking work
THERE ARE SO many ways that we can
manipulate value to compose a painting.
Here are four techniques that can
generate more visual interest in tonal
compositions in your landscapes. Try
them out in your paintings.
Uneven areas of value
By picking which values are most and
least common, we can create interest by
breaking the composition unevenly in
terms of the area different values take up
– try to ensure one value is rarely used.
In the example, there are lots of lights
1 3
Uneven
areas of value
Large areas of
midtones and lights
balance the more limited
use of dark tones across
the whole composition
3
2 4
High vs
low contrast
Light and dark
tones are right next to
each other at this focal
point, balanced by
contrast diminishing to
the sides
24
and midtones, with only a few small
areas being black.
High contrast vs low contrast
It is a good idea to combine areas of high
and low contrast in a composition. If
everything was high contrast,
nothing would stand out. High contrast
areas can create a focal point, whilst less
intense contrasts can generate leading
lines.
Overlaps
Overlaps are essential in drawing and
2
1 Here a large
Desaturate
Don’t neglect using greys! They
might not seem fun, but
desaturated colours are
important for making bright
colours stand out.
painting as they are key to showing
depth and space. When one object
overlaps another, it shows that there is a
distance between them. Look for ways to
increase overlaps in your images.
Empty vs busy
It is good to have a balance of empty
spaces to more detailed, busy ones to
create a visual contrast. Don’t be afraid
to leave large areas as empty sky or
shadow – they will let more detailed focal
points shine in your scenes, capturing
the viewer’s attention.
Overlaps
These reeds in the
foreground help
push the idea of space
by overlapping the water
and the reeds on the
opposite bank
Empty
vs busy
area of light tone has
been left to give the
busier central area space
to breathe
Credit: Lancelot Richardson

8. Compose with
colour contrast
Hue and saturation are key elements of colour
that can create contrast in our compositions
LET’S START BY clarifying what hue
and saturation are, as they accompany
value in creating and reproducing any
specific colour we see.
Hue is the place that a colour is on the
spectrum, or on a colour wheel. This is
pretty straightforward if you have a
bright blue or red – the hue is blue, or
red. It gets tricky when you get a brown –
where does that sit on the colour wheel?
This is where saturation comes in. Say
you have a continuum between grey, no
colour at all, and lurid, bright orange. In
between the grey and the orange, there
Composing for different contrasts
Here value, saturation and hue are used to create contrasts in the same subject
1 2
Value
This composition has muted
colours, but has plenty of
contrast from the relationship
between the dark shadows and the
lights of the items in the shed, and the
dark bucket in the light grass.
is a kind of muddy, not very bright
orange. This would be our brown. (Of
course, there are many browns – some
redder, some more yellow.)
You can use hue and saturation to
create contrast in an image, just like
value. In general, that which is closer to
us, is more saturated. There are a lot of
directions to experiment in here, as we
have a lot of variables. Using variations in
hue and saturation, it is possible to
create compositions with little value
contrast, because our eyes can use
those elements to discern shapes.
Saturation
Saturated colours around
the shed and the cart wheels
give them more visual dominance.
Note how the red and yellow
areas are neighboured by greys to
maximise this.
Composition
Contrast
Besides value, saturation and
hue, we can use other elements
to create contrast such as
pattern, texture and edges.
Credit: Vincent Van Gogh (Pushkin Museum, Moscow)
In this Van Gogh painting, red and
green contrasts create focal points
Experiment with these properties,
and don’t be afraid to exaggerate the
colours you see to create interesting
colour relationships.
3
Hue
Here contrast is more focused
on the colour itself, with the
yellow wheel being surrounded by
purple shadow and the red cart with
green. Complementary colours
create the maximum hue contrast.
25
 Basics
9. Low key vs high key
Being able to control the ‘key’ of our images allows us to
restrict and control colour to create bright or dark pictures
A FULL VALUE RANGE encompasses
the white of the Sun to the blackness of a
cave; however, we cannot achieve that
when we draw or paint. White paint is
never going to be as white as a light, and
black paint, dark as it seems, is still
brighter than an unlit cave. So we are
limited by our materials already.
‘Key’ is a term is picture-making that
describes the value range an image
occupies. Selecting a key is to limit our
value range even more. A high-key image
is bright, and will not have many, if any,
black areas on it. A low-key image is dark,
and will generally not have anything
brighter than a mid-tone, though it many
have some light colours accenting it.
Credit: John Russell (National Gallery of Australia)
High key painting by John
Russell; lights dominate the
composition
26
In high-key images, to keep from using
shadows, it helps to avoid blacks unless
absolutely neccessary, and instead
substitute dark areas for saturated
colours. A common trick is to put reds,
purples or blues into the shadows, as
they look darker than yellows, oranges
and greens. This helps imply shadow
without pushing into a wider value range,
“Sometimes
artists will have a
small splash of
light colour”
Limit it
Limited palettes are great for
colour unity. If you find yourself
often having to fight clashing
colours, cut down to 3-4 colours,
plus white.
and will keep things colourful and bright.
Whilst not a golden rule, there is a
tendency for hue and saturation
contrasts to dominate high-key scenes.
The opposite is true of low-key images
– here we restrict the use of white
through the majority of the composition.
Often to lighten colour mixes, we can add
yellow or occasionally a bright red, to lift
them, before resorting to using white.
Sometimes artists will have a small
splash of light colour for dramatic
contrast. Low key images tend to rely
more on value contrast, as different hues
are hard to make out.
Credit: George Inness (Art Institute of Chicago)
Low key
painting by
George Inness;
note how nothing
is lighter
than yellow

10. Find a focus with contrast
The eyes are always drawn to the part of the image with the
most contrast – this is a focal point
THERE ARE MANY creative ways to use
colour to generate contrast. Often these
techniques can work well by changing
value, but will add additional vibrancy to
your compositions if you use colour
constrasts. Using these compositional
techniques requires some thoughtful
balancing; if you have complementary
and high value contrasts all happening in
the same picture with several different
focuses, things will start to look
cluttered. Remember that you can do
Credit: Lancelot Richardson
This composition uses
complementary colours to
create a focal point.
Composing with colour contrasts
These steps show how colour contrasts can be incorporated into the construction of a composition.
1 2
Contrasting edges
Red and green colour contrasts
create an immediate focal point
in this compositional sketch. Different
colour edges have been introduced
by using a saturated red above the
green and a desaturated red below.
mild version of these – you can lead the
eye with contrasts that are more or less
intense. Treat it like a balancing act.
Contrasting edges
When two colours that contrast each
other are placed side by side, they create
an edge. This is especially effective for
complementary colours – colours that
oppose each other on the colour wheel.
Often it is too jarring to use two fully
saturated colours to do this. A rough rule
Focal point
The saturation of the red and
green has been increased in the
top left, creating a focal point. This is
balanced by making these colours duller
along the top edge of the bush.
Composition
of thumb to pairing complementary
colours is to pair a saturated one with an
unsaturated one. This maintains the
contrast – now you have saturation
contrasts as well – without becoming
garish. To include:
Flagging of focal point
One way to create a clear focal point is by
surrounding it with a contrasting value or
colour. This helps create a silhouette that
a viewer can quickly recognise, and
works well if you want the focus to be on
a specific object, such as a recognisable
tree, or man-made item.
The odd one out
Difference is another way to attract
attention. If we have a recurring shape or
object, creating a version that is different
to the rest will generate an effective
focus. This can be done by changing the
object entirely, or creating a different
colour or value. For instance, placing a
yellow flower in a bed of predominantly
red and pink ones will ensure the eye
travels to that point.
3
Odd ones out
In the row of white flowers that
are sprinkled across the
composition, there are a few red ones
to emphasise the focal point. Note
that these flowers are distributed in
an uneven way.
27
Basics

Colour theory
Whether you have half an hour or an afternoon to spare, follow these quick,
simple and fun tips to start experimenting with your art today!

Create a colour theory

chart to improve
your colour mixing
GETTING TO GRIPS with colour theory
can seem a little bit too much like
learning maths or science. You may feel
you just want to be creative and express
yourself, not work out calculations. But
colour theory is one of the fundamental
things you need to learn in order to
progress and grow as an artist. Read on
to create a colour theory chart that will
transform your creative life.

ROB LUNN
Bath, UK
Rob is a self-taught painter,
and loves painting in oils. His
influences are Vincent Van
Gogh, Caravaggio and Ilya
Repin. He has been teaching
art workshops since 2012.
www.roblunn.co.uk
You can read every book on colour theory, but there is no
substitute for getting stuck in. This exercise should help
Follow these steps... you take control of your colour mixing.

1 2
1
Your medium
The following exercise can
be completed with acrylic, oil
or watercolour paints, but
colouring pencils are best. Not
only do you just need the pencils
themselves – there’s no need for
water, spirits, brushes or a
palette – but they’re are also a lot
less messy than other mediums.
And they’re portable, so this
exercise can be completed on
the bus if need be!
Materials
2
I recommend using an A2
piece of quality cartridge
paper, but you could scale the
exercise down. Draw a square of
300x300mm (12x 12in). Then
divide that square up into 12
equal parts (the squares
should be 25x25mm or 1x1in).
Starting from the bottom left
corner, mark 1–12 running
horizontally and vertically as
shown in this image.

28
 Colour theory

3
The spectrum
4
The wonderful thing about
the spectrum is how the
colours all work together.
Understanding the relationships
between the colours is key to
getting great results while
mixing. Using the lovely Derwent
Procolour pencils, I chose the

following 12 colours to represent
the full spectrum:
01: Ultramarine (31)
02: Midnight Blue (40)
3 03: Racing Green (44)
04: Grass Green (49)
05: Primrose Yellow (02)
06: Buttercup Yellow (03)
Fix up, look sharp 07: Middle Chrome (08)
Keeping your pencil sharp is vital when drawing, sketching 08: Spectrum Orange (10)
or colouring. If you like to use a long-leaded pencil then a 09: Primary Red (12)
new scalpel blade is key. Never skimp on changing your 10: Plum (15)
blades, they’re cheaper than good quality pencil leads. 11: Imperial Purple (26)
12: Dark Violet (27)
4
The diagonal
Start with the bottom
left corner (square 1–1)
and shade it in with the
Ultramarine (31) pencil. If
you’re using good-quality
pencil, a light touch is all
that’s needed. This will be one
of our ‘pure’ colour squares.
There will be a line of ‘pure’
colour squares running in a
diagonal from the bottom-left
up to the top-right as the two
sets of colours converge.

5
Extending colours 5
Now it’s time to extend the Ultramarine line
out horizontally and vertically. Still try to
shade each square as an individual, though – it will
help keep them consistent and stop you from
making some much darker than others. Don’t worry
about going over the lines, just give it a nice relaxed
feel. And don’t get too uptight while laying down
your colour; it should be fun.

6 7
A new colour
Move to colour 2, square
2-2, colour in this
square as one of your ‘pure’
colours. Then add Midnight
Blue in squares 1-2 and 2-1.
Continue with the rest of the
colours, colouring in the ‘pure’
square first and then the
surrounding colours. As you’re
starting off with the blues and
greens, the initial effect of
mixing won’t be obvious at
first, but stick with it.
7 Colour chart
As you move into the
oranges and reds, the
effects of the 12-step
colour mixing wheel becomes
more apparent. See how the
colours that are opposite each
other on the 12-step wheel
seem to ‘cancel’ and ‘grey
each other down’ when mixed
together. This effect of
desaturating the colour is one
of the cornerstones of
effective colour mixing.

29
Basics

Tips & techniques

Keep watercolours fresh and loose
THERE are many things that contribute
to the attractive and free nature of
watercolour, but here we’ll concentrate
on the simplest and most basic: how to
apply the paint to the paper.
I’ve found the easiest way to make the
paint look happy on the paper is to touch
the paper once. That is, I know how I want
my picture to look straight away, and
don’t plan to do any over-painting. I avoid
painting anywhere twice, until I have
painted everything once. And I don’t
correct as I go along either– I wait until
the end, when it is easier to judge the
passages that haven’t quite gone to plan.
Remember, we are all trying to narrow
the gap between our vision and the
execution of our vision.
ANDREW PITT
Suffolk, UK
Andrew started painting when
he was 11. He is a self-taught
painter who lives in Suffolk and
is well known for his plein air
paintings and simple style.
www.andrewpitt.co.uk

Fishermen’s Sheds, Suffolk

An advantage of this one-wash
method is I don’t have to paint in
any set order, plus I remain
interested and committed. It’s an
enjoyable way of painting.

30
 Tips

Follow these steps...

To get a fresh-looking watercolour

1
Sketch it out
1 2
The purpose of my preliminary
drawing is to ensure the image
fits the paper. As my aim – and I
don’t always succeed – is to go for
the end straight away, I can start
anywhere I like. I don’t paint to a set
formula, but I do like to begin
somewhere small and easy.

2
Get painting
I decide to leave the sky until later.
I like to feel my way before tackling large
areas. I continue to paint the sheds and some of the
greens, all the while going for the final look in one
wash. I also keep varying my colour to add interest.

3
Make the sky
The sky is painted in one go on dry paper.
Starting at the top, I work down and across,
and I use the paper to separate the clouds – the
flecks of unpainted paper add life and movement.

Add the details

4 Finally, I add selected detail – masts, figures,

shadows and texture. I avoid tidying up my
picture, in fact, I often ‘muck it up’. I think this adds
life – I certainly don’t start painting everywhere
again. That is guaranteed to muddy fresh washes.

31
Basics

Paint vibrant petals

in watercolour
FLOWERS are always lovely subjects
to paint, but their complex petals can
often be difficult to get right. By looking
at the contrasting effects of highlights,
midtones and shadows on a single
petal, I will show you how to get a more
realistic, tonal appearance with just a
few techniques, and only three basic
mixes on the palette. WATCH THE
VIDEO
http://bit.ly/pad_petals

JARNIE GODWIN
London, UK
Working as a botanical
watercolour artist, tutor and
blogger, Jarnie is known for
her quirky compositions
of imperfect subjects.
www.sketchbooksquirrel.com
Mixing shadow tones
I always mix my own shadow tones using transparent red, With the fine details
introduced, the
blue and yellow. Mixing the three primary colours together
complex tones and
will always create black. Many premixed greys contain highlights emphasise
opaque pigments that can dull a mix. the shape further, giving
a more realistic finish.

Follow these steps...

1 2 3 4

1 2 3
First wash The midtone Details

After laying a glaze of
clean water, I drop in the
lightest colour. While the
glaze is still wet, I continue to
build up the tone where I need
to by adding more touches of
paint several times. Lifting
colour with a clean, damp
brush maintains any
highlights and softens the
finish. Let each layer dry
before applying the next.
Now onto the midtone,
which will form the
actual colour of the petal.
Working as before, I let the
water glaze settle before
dropping in the second
colour. Keeping the paint
away from the brightest
highlight, I leave plenty of
the first wash visible. Again, I
use a clean, damp brush to
lift off any unwanted colour.
Shadows offer the
deepest tones and
will give the petal a three-
dimensional appearance.
Another glaze helps the darkest
paint spread, softly building the
deeper tones, and creating
higher contrast and tone. With
more variation and contrast it
will look more lifelike. At this
stage, wet-on-dry details can
also be introduced.
4
Build depth
Working wet on dry, I
apply the deepest
colour only where I want it.
This builds more depth and
movement with several
layers of paint. I also soften
the edges with a clean, damp
brush. The characteristic
markings are softened with
several complex overglazes,
made by mixing the hues on
the palette together.

32

Paint spring foliage
using a dry brush
watercolour technique
THIS PROCESS shows a method for
depicting trees when you want your
foliage and branches unified as one.
It’s the effect we generally get when
looking towards the light. You’ll see less
‘internal’ detail and variation of tone
and colour. Things become silhouetted
and it’s more the outside edges of
shapes that define them.
JEM BOWDEN
Follow these steps...
1 2
1 2
Paint the trunk
It’s best to use either Rough or Not
surface paper for this effect. Load a
medium-sized brush with fairly thick
paint, then begin the tree by squashing
the brush against the paper firmly at the
base of its ivy-covered trunk. Drag the
brush quickly upwards along its length,
so it leaves a mark that’s broken by the
paper surface.
4 Use the same method to describe
Branch out
Using the tip of the brush, draw
out some fine lines as the
branches of the tree. However, don’t
add too many – just think of the biggest
branches. At the moment the tree looks
like a winter one, but in the next step
we’ll add the budding spring foliage
– you’ll see that you don’t need to paint
hundreds of branches.
Tips
3
3
Add your foliage
Next, use the side of your brush
without re-loading it, so it’s quite
dry. Test on some scrap paper first,
before dragging the brush across the
surface of the paper. If you’re happy, start
at the outside of the tree and make drags
inwards. You may have to press the brush
a bit, but go cautiously at first. It can
almost be like shading with a crayon.
4
A little more
the hedgerow. Mix up your marks
using the side and tip of the brush,
pressing down firmly as you drag when
you need a stronger, more solid mark.
Finally, dampen the brush to enable you
to make a cleaner edge along the bottom
of the hedgerow where it meets the
grass. This will contrast nicely with the
rougher top edge.
33
Basics
My grandfather looking
on, when he helped to build
Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge
in the late ’50s.
How to convey
bright sunlight
TO CREATE the effect of strong sunlight,
start with locating core shadows – the
darkest areas of shadow in your picture.
Look around your scene and identify
every place where these shadows occur.
Don’t get hung up on individual objects
– just look at where the deep shadows
are happening. Often these areas will flow
together across several objects, so don’t
be afraid to join the shadows together.
Start painting by laying in these core
shadows throughout the scene, and try
to minimise transitions to lighter values.
The result will be a dark/light interplay
that already conveys the essence of your
scene. This is how our eyes see in bright
light, especially when coming from a
dimmer environment – we tend to
interpret everything as a high-contrast
play of light and shadow.
This will create a key that can be used
to build your image. Work back up the
value scale from your core shadow value.
For each element, ask yourself where it
falls between the core shadow and your
lightest value. Where possible, push the
light values together in the same way,
tending towards the light end of the scale.
DAVE BRASGALLA
34
Follow these steps...
For a core shadows lighting key
1
Since I’m concerned
with light and shade here,
I try to merge areas that
will share shadows, and focus
less on rendering detail in
those areas. Look for values
that are already close and join
them across objects.
Background shapes especially
will become simple outlines
containing a single tone.
2 3
2
With the dark core
shadows on the figure
laid in without much
transitional edge shading, we
already have a feeling of bright
light. We’ve established a value
range to work between –
darkest to lightest – and can
begin filling in the rest of the
areas based on this range.
3
Now it’s large fields of mid-tone
colours. Thinking of each object as a
pattern of shadow and light helps
point me to rendering solutions. I use
watercolour pencils for details and to adjust
some of the deeper shadow colours that
weren’t consistent enough. This will help
unify the various elements.
 Tips

My edges became too strong as I coloured

the forms, so I had to carefully pull out most
of those dark accumulations of pigment.

Merged shapes, colours and the outlines of

forms convey this boat and its occupants,
making a strong compositional base to build
detail onto.

Create more interesting compositions

A REWARDING technique that can
drive your compositions in new
directions is to push compositional
elements of the same value together
and then let the colour flow freely
throughout the new, more complex
shapes that are formed. You can even lift
out bits of pigment within these areas to
create lovely effects.
This is a good mental exercise
because it encourages us to think in
terms of the overall composition, rather
than potentially getting lost by focusing
too much on single details.
In this scene, I thought that the boat,
its sail and passengers made a nice
arrangement that could be combined
into a single, more complex shape. The
key here is deciding which details can be
safely omitted – for instance, the
silhouettes of the passengers is all that’s
needed to convey them. We read their
forms easily as people, with almost no
detail given.
I’ve let the general value of the boat
hull bleed up into the sail, into the
passengers, and also down into the
waves. I pulled out a bit of pigment along
the upper edge of the boat, so that it
would be clearer, plus that element has
such a nice curve. Taking the shapes
further, I would probably darken the
main sail area all the way up.
At any rate, it’s now ready to go in and
I can polish it where needed, as the basic
forms are now strong and the image
already makes a distinctive and
recognisable impression.
DAVE BRASGALLA
Stockholm, Sweden
Dave is an illustrator and
graphic designer who also
loves to pursue personal
projects using traditional
painting media.
www.pixelhuset.se
Lif t off!
An effective watercolour technique is to
create detail by lifting out areas of pigment.
Use a brush with water to carefully wet the
areas to be lifted, then daub off the pigment
with a paper towel. Experiment to discover
what different results can be produced.

35
Basics

Negative
painting in
watercolour
NEGATIVE PAINTING
refers to painting the negative
shapes that define positive
ones. This is especially
important with traditional
watercolour, where painting
things as light-against-dark
means the white of the paper
must be preserved (rather
than using white paint as is
Some darks-against-lights were
done with opaque media). So,
added at the end of this watercolour
instead of painting the object, sketch, but first I did the negative
you paint the object’s painting, as I describe below.
background.

1
Follow these steps...
1
JEM BOWDEN The sky and ground
Bristol, England This is a simple demonstration of a
Jem paints and teaches useful exercise. First, paint a
watercolour full time, with rectangular section of paper with a
a focus on landscapes. He
two-colour wash, blue at the top and a
gives demonstrations, runs
workshops, and tutors on pale hay colour at the bottom. They can
residential painting holidays. blend together for a soft-edged join.
http://bit.ly/jembowden Don’t worry about perfection, but aim
for half and half of each colour. Now let
the paper dry completely.

2 3 4

2 3
Add the hedgerow
Using a thick dark green mix and a
large synthetic brush (which will
enable you to work quickly), paint in two
bits of hedgerow. These overlap where
the background colours merge. You can
draw the main shapes in pencil first if
you like, but here I’m just drawing with
the brush, which is good practice for
mark-making.
Up and down
Now use a combination of
downwards and upwards brush
strokes at the bottom of the hedge
sections. Here you’re defining the long
grass and weeds in front of the hedge,
and you have to think negatively while
being quick! In addition, paint a gate,
posts and some growth on top of the
hedge. You need to do all this while the
paint is still wet.
4
Try scraping
Here’s another negative-painting
method for some fence posts.
First, briskly make horizontal and
vertical scrape marks in the still-damp
hedge. I find a fingernail works well for
this, but you could try anything hard,
such as a matchstick. The relatively thick
paint will lift off to reveal the underlying
wash, and voilà – you have your lights-
against-darks!

36

Create a sparkling night
sky with watercolour
WATERCOLOUR is an incredible
medium that can be used to make the
most magical and unique images. It can
create anything – a bright sunny day as
well as a deep dark night.
Here, we’ll create a mysterious starry
night using watercolour and masking
fluid. The latter is an interesting and
relatively new medium for me. To create
the randomness of stars, I will spray it
onto paper using an old toothbrush.
When this stage is done, I can colour the
sky with dark shades and different tones.
The branches of trees will then cover
some parts of the sky, especially near the
horizon. Where the background goes
dark, I can paint the branches in a lighter
colour. Dark on light and light on dark is a
great method to enhance a painting.
I’m using a wet-in-wet technique
here, but note that masking fluid should
be used on dry paper only. Any small
details can be painted on the dry paper
too. And, remember, to save time you can
always use a hairdryer.
OLGA STERNYK
Negative and night sky
Follow these steps...
Create stars with masking fluid
It can be a satisfying
challenge to capture the
essence of nature and
reproduce it on paper.
1
2 Create the stars
First, I place light yellow and blue
spots on very wet watercolour
paper. It will form the colour of the stars.
I then dry the paper using a hairdryer.
Then I add masking fluid using a
toothbrush, as shown above. These
spatters will soon be stars! I remove any
unnecessary drops and let the paper
dry. Note that the masking fluid should
dry completely before we can proceed.
2
Paint the sky
I then wet the paper again to paint
a gradient. I place the dark colours
on the top and mix them with warm
tones near the horizon. I use Payne’s
Grey, Perylene Violet, Permanent
Mauve, Manganese Blue Hue,
Ultramarine, Phthalo Blue, Orange and
Lemon-Yellow colours. Then, I add a
yellow and blue glow around stars. They
are still masked, so I paint around the
masking fluid.
3
3
The end result
Beware the masking fluid! It’s now time to remove the
Before using masking fluid for watercolour, masking fluid using an
cover your brush with soap. This will prevent eraser. I paint tree branches using
the masking fluid from sticking to your brush. dark tones, and wash out a few
However, as a precaution, it’s best not to use branches with a wet flat synthetic
your favourite brush for it. You can also use brush so they are visible on the
the end of brush handle to apply the fluid. dark background. Every time I
erase masking fluid it feels like a
miracle! We are now done.
37
Basics
Mix greens from basic pigments
for a more natural effect
THROUGHOUT YEARS of working as a
professional artist, I have experimented
with a number of purchased greens but
have always found them unsatisfactory.
Viridian is useful, but only for seascapes.
On rare occasions I use Hookers Green,
38
but even though it’s a fairly subtle colour
it can overwhelm more delicate
pigments. Here, I would like to
demonstrate how a wide range of
pleasant greens can be obtained from
mixing basic pigments.
MARGARET MERRY
Almeria, Spain
After studying at Falmouth
Art School, Hornsey College
of Art and Bristol University,
Margaret has worked as a
artist specialising in
watercolour and pastel. She
now paints in Spain.
http://bit.ly/pad_merry
 Colour mixing

Ultramarine Blue Ultramarine Blue Ultramarine Blue

& Lemon Yellow & Yellow Ochre & Cadmium Yellow

Cobalt Blue & Cobalt Blue & Cobalt Blue &

Lemon Yellow Yellow Ochre Cadmium Yellow

Ultramarine Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt

Lemon Yellow & Burnt Lemon Yellow & Raw Umber & Yellow Ochre
Sienna Sienna

2
Getting stronger 2
For the trees and bushes below the
church and their reflections in the
water, I needed even stronger greens. In
order to create a feeling of perspective,
I warmed up the colours using Burnt
Umber and Burnt Sienna. These
pigments blended very well with the
Ultramarine mixture and they did not

Follow these steps...

lose their transparency. By allowing
clean water to flow into the wet paint, the
pigments separated and produced a

1
Vary intensity pleasant effect.
When creating the painting above,

the greens needed to be stronger as I
approached the foreground. I used
Ultramarine mixed with Lemon Yellow
and a touch of Raw Sienna, with
highlights of Cadmium Yellow and
Cadmium Orange. The latter are strong
pigments and must be used with care.
To vary the intensity of colours, I painted
freely using plenty of clean water to dilute
the paint. The trees were given a loose
treatment to avoid too much detail.
3
3 Soft versus strong
I wanted soft greens for this
painting depicting a Cornish spring
but for stronger, summer greens I would
have used Cadmium Yellow, as well as
Lemon mixed with Ultramarine. Monestial
Blue (Phthalo Blue) also produces a
strong, bright green when mixed with
Lemon Yellow. It’s a sharper, more acid
blue than Cobalt or Ultramarine and a
useful addition to the palette.

39
Basics

Combine hard and soft edges

for effective watercolour clouds
DISTANT CLOUDS in the sky can 1
appear to have hard edges in places and
soft edges elsewhere. Often the sun
striking their tops will make these hard
edges stand out, with the shadowed
undersides appearing to blend softly into
the blue sky. Watercolour is ideal for
capturing this effect, and I’ll show you
how simply it can be done.

Follow these steps...

JEM BOWDEN

Kent, UK
Jem is a watercolour
landscape artist and tutor,
who enjoys working outdoors.
He provides workshops,
demonstrations, individual
tuition and teaches on
residential painting breaks.
jembowdenwatercolour.co.uk
1
Make an outline
Mark out a section of paper to practise
on. Then, as a guide, lightly draw the
outline of a single cloud as shown, although
there’s no need to do so if you can visualise
the shape without it. I’ve also marked an
area at the bottom of the cloud shape
where I’m going to wet the paper.

I used this method

here, doing all
clouds at once, but
with some grey
instead of clean
water. The pencil
guide lines enabled
very quick painting!

40

2 3
2 Prepare the paint
Mix a dilute wash of blue using a
wash brush. Ensure there’s more
than enough so you won’t run out
halfway through. Then once your brush is
pre-loaded with the paint and ready to be
used, put it down. Next, using a separate,
clean brush, quickly lay down some clean
water over the area inside the dotted line
shown in step 1. Make sure the area is
thoroughly wet.
Prioritise speed
over shape
Don’t worry too much about
the actual shape of clouds.
Instead focus more on the
relative sizes and spacing,
which you could draw out
lightly to guide you. Speed
with the brush is necessary
for getting those soft edges.
4 Create the cloud
Clouds
Paint the sky
Quickly pick up the first brush and
paint the blue sky above your
cloud. Here, you’re defining the top of
your cloud, which will be hard edged.
Make sure you don’t go down as low as
the clean water! Continue down both
sides of the shape, eventually letting the
paint touch the wet area at its base. Then
move on to the next step as quickly as
you can!
4
Speed is of the essence! Draw
your brush directly through the
wetted area at the base of the cloud to
join up with the sides. Don’t fuss or try
to make things even. If you’ve done it
quickly enough, the clear water may
run down slightly randomly, creating
some ‘flow’ along the bottom edge.
Relax and let it do its thing.
41
Basics

How to paint shadows I’m fascinated by old, rural

buildings, especially when
in watercolour they feature colourful doors,
such as this one. The
while maintaining intriguing patterns of the
shadows were a bonus.
transparency
SOMETIMES a fairly unremarkable
subject can be transformed into an
interesting composition when there’s
a strong contrast between light and
shadow, as in this painting of an old An alternat ive
rural building with the sun shining to Chinese white
through the bougainvillea. I’ll describe I sometimes use white casein
how I set about painting the patterns paint , made from milk protein
created by the shadows. (Pelikan), to correct errors or
add finishing touches such as
highlights. I dislike Chinese
white because of its opacity
MARGARET MERRY
Almeria, Spain and tendency to dull colours,
After studying at Falmouth and find casein far more
Art School, Hornsey College compatible with watercolour.
of Art and Bristol University Take care not to overuse this
Margaret has worked as a
technique, though, or the
artist specialising in
watercolour and pastel. She watercolour will gradually
now paints in Spain. lose its transparency.
http://bit.ly/pad_merry

Follow these steps...

1 2
Paint the base
First, I make a preliminary drawing
that’s fairly detailed, but omitting
the shadows – I’ll paint these last. I then
eliminate most of the white of the paper
with a transparent layer of Raw sienna
and touches of Burnt sienna. When this
base is completely dry, I paint the door
and the furniture, along with the leaves
of the overhanging bougainvillea, leaving
blank spaces for the flowers to be
painted in later.
Colour mixing
When I’ve finished painting the
first layers of my composition, I
mix the grey with which I intend to paint
the patterns cast by the shadows. This
mixture comprises Ultramarine blue,
Alizarin crimson and Raw sienna and
with it, by varying the amount of water
and the pigments, a wide range of greys
can be achieved. Because I’m using the
same pigments for the preliminary
painting, I maintain the colour harmony.
3
Make the shadows
Shadows need to be painted
rapidly and with fluidity of paint. If
they’re overworked then the effect will
be spoilt, which is why I didn’t draw them
before I began applying the watercolour.
The shadows on the walls of the building
are painted first. I allow plenty of clean
water to flow into the paint while it’s still
wet to give transparency. Note how the
pigments have separated to create a
more interesting effect.

1 2 3

4
Darker shadows
I paint the darker shadows using the same technique as before, drawing the patterns
with single brushstrokes and again allowing clean water to flow into the still-wet paint.
The advantage of using a limited palette of basic pigments is that you can apply extra layers
without the base layer bleeding through, such as in the shadow on the basket. I paint in the
bougainvillea flowers with Opera rose (Sennelier) as the finishing touch.

42
 GET INSPIRED BY INCREDIBLE
AND UNIQUE FANTASY ART
Take a peek inside the minds of artists from all over the world as they share
their designs and creations in The Ultimate Sketchbook Collection alongside
some handy tutorials to help you improve your own sketching.

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Basics

Create texture in watercolour

with a plastic credit card
LIVING SO NEAR to the wonderful
coast of North Cornwall, there are
always some interesting textures and
shapes to be found in the natural
landscape. And I have the found the
technique of creating rocks, cliffs and
waves using an old credit card (cut in
half) to be invaluable. This method is
very effective with watercolours, but
was developed from experimenting with
a palette knife and oils back in the ’60s
at art college.
As an artist who works with many
different media, this cross-referencing of
techniques is exciting and brings new
ways of achieving unexpected results.
With a little practice, a range of
different types of rocks – from rounded
pebbles to the sharp angles of Cornish
slate – are easily and quickly obtainable.
I like using an old credit card cut in half,
as it provides a sharp corner, as well as a
softer one, giving a variety of options with
the final marks.

TONY HOGAN
Cornwall, UK
Artist Tony also organises art
holidays. After art college, he
embarked on a career in
commercial art, and returned
to painting in the 1970s.
www.hoganart.co.uk

A completed Cornish beach watercolour

The clouds were scratched out using the
credit card, as were the crashing waves
and cliffs. I painted in the figures later.

44
 Texture

Follow these steps...

Use a credit card to create great natural textures

1
Wet-in-wet
1 2
Working from light to dark,
I quickly paint three colours
one on top of the other, wet-in-
wet. Make sure the top layer is
dark (the darker it is, the better
the result) – often I use indigo at
this stage. Importantly, while the
three paints are still wet, I grip
the credit card firmly and scratch
into the surface, cutting back to
earlier colours and highlights.

2
Different edges
Here you can see how I’ve developed these
large rocks on a Cornish beach with just the
credit card technique. Again, working quickly while the
paint is still wet, I turn the card off the corners and use
the flat side to catch the lower part of the rocks. I now
have what is a delightful reflection in a pool of water!

3
Using colours
I create the cliffs and headlands in a similar
way, by painting a selection of at least three
colours from light to dark. However, here I’ve kept
the darks to the lower area, allowing the fresh
greens of the headland to be accentuated. My
selection of colours are determined each time by
the view and light on the day.

Be bold and decisive

I always start with a positive mindset – just going for it
rather than worrying about the result before I have even
started! Years of experimenting (and many binned
paintings) have since brought successful results.

45
Basics
Preparing paper for
wet-in-wet watercolour
THERE ARE many ways you can stretch
paper onto a drawing board. First, it’s
worth remembering that when paper
gets wet, it increases in size slightly. And
as it dries, the whole sheet can become
buckled if it isn’t fixed properly. That’s
why securing it firmly is important before
working wet-in-wet. Here, I share one
method I use often to achieve the effects
I like for my paintings. It also works for
dry paintings as well.
You can use this method for a new
sheet of paper at the start of a painting or
to flatten a finished painting. I’ve used
Saunders Waterford Watercolour Paper
(300gsm) and four strips of cheap paper
(with the same thickness as the
watercolor paper), PVA glue, and my
trusty wooden drawing board.
OLGA STERNYK
Kyiv, Ukraine
Art graduate Olga has
illustrated several books, and
has exhibited in Europe.
Having experimented with
many mediums, she now
works mainly in watercolour.
www.sternyk.com
4 Take the board and
46
Follow these steps...
Fixing paper on a drawing board
1
1 Place your watercolour paper on
the board and measure 3cm from its
edges. Mark up the corners, too, as
shown. Now, use these marks to glue
down your paper strips, applying the PVA
glue to the three outer edges of the strips
only. You now have a paper frame on your
drawing board with a ‘window’ inside, and
the outer edges of this window secured.
2
Place the watercolour 2
paper down centrally
and mark the corners, as
shown, then remove it. Wait a
couple of hours for the frame
to dry, using this time to soak
your paper in water for about
10 minutes.
3
Lift the soaked sheet 3
from the water and place
it on a clean surface, face
down. Dab off any excess water
from the edges with paper
towels. Try not to touch the rest
of the sheet, as it’s important
that it remains wet. If you dry
the middle part, the sheet will
shrink before the glue dries in
the stretching process.
4
apply glue to the inner
part of the paper frame
up to the marked corners.
Place your wet paper in
position and leave it until the
paper dries completely. The
paper is now stretched and
ready to be painted on. If the
paper becomes wet and
there is ‘cockling’, it will now
become flat again after it
dries.
 Watercolour special
Wet

This painting employs a

lot of wet-in-wet
technique. The cloud
shadow over the land in
the background was
done following the three
steps below.

Get to grips with the wet-in-wet technique

WET-IN-WET is a technique that can
often cause frustration. This method is Follow these steps...
where additional paint is added into a wet How to control your wet-in-wet technique
section of the paper. Problems usually

arise from an inconsistent amount of
water in the combined mixes. Paint may
disperse too wildly, or irregularities (such
as ‘runbacks’ – see box below) may
result. These effects can be desirable, but
often they’re not wanted!
Once an area of paper has been
dampened by paint or water, usually not
much extra water will be needed in any
paint that is added into it. If the paper
isn’t heavy, or pre-stretched onto board,
it may form bumps. Experiment by
adding different dilutions into different
wetnesses of paper. Timing is important.
Adding undiluted tube paint into a wet
area helps gain control with the method,
so it’s a good starting point. The three-
step example illustrates this.
1
To create soft-edged
1
but controlled marks, the
paint that is added must
have a lower water content
than the area it is added into.
As a quick exercise, you can
squeeze out a small blob of
tube paint. Mix and quickly
lay down an area of wash (a
few inches square), using a
very diluted mix of paint and
a fully loaded brush.
2 3

JEM BOWDEN

What is a ‘runback’?
Runback is also known as a cauliflower or
bloom, and is often a frustration! It occurs
when laying a wash, and especially with wet-
in-wet, if the paper is inconsistently damp. A
wetter part pushes pigment at the edge of a
dryer part into a characteristic wavy line.
2 3
Straight away, hold
your brush against an
absorbent rag or kitchen
paper, so almost all moisture is
taken out of it. Then, onto the
tip of your brush pick up a
generous amount of paint and
work it evenly into the tip using
a dry section of your palette.
Now, while the wash is
still wet, paint some marks
into it and see how the
paint reacts. Here I’ve painted a
tree shape – the effect is that it
blurs, as if out of focus. However,
the paint dispersal is minimal, the
shape holds up and the effect is
therefore controlled.

47
Tutorials

50 Working freely in watercolours

54 Winter farm
62 Capture spring light
in watercolour
68 Paint a dazzling landscape
74 Tips to paint vibrant water
78 Depict a luminous
harbour scene at dusk
84 Simple tips for an English
church in line and wash

48
49
Tutorials
Working freely
in watercolour
Jem Bowden used photos, plus a large helping
of artistic licence and traditional techniques, to
create a harmonious, impressionistic landscape
MINE IS A fairly impressionistic style of
watercolour, where detail is less
important than a sound composition,
good atmosphere and a bit of verve and
directness in the painting process.
In this way, I try to capture the overall
sense of a place, at the same time as
allowing the medium itself to shine. I
paint outdoors – “en plein air” – as often
as possible, as I like to interpret from life
with the influences of the weather,
50
sounds and smells, and the compulsion
to work quickly. Working from photos,
however, allows for a bit more reflection,
with a different element of creativity and
fun added to the process.
Although this scene was sunny,
there was a strong wind that would have
blown over my easel, so instead I walked
all around the scene, snapping it from
different angles, towards the light, away
from the light, recording as many
Bristol, UK
JEM
Jem paints and teaches
watercolour full time, with
a focus on landscapes. He
gives demonstrations, runs
workshops, and tutors on
residential painting holidays.
http://bit.ly/jembowden
potential compositions as possible.
Taking a lot of photos will give you
some facts about a place. From this you
can take or leave whatever you need to
create a painting that will work on its own
terms. Use “artistic licence”, to move or
exclude items, change colours and so on.
It’s a fun process, and you’ll see that even
“bad” photos can be useful to you.
In the stages I follow, the brushwork
is done swiftly, with regard for some
important aspects of the photographic
reference but not restricted by it. Don’t
worry about the result when painting,
focus on the process! Enjoying your
painting brings good results.

Materials
Jem says working in the studio is different
from painting outdoors, but these materials
suit his traditional, impressionistic style...
n Winsor & Newton French Ultramarine,
Light Red, Indian Red, Cobalt Turquoise,
Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow
n Bockingford 200lb (NOT)
paper (56x38 cm)
n Squirrel hair “wash brushes” – great for
covering large areas quickly and easily
n Medium/large size (14) synthetic-hair
brush with a good point – ideal for
accurate painting and fine lines
n Large plastic mixing palette
n Board and easel
n Soft pencil (8B)
n Putty rubber
1 2
The reference photo
The photo has a nice atmosphere,
typical of the beach at Aldeburgh. I
like the composition in general because it
has depth. The eye is led into and around
the scene by a series of virtual zigzags,
from foreground to distance. The sky is
interesting, and will be fun to paint. There
are some bright colours we can make the
most of, and some things we can change...
Have fun with “artistic licence” to improve
on photos. Alter composition, contrast or
colours, as necessary, to spice them up.
3 4
The exciting sky!
I draw out a horizon line with a soft
8B pencil. Having mixed plenty of
paint for the sky colours, I dive straight in.
First I wash on some Light Red near the
bottom in a random fashion with the
medium mop brush. Using my large mop
brush loaded with French Ultramarine, I
put in blue-sky sections. I move the brush
fast to cover paper, looking at the photo
for inspiration but not copying it closely.
It’s the general character we’re aiming for.
Working freely
Creating an initial
working sketch
First, I created a small watercolour
sketch. To lighten up the scene, I tried out
a sunnier sky. I also increased the size of
the main boat, moved the crab baskets to
the left, and added a couple of figures by
the distant boat, to create more of a focal
point. I also changed that boat to a dark
one so it stands out. Finally, I put the whole
background under the shade of a cloud.
This could work, but the sky could
contribute more. Let’s go for it!
Work fast with energy
Being careful to keep some white
paper where sun is catching, I add
in a greyish mix of Light Red, French Ultra-
marine and a bit of Indian Red (for variety)
for shaded parts of clouds. This touches
into the blue-sky areas “wet against wet”,
so the two blend into soft edges. Where
the blue or grey meet white paper there
are hard edges. Moving downwards I work
into the Light Red areas I did first, which
are still damp, giving mainly soft edges.
51
Tutorials
5 6
The completed sky
This mix of edges is key to an
exciting watercolour technique. You
need to work fast, so make sure to have
plenty of paint mixed before starting. It’s a
good idea to practise on a small scale, on
scraps of watercolour paper. I wanted a
couple of bold “dark against light” clouds
near where the background boat will be, to
help draw the eye. Some marks may look
a little stark, but don’t ever lose faith in a
sky until you see it with land added.
52
Sea and beach washes
I draw in the main shapes of boats
etc loosely in pencil. Next I add the
sea, in a similar blue to the sky and clouds,
adding water to dilute the mix paler on the
right. I let this dry before I paint the beach,
starting in the distance and working down
to the foreground, using first a mix of Light
Red with a touch of blue, then pure Light
Red towards the foreground. Before it’s
dry I add in some darker patches, Indian
Red with French Ultramarine.
7
The main boat
My techniques are very traditional,
using the white of the paper and
the transparency of the medium to
capture the light. Using the synthetic
brush I take thicker mixes of paint to get
darker tones. Tube paints are essential
for this. It’s great fun using really thick
paint! Don’t be afraid to go dark first time.
Watercolour looks fresher if you don’t
overlay more washes than necessary to
build up tone.
8
Taking shape
The shadow is painted
in the same wash as the
boat hull, so they look unified.
Strong darks set off the lighter
tones and put the background
into its place. Other details on
the boat and in the background
are done loosely, in as few
brushstrokes as possible.

9
Bits of stuff and
background shadow
Next I paint the pile in the
foreground, not worrying about what
it actually is! What’s important is the
bright colours, which convey the notion
of fishing gear. I put in a first wash for the
baskets on the left, using free, fast and
random brushwork to suggest their form.
Next, a wash of grey goes over the whole
background area, putting it into shade to
draw the eye with added contrast.
10 Adding in detail
Next I add marks that suggest
detail – some dots, some dry
brush marks (by dragging a brush quickly
on its side), and a bit of judicious spatter.
Spattering is where you fling spots of paint
from your brush by tapping it against your
other hand while holding it over the paper.
Less is more with this. I did the line from
the boat using the pointed tip of the
synthetic brush, held high up the handle
and swiped from the wrist.
Working freely
11
Beach grasses
and further stuff
I move the beach-grass section
from the photo to where it best balances
the composition in the painting. Again it
is random shapes, allowing the key
turquoise and orange colours to mix with
the greenery. I swipe a couple of linear
marks with a fingernail. This reveals the
pale underlying paper and can be done
in relatively thick paint, when it is just
beginning to dry. Give it a go!
Finishing touches
12 To complete the
scene I add a bit more
random detail to the baskets
on the left, dot some distant
birds into the sky and put a
cheeky gull on the main boat,
for a key bit of focal interest.
When all is dry, I remove the
pencil lines with a putty rubber.
Aim for fresh and loose by
resisting details and keeping
your eye on the bigger picture.
53
Tutorials

54
 Winter

Winter farm
Using his unique '5 Cs of Painting', Robert Newcombe demonstrates
how to paint a snow scene in watercolour from a sketch

55
 Tutorials

ROBERT
Ravenstone, UK
Robert Newcombe has been
painting in watercolour for over
30 years. On 3 June 2012 Robert
was selected by the BBC as one of
20 artists to paint the Diamond
Jubilee Thames Pageant from the
Millennium Bridge in London.
www.robertnewcombeartist.com
I WAS IN the English Lake District in the
early 1980s just after I had taken up
watercolour painting as a hobby. It was
late November and there had been a
fresh fall of snow. Taking the road towards
Derwent Water I came across this
magnificent view of Skelgill Farm; it was
too cold to paint but I did a ten-minute
sketch of the scene shown in step 1 with a
felt-tip pen, using a soft pencil to shade in
Materials
n Winsor and Newton
(Professional Water Colour
range): Burnt Sienna, Burnt
Umber, Cobalt Blue,
Ultramarine Blue, Brown
Madder, Light Red, Indian
Red, Cadmium Red,
Permanent Magenta or
Alizarin Crimson and
Winsor Blue (green shade)
n Brushes – a one inch Hake
brush for the broad washes
and Escoda Perla (8 and 12)
for the architectural details
and a rigger brush for the
trees
n Paper – Whatman Not
140lb (300gsm), size
one-quarter Imperial (11 x 15
the reddish-grey stone walls of the inches) – Whatman is
farmhouse and assortment of barns. I whiter than some
added some colour notes. I didn’t realise watercolour paper and is
until many years later that Skelgill Farm is ideal for snow scenes
mentioned in Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of n 2B pencil
Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, with a drawing of part n Putty rubber
of the farm by the author as an
illustration. I will now use my '5 Cs of
Painting' to show you how I develop a
unique interpretation of this subject.

1
The sketch
The concept (the first C) is a
Lake District farm under
snow. The subject is
predominantly cool with a
brilliant winter sun coming from
the front-left, which lights up the
front of the farmhouse and
barns creating strong shadows.

Snow paint
Snow paintings are a gift for
watercolourists as the white
of the paper represents the
snow (no white paint) but the
critical skill is to preserve the
white paper.

56
 Winter

2
The pencil drawing
Composition is the next C and refers
to the design of the painting. I felt it
was a perfect composition. The snow-
covered roof of the farmhouse contrasts
with the dark yew tree at the centre of
interest, there are some lovely autumn/
winter trees and the sloping ground adds to
the character of the subject. The mountain
(Catbells), which gives distance and depth,
will be put in directly with the brush. I raise
the horizon in the drawing to give more
prominence to the foreground snow.

The tonal scale

3 The next C is 'contrast' or tone

values. On the left of a fresh sheet of
watercolour paper I create a five-value
tonal scale using squares, numbering the
squares from 1 to 5. Tone 1 is the white of
the paper; Tone 5 is the darkest tone I can
get with Ultramarine Blue. I add water to
achieve tone 4 and more water again to
achieve tones 3 and 2, creating a gradual
transition from the dark to light. The space
to the right is for checking the tones of the
colours I’ll use in the painting.

57
 Tutorials

4 The tonal plan

Referring to my five-value tonal scale
and using Ultramarine Blue again I
produce a small tonal plan for the painting
to enable me to see colours as tones. The
white of the paper is the lightest tone (Tone
1 – the snow) with almost neat ultramarine
blue for the darkest tone (Tone 5 – the yew
tree) and the intermediate tones shown as
per numbers on the tonal plan. As we paint
from light to dark in watercolour this tonal
plan will also give me my painting sequence.

Paint the sky (tones 2

5 and 3)
I turn the paper upside down to paint
the sky to prevent dribbles running down
the white paper representing the snow.
After checking my colours on my tonal scale
sheet I use my Hake brush to paint a tone 2
purple wash (Ultramarine Blue and
Permanent Magenta) starting at the snow-
covered roof of the farmhouse and barns
and taking the wash down to ground level
elsewhere, then gradually changing this to a
Tone 3 wash of Cobalt Blue at the zenith of
the sky. The paper cockles slightly at this
stage but will dry flat.

Paint buildings (tone 3)

6 Following my tonal painting sequence

I paint the stone walls of the
farmhouse and barns with a tone 3 mix of
Ultramarine Blue and a little Indian Red to
achieve the warm colour of Cumbrian stone.
I use my Escoda Perla 12 brush having
checked the mix on my tonal scale.

5 Cs of Painting
I developed my 5 Cs of Painting (Concept,
Composition, Contrast, Colour, Completion)
to provide a logical sequence of steps in the
painting process (see my book Robert
Newcombe’s 5 Cs of Painting).

58
 Winter

7 Paint the mountain

7 (tone 3)
The simple mountain shape is now
painted in directly with the same brush
with a mix of Ultramarine Blue plus a
little Permanent Magenta to give a
purplish tinge. I check the tone against
my tonal scale. It may look too dark at
this stage but watercolour dries lighter
and I know the tone 5 oak tree I’ll be
adding later will push it back into the
distance of the scene.

8
The background trees
(tone 4)
The tone 4 winter trees to the left of
the farmhouse still had some warm autumn
colours so are painted a cool green-grey
with Burnt Sienna dropped in at the base.
The trees behind yew tree and the big barn
are painted with the same cool green-grey
wash. While the washes are still damp I paint
in the trunks and branches with a dark
brown mix of Ultramarine Blue and Burnt
Sienna, then scrape out some lighter tree
trunks with my pen knife.

59
Tutorials

9
The shadow wash (tone 4)
Switching to my Escoda Perla 8 brush, I use a
transparent mix of Ultramarine Blue and Brown
Madder to paint the shadows on the buildings. The sun
is coming from the front-left so there will be shadows
under the eaves of the farmhouse and barns where the
roofs overhang and the barns will cast some attractive
raking shadows on other barns.

Importance of contrast
I had a major painting breakthrough when I realised the
importance of tone values (Contrast) in creating paintings with
impact. I spent three months painting only monochrome
paintings using different dark colours that enabled me to
capture a full tonal range, e.g. ultramarine blue, burnt sienna,
light red, indigo etc. (see steps 3 and 4) after which I was able
to see colour in terms of tone. Try it.

The yew tree and

10 the oak tree (tone 5)
Next the darkest tones in the
picture using tone 5 mixes. The dark green
yew tree is painted with Winsor Blue
(green shade) and Burnt Sienna to create
the impact of the darkest dark against the
lightest light at the centre of interest. The
oak tree in front of the mountain is a mix
of Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber
painted with my rigger brush. I then
establish the outline of the tree with quick
downward strokes of diluted Burnt Umber.

60
 Winter

11
Make the final
touches (tone 5)
I’m nearing the Completion stage
of the painting where there is a danger of
adding too much. Using the same mix as for
the oak tree I paint the fence leading the eye
to the centre of interest together with its
attendant shadows, then the Land Rover
and the figure talking to the driver. The last
touch is to paint the front door of the
farmhouse in bold Cadmium Red to attract
the viewer’s eye to the centre of interest.

The finished painting

12 At this point I refer back to my
concept, Lake District farm
under snow. Have I achieved my concept? I
feel like turning up my coat collar so I think I
have and the painting is finished.

61
Tutorials
Capture
spring light
in watercolour
A visit to Derbyshire's Peak District provides
Robert Brindley with the chance to paint a rural
springtime scene filled with crisp light and colour
SPRING IS A wonderful and exciting
time of year. As we move from the cold,
damp, and dull conditions
of winter, many artists feel the desire to
venture outdoors to
paint the fresh colours of the new season.
However, many inexperienced painters
return to the studio disappointed by their
efforts. In many cases, failure comes from
their inability to simplify the subject
matter and also to reduce the
overwhelming strength of colour.
In this painting, The Bridge at Milldale, I
hope to illustrate how clean, transparent
colour can be controlled to produce a
more considered, sympathetic rendering
of the British spring light. The importance
of a solidfoundation of drawing,
composition, colour and especially the
use of tone will be stressed.
I was attracted immediately to this
subject for a number of reasons. The
most obvious reason was for the quality of
the light and colour, which I felt perfectly
encapsulated spring. I also felt that the
composition was sound where the banks
of the stream provided a gentle lead in to
62
the focal point under the bridge. In my
painting I decided to reinforce the focal
point with the introduction of two figures.
I'll be using the controlled wash
method for painting atmospheric
watercolours. This method begins with an
overall loose and airy wet-into-wet
application of colour. When dry, the
tonal relationships from light to dark
are developed, before adding the final
darks and details.
The reference photographs for this
painting were taken on a crisp, bright day
in mid-April on a trip into the Derbyshire
Peak District to gather subject matter.
ROBERT
Whitby, England
As a member of the Royal
Society of Marine Artists, it's
unsurprising that Robert loves
to illustrate the light in coastal
and landscape scenes. He
counts Venice as a favourite
painting destination.
www.robertbrindley.com
Vibrant water

63
Tutorials

Materials
Robert uses these colours
because they're perfectly
suited to replicate the
subtleties of the UK landscape.
n Winsor and Newton
(Professional Water Colour
range): Raw Sienna,
Aureolin, Burnt Sienna,
Raw Umber, Cobalt Blue,
Cerulean, Ultramarine Blue,
Permanent Magenta and
Cobalt Violet
n Paper: Arches (300lb).
n Brushes: Escoda Perla (4, 8
and 12). Pro ARTE Acryix (2
and 4). Pro ARTE Rigger (2)
n Masking fluid
n Water spray diffuser
n Toothbrush
n 2B pencil

1
Start with a good initial sketch
A carefully considered drawing is essential to
enable me to place the initial loose, wet-into-wet
washes with confidence and accuracy. To preserve
the most important lights and highlights, I use
masking fluid applied with a number 2 Pro ARTE
Acrylix brush. I always clean the brush thoroughly,
immediately after use.

2
Prepare colour pools
I prepare pure colour pools using
the following: Cobalt Blue, Cobalt
Violet and Raw Sienna. These three
colours are the basic primaries on which
the entire painting is based. In addition,
the following colours are also prepared
using mixes of Aureolin, Raw Sienna,
Cobalt Violet, Burnt Sienna, Cobalt Blue,
Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean, Permanent
Magenta and Viridian.

64
 Spring light

“A careful drawing is
essential for placing
washes accurately”

3
Do a diffused wash
I wet the entire surface and introduce the
colours as quickly as possible, from light to
dark. The result is a diffused wash. My aim is to
place the colour accurately, hopefully replicating the
subtle colour and tonal changes in the scene. I allow
the colours to mix freely, while at the same time use
the pre-mixed colour pools to adjust colour and
tone as the washes are introduced.

4
Paint the backdrop
I develop the distant diffused trees behind the
bridge using the same colour pools. I want to
achieve just the right level of resolution, so that when
the nearer, skeletal trees are painted, the background
doesn't compete for attention.

65
Tutorials

5
Remove masking fluid
to reveal the lights
Now I remove the majority of the
masking fluid with a clean finger. You
should never attempt to remove
masking fluid until the painting is
completely dry. I then soften a few of the
harsher edges left by the masking fluid
to make them sit in naturally.

6
Develop
tonal relationships
I start to develop the middle tonal
relationships. Tone basically means how
dark or light the colour is, and it's vital
for the success of any painting. Without
the correct evaluation of how dark or
light any particular area of your painting
is in relation to surrounding areas,
everything will fall apart.

Tone is king
Tone is key to a successful painting. Colour,
drawing and composition are of course
important, but if the tonal sequence is poorly
observed then the painting won't work.

7
Paint the water
To ensure that the
painting develops as
a whole, I now turn my
attention to depicting the
water, and introduce wet-into-
wet washes of Cerulean,
Cobalt Blue, Cobalt Violet and
Permanent Magenta. I make
an effort to observe all of the
subtle tonal changes that
are present in the water.
I purposely create a much
darker area at the bottom of
the painting – this helps to
push the viewer's eye further
into the painting.

66
 Spring light

Take positives
from failures
Nothing is ever learnt from a successful
painting that almost painted itself. Always
be positive, as far more can be learnt from
your failures and mistakes.

8
Paint the skeletal trees
I start to paint the trees using
mixes of Cobalt Blue, Cobalt Violet
and Raw Sienna, along with Viridian and
Cobalt Violet that together make a
wonderful grey/green. I'm careful not to
overdo the number of branches and
twigs in the painting – too many would
detract from the overall effect. I also
employ a lost-and-found approach,
which I feel gives a more convincing
rendering. From time to time I compare
the number of branches and twigs in the
reference photograph to what's
developing in the painting.

9 10
Approach the end Add finishing touches and evaluate
I'm often asked when do I know a painting is finished. Time to add the final tones and details. This, for me, is
It's pretty much a gut feeling. At this stage I'm aware that the most exciting stage of the painting. However,
the finish isn't too far away and that I must be careful not to without careful evaluation it can be the stage where everything
overwork the painting. To complete this stage I work more on can be ruined. Always think twice before committing to any
the skeletal trees and other details, together with giving more addition. The fine details for this painting include small twigs
consideration to the darker tones present in the bridge, the and taller blades of grass. I also paint the ducks, introduce some
banks of the stream and the cottage. daffodils and add two figures within the focal point.

67
Tutorials

Paint a dazzling
landscape
Ibolya Taligas shows you her way of
painting a vibrant autumn landscape full of
engaging textures and zesty colours

68
 Dazzling landscape

IN THIS WORKSHOP I encourage you

IBOLYA
London, UK
Ibolya is a Hungarian watercolorist
living in London. Her inspiration
comes from observing nature.
Her favourite pastime is sketching
during her travels and
encouraging others to paint
outdoors. She organises painting
holidays in some of the less
explored parts of Europe.
www.ibolyataligas.com
to be more daring with watercolours. This
medium allows us to create some
wonderful effects that may not be
possible with other mediums, so let’s
exploit this quality! I use vibrant,
transparent colours, which enables me to
paint over previous layers and still keep
my work bright and clean. There are also
endless ways to create textures which
can be seen a lot in my work. I select a
few methods to show you how to make
interesting marks with little effort.
For this I use everyday tools, such as salt,
a palette knife and a spray bottle. I hope I
can make watercolour painting a lot of
fun for all! Here, I guide you through the

Materials process of creating a painting of a

dazzling autumn landscape from the
n Paints: fascinating Tisza Lake in Hungary.
Quinacridone gold - Winsor &
Newton Professional
Watercolour
Warm up Plan it
Permanent magenta - Winsor &
Newton Professional
Watercolour
Winsor blue (green shade) -
1 I do a basic drawing, marking out the horizon
and the shape of the trees, then choose my
colours: Winsor Blue (Green Shade), Permanent
Have a plan before you get
started with your painting but
don’t be afraid of making
Winsor & Newton Professional Magenta, Quinacridone Gold, Burnt Sienna and
changes along the way. I once
Watercolour Vermilion. On a scrap piece of paper I do a quick
turned a badly painted figure
Burnt sienna - Winsor & colour sketch, kind of a mood board. A great warm-
into a tree! It worked fine.
Newton Professional up exercise before getting started.
Watercolour
Vermilion - Mijello Artists’
Watercolour
n Brushes:
Pro Arte Series 50 extra large,
squirrel hair wash brush
Da Vinci Series 5530 Cosmotop-
Mix, size 12 round brush
SAA Kolinsky Sable brush,
Rigger size 4
Pro Arte Series 40, Pure Sable
round brush, size 2
n Paper:
Bockingford Watercolour block,
NOT, 16 in x 12 in
n Other materials:
Rock salt
Plastic palette knife
Spray bottle
n Ibolya finds the medium
rough paper perfect for creating
textures as well as for applying
washes with a large brush . She
uses mostly transparent colours
to achieve vibrancy.

69
 Tutorials

2
First wash
I brush a very diluted magenta, gold and blue
across the dry paper with my large brush. I tilt
my board slightly to let the paint flow downwards to
create a smooth, soft layer. I leave out white shapes for
the flowers. I add some ripples on the wet paper, using
my round brush and a thick mix of magenta and blue.

I nspiration
When I lack inspiration, I take a day
off to visit the seaside or
countryside. Then I can’t wait to
get back, re-energized, full of ideas.

3 4
Distant trees
I now fill the shape of the trees by
placing a thicker layer of clean
colours side by side. I’m using the side of
my round brush. This also lets me leave
out gaps in the trees and gives the
impression of foliage rather than a block
of colour. I continue across the page
varying my colours.
Have fun!
Sprinkle some rock salt onto the
freshly painted surface. I also
spatter paint with my brush. After
spraying over my paper gently I can see
the speckled effect already. I wait for my
paper to dry completely before removing
the salt. Once I do, I have a convincing
foliage that took such little effort.
5
More fun
I realise that I should indicate the
grassy area on the water’s edge in
front of the trees. So I scrape out some lines
and shapes using the side of my plastic
palette knife. It seems effective. It’s best to
use this technique when the shimmer has
gone from the paper, or your marks you
make could disappear.

“After spraying over

my paper gently I
can see the speckled
effect already”

6
Adding darks
I mix a green first to manipulate the
dark blobs with my brush. I also spray
over them gently to make them spread.

70
 Dazzling landscape

7
Radiant reflections
I use the same bright colours to paint
in the reflections that I used for the
trees. I start filling in the whole area I marked
out. I’m using vertical brush strokes, adding
bright colours first, then greens, leaving out
the waterlily field in the middle for now. At
the bottom I brush horizontal lines to
correspond with the ripples.

8 Dark reflections
While still wet, I drop some darks into
the reflections, being careful to keep
my colours clean. What’s important to know
about reflections is that darks reflecting in
water will appear lighter and light things will
appear darker. So I use a lesser intensity of
darks in the reflections.

9 Simplify things!
I now paint horizontal lines with my
rigger brush inside the lily pad,
avoiding the white shapes I left out. I start
with gold, dropping into this some red then
green. I paint exactly what I see in the photo.
At this scale I can only see bits of colours.

An escape
I realised early in my life that art is what I
wanted to do, even though it took me decades
to recognise my own skills. Painting and
drawing has been my biggest strength.
Although frustrating at times, it’s like a best
friend that picks me up when I fall down.

71
 Tutorials

10
Darker or lighter?
Some parts of the lily leaves
appear darker than the water,
so I fill the gaps that I left out with a wash
of purple grey colour. I use my round
brush for this job as I can quickly and
easily fill those gaps with its pointy tip.

11
Create contrast!
I now paint in some dark, broken lines for shadows,
using a rigger brush and applying little pressure. I draw
random horizontal lines. To create high contrast I add these darks
around the white flowers. They become a lot more defined and
noticeable now. However, my painting seems a bit lifeless still.
12
Foreground detail
I decide to paint in some reed to indicate that I’m
viewing this vista from the edge of the lake rather than
from a boat. I use a thick dark mix as before. I press my rigger
brush firmly onto the paper and lift it away from it as I get to the tip
of the reed to make it thinner at the tip.

13
Background detail
I use the same thick mix of paint
as before, but this time with a
much smaller, size 2, detail brush. This gives
me a lot more control when I paint flying
birds. These are simple, curved, broken lines
resembling birds flying. It’s really fun to
practise these on a separate paper. All of a
sudden my painting comes to life!

72
 Dazzling landscape

Evaluation
14 This painting looks so much
more alive now. I still think I could
add some birds in the water to balance out
my composition as there is this large empty
space in the foreground.

Final composition
15 With my small detail brush I add
two swimming coots in the
foreground. Now the place appears full of
life! It also improves the composition.
Memories of the peaceful Tisza Lake are
flooding back.

73
Tutorials

Tips to paint
vibrant water
Jennifer Branch shows you the secrets behind
painting energised water and realistic reflections
in any situation

PAINTING WATER CAN sometimes

JENNIFER Paint still water first

1
seem overwhelming. Water moves
Northwest Georgia, USA
constantly, so capturing a moment Start practising when the water is
Watercolour artist and
without the aid of a camera may appear lifelong teacher Jennifer calm and reflective, then later you’ll
impossible. But paintings can convey Branch travels the world be able to use the techniques you develop
the constant movement of water in a with her husband and two here to paint any other type of water, from
way that photos struggle to, as long as sons, to find inspiration for raging surf to a rippling pond surface. All
her next painting.
you have a good water-painting of the wave and wind action makes the surf
paintingwatercolor.com
technique that ensures your pictures are seem far more complicated to paint, but
as full of life as the real thing. the principles are the same as for still water.
The following top ten tips explain a few If you learn to paint reflections and subtle
basic skills and techniques you can use ripples on that calm pond, a crashing wave
to paint water that looks spontaneous at the beach will be easy to paint. A wave is
and vibrant. Although I use watercolours, just a very big ripple, after all.
these tips also translate to the medium
of your choice. Practise en plein air
whenever you can, but you can work
from photos when you need to.
You can’t paint the same water twice,
since it’s ever-changing. Capturing the
energy in that movement is what makes
water so amazing to paint. I love to sit by
a lake or the ocean and paint at different
times throughout the day, using several
sketchbooks to capture these fleeting
scenes. One sketch dries while the
others are in play. Take a photo before
you start, so that if the light changes you
can finish the last wash at home.
Water can be opaque, transparent,
choppy or smooth, but you use the
same techniques for painting it. Follow
these tips to make sure that all of your
water paintings are vibrant and lively.

74
 Vibrant water

3
Notice colours
Water is only blue if it’s reflecting
blue! Look at the colours in the
reflected trees, sky and objects and use
these colours as your palette for any
water that’s not white foam. Even the hull
of a boat or sky not seen in your painting
might still be seen in a reflection. To
connect the water and landscape, pull
the colours from the reflected objects
directly into the water reflection, then
go back and sharpen the shoreline with
a few strokes of strong darks.
Flatten distant water
4 Water appears flatter as it grows
more distant, and horizontal lines
can convey this flattening of the water’s
surface and the shortening of reflections.
Use a few connecting horizontal dashes to
show the distant water and reflections
from the shore or objects on its surface.
Streams and rivers also appear to flatten
at a distance. Almost the same strokes
you use for a reflected squiggle (as seen
in the tip 2 picture) can look like an entire
river as it snakes away.

2
Reflect down
No matter what angle you’re
painting from, reflections
always come directly towards you
from the source. It’s simple physics,
but sometimes people may expect
reflections to follow the same rules
as shadows and perspective. To
paint them, first pick a simple line
in the reflected object such as a tree
trunk or building façade. The
reflection of that line will always be
perpendicular to you, or the bottom
of your page. This makes it easy to
pull some pigment down from the
reflected object into the reflection.
All you need are a few dashes of
movement on the next wash.

75
Tutorials

5
Make reflections dull
Light rays scatter on the surface
of the water, so a reflection is
never a perfect mirror. Therefore your
palette of reflecting colours should be
duller than the objects being reflected.
Many artists continue their first wash
from the objects into the water, then
finish by adding duller washes with
more movement on the surface of the
water. Most bright whites in water are
sunlight reflections. Darker colours
usually look lighter in reflections and
lighter colours darker. Add a touch of
complementary colour to your
pigment to get very close to the colour
you need.

6
Paint pointed
ovals for waves
The shape of a wave is
an oval, curved in the middle
with sharp points on both
ends. Use a pointed round
brush to paint waves. A flat
brush gives you great broad
strokes, but it fails you on the
points. Start by painting one
point of the oval with the tip
of the brush, add more
pressure for a broader stroke
in the middle, then finish with
the tip of the brush. The ovals
can be evenly distributed or
skewed depending on the
wind and your perspective.
Know
7 your light
Your light direction in a
scene will tell you how dark
or light the water looks.
Backlit trees will be dark, but
their reflection will be lighter.
Conversely, bright front
lighting will give you a darker
reflection on the water. The
light direction will also tell
you whether the top or the
bottom of the wave should
glow. If the light comes
through a wave at the right
angle, the wave acts as
a lens, focusing bright spots
of light on the bottom.

76

8
Paint in layers
Since crystal clear water,
where we can see rocks on
the bottom, is actually separate
layers of water and rocks, the
simplest way to paint these
scenes is in layers. The key is to
separate the different layers by
letting them dry completely
between washes. Don’t be afraid
to use strong dark colours in the
first wash. Dry brushing gives you
texture that shows up under the
water. Paint the water in one bold
wash, making wave-shaped
strokes. Let your brush dance. You
can use gouache for reflected sky
or preserve the white paper with
masking, wax or precise strokes
(see next step).
Cobalt Blue
tin ted gouache
White p aper
9
Mix it up
Use a variety of techniques for
capturing textured whites. I always
like to leave more white paper than I use,
as paper is the most sparkling white you
have in your toolkit. It’s easy to paint
over whites, but you can never get the
white paper back. However, don’t limit
yourself to just one shade of white.
Permanent wax crayon preserves
whites, while white or tinted gouache in
a pale colour can give you highlights on
the water surface. Lifting pigment
softens edges. Wait until your painting is
dry, then use a damp rag to pull out
the pigment.
Vibrant
Vibrant
water
water
tips
Wax crayon
Adjust texture
10 Hot press paper gives you
rich colours and a smooth
texture, which is ideal for painting water
on a foggy day with no sparks of white
reflection. You can use a lot of wet on wet
brush strokes for blurred edges. Rough
press paper gives you dull colours with
reflected sparkles and texture, perfect
for the seashore with white reflections,
surf and rocks. Cold press paper falls
between hot press and rough press,
giving you a little texture and brighter
colours, which is great for re-creating a
peaceful pond scene with vibrant
flowers reflecting.
77
Depict a luminous
harbour scene at dusk
Abigail McDougall shares her passion for using the fluidity of watercolour
to describe an atmospheric waterscape at sunset

78
 Waterscapes

WATCH THE
VIDEO
http://bit.ly/pad13_dusk

ABIGAIL
Bristol, England
Growing up in Italy, Canada
and Dorset, Abigail has always
been inspired by the beauty of
the landscape. Watercolour is
her favourite medium and she
is focusing more and more on
painting water scenes.
www.abigailmcdougall.com

I AM GOING to talk about light, tone,

colour and creating interesting
brushstrokes. I always love to paint
outdoors whenever I can, especially at
dawn or dusk. The light changes fast, so
you have to learn to work quickly and
spontaneously.
I am always out on my bike looking for
subject matter to paint, I treat it as an
adventure. I take sketches, colour studies
and photos to make sure I have enough
reference in case I want to make a larger
painting in the studio.
Choosing a subject matter at these
extreme times of day means that I have
the best chance of creating an
atmospheric and relaxing landscape.
I always work from light to dark to keep
the colours fresh and avoid smudges.
I also try and use transparent colours
whenever possible. You can check on the
watercolour tube whether it is a
transparent or opaque colour. The more
transparent colours you use, the better
the chance of keeping the luminosity of
the white paper shining through. Painting
at dusk means also having a few pinky or
pastel shades, I try and look for the
colour naturally present in the scene.

79
Tutorials

ls
Ma teria sh is Abigail’
s most vers
atile
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. S he fin ds the Italian r &
brush hile Winso
and detail, w rcolours are
sharpness
p rofe ssional wate s.
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ua lity a nd have usefu
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paintbrush
n Chinese ssional
insor & N ewton profe
n W
rs (tubes)
watercolou plate)
alette (large
n China p
n Kitche
n towel
00gsm
o Artistico 3
n Fabrian
A4 pa er
p
hot pressed

2
Draw with paint

1
I use a very light yellow shade –
a mix of Naples Yellow and Lemon
Yellow (Nickel Titanate) to draw out the
main lines of the composition. These will
disappear as the painting progresses.
I like to keep the painting quite
spontaneous-looking, without detailed
drawn pencil lines showing through. I
use quite loose brushwork to give me an
idea of where the main objects are.
Bright areas
As it’s dusk, there aren’t
going to be any white
details in the picture, the lightest
areas are going to be light yellow
or light blue. I fill in the sky,
background and the reflection of
the sky in light yellow. I don’t use
masking fluid; I am careful to
preserve the lighter details as I
work, so I start marking them out.

80
 Waterscapes

3
Block in light areas
I block in the lighter details: the light facades of buildings, lighter areas of
detail, or bright areas of detail, such as the red chimney tops. I use fairly
diluted colour hues – light blues, light pinks, yellows and reds where necessary.
I always try and use transparent colours rather than the more opaque ones so as
to preserve the luminosity of the white paper shining through.

Eastern delight
Watercolour is the perfect medium to paint
water and reflections. The Chinese brush
allows me to create a multitude of different
brushstrokes and allows me to have enough
water on the brush to paint fluidly.

Blend background

4 I block in the background: the

Clifton houses, trees, the bridge
and the hill of the Ashton Court estate.
I use a tone that is not much darker than
the sky because I want it to look hazy.
I use a combination of very diluted
colours: blue, ochre, red, neutral tint.
I let them bleed into each other to
create a hazy, yet colourful effect.

81
Tutorials

5
Fill in mid-tones
I use blocks of colour to fill in
some of the main areas of the
mid-tones. I don’t work with dark
colour yet, as I’m saving that for the
end. At this point I use blues, purples,
reds and browns. I paint the main
buildings and boats, and the main
areas of the reflections. I also start to
define where the darker objects will
be, using a lighter shade than the
final colour.

AV inspiration
In the studio I have all my art books and artist
postcards I have collected over the years.
It’s delightful to flick through these when
inspiration is low. I listen to audio books while
painting to keep my concentration.

“It is tricky to paint

light shades next
to dark ones, they
will inevitably
smear”

6
Define deeper tones
I define some of the slightly darker
and deeper areas of colour,
bringing in ultramarine, cobalt, deeper
reds and browns, indigo and turquoise.
It is tricky to paint lights next to darks,
they will inevitably smear, so I am careful
that I have already painted in the lighter
objects that the deeper colours will
touch, and that these objects are dry.

7
Create reflections
After checking that all the lighter
areas of colour in the water have
been filled in, I start painting the mid-
tones in the water. I work with the fluidity
of the water on the brush to create fluid
gestural marks in the water area. The
Chinese brush helps me create different
kinds of brushstrokes, using the tip of
the brush and the middle.

82
 Waterscapes

8
Blend gradients
I work with blending, wet-on-wet,
creating some gradient tones
from dark to light, especially in the
water areas or in particularly dark areas.
I make the shadows between the boats
and reflections by laying down a strip of
dark colour and then using clean water
(not too much) to blend it into the
bottom (reflection) area. I also use this
technique for creating the graded
shadows on the buildings.

9
Fill darker details
I fill in the darker areas: the
shadows on the boats and the
dark details on the houses and start
painting the darker details, such as
windows and doors. I use the tip of the
brush for fine details, such as the masts.

10
Finishing touches
Using light shades of blue,
purple and ochre, I suggest
some of the windows and details in the
background buildings. I use fluid
brushstrokes to paint the squiggly
reflections of masts, water patterns and
details in the water, between the
reflected objects and the sky. I lay darker
patches at the bottom of the water and
top of the sky to help contain the image.

On the
flip side!
I was painting a large piece
outdoors on a February
morning and my paper and
board was on the ground on
my picnic mat. About two
hours in, a very large, very
muddy dog came and trampled
over the whole piece! I sat
there for a few minutes
bewildered and dejected
before deciding to turn the
paper over and start again.
It didn’t take me too long to get
back to it, and the painting is
one of my favourites.

83
Tutorials

Simple tips for an English

church in line and wash
Using his unique ‘5 C’s of painting’, Robert Newcombe demonstrates
how to paint a quintessential English country scene in his favourite media

84
 Line & wash

ROBERT
Ravenstone, UK
Robert Newcombe has been
painting in watercolour for
over 30 years. In 2012, he was
selected by the BBC as one
of 20 artists to paint the
Diamond Jubilee Thames
Pageant from the Millennium
Bridge in London.
robertnewcombeartist.com

I LIVE IN RAVENSTONE, one of the

Ma terials lovely Cotswold stone villages of North

Buckinghamshire – it’s the Cotswolds
without the tourists! St Laurence’s
n Winsor & Newton Professional Water
Church in Weston Underwood, the next
Colour range: Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna,
village from where I live, is a typical
Burnt Umber, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine
medieval village church.
Blue, Brown Madder, light red
The photograph of the church shown
n Bockingford Not 140lb (300gsm),
in step 1 was taken on a sunny but cool
size 11x15in
day in April from the edge of a field at the
n Isabey Squirrel Mop Brush (size 10)
back of the church. I have put a 3x3 grid
for the broad washes and Escoda Perla
Paint from the photo

(sizes 8 and 12) to use on the
architectural details
n For a pen, try a sharpened matchstick
(Bryant & Mays Extra Long Matches)
dipped in a bottle of waterproof Indian
ink. The matchstick makes it easy to
achieve a line with character
n B pencil
n Putty rubber
on the photograph. Draw a 14x10in
border on your watercolour paper and
this will be exactly proportional to the
dimensions of the photograph. Once
done, draw a 3x3 grid lightly with a B
pencil on the watercolour paper, which
will proportionately match the grid on
the photograph and enable you to
transfer the image accurately.
With the basics done, read on as I
share my ‘5 C’s of Painting’ and show you
how I develop a unique interpretation of
this subject.
1
The first C is Concept (what you
want to say in the painting). The
concept here is English country church
on the edge of a village. I decide to refine
the concept to create a warm autumn
painting in contrast to the cool spring
feel of the photograph; the concept now
is an English country church in autumn.
I also decide to have a strong sun from
the left to light up the left facade of the
church and create strong shadows for
tonal contrast at the centre of interest.

85
Tutorials
2
Pencil outline drawing
Composition is the next C and it refers to the
arrangement of the painting. A pencil outline
of the main elements is drawn by referring to the
3x3 grid on the photograph and putting dots on the
watercolour paper grid where the main elements
strike the grid lines. Then it’s a case of joining the
dots – no detail, just the outline of the objects. For
clarity, I’ve drawn the gridlines, dots and outline in
strong 4B pencil, but you should draw these lines
with a B pencil as lightly as you can.
No need
to stretch
I never stretch paper; just buy
thicker paper to avoid
cockling – minimum 140lb
(300gsm) for quarter Imperial,
minimum 200lb (425gsm) for
half Imperial.
86
3
Start the ink drawing
Line and wash is particularly
useful for details on the buildings
and drawing the trees. To produce a line
with character, I’m using a sharpened
matchstick dipped into waterproof black
Indian ink. It is particularly good fun
flicking in the trunks and branches of
the bare autumn trees. As the ink
drawing is completed first, it is critical
that the ink is waterproof and doesn’t
run when the watercolour washes are
applied. As I’m left-handed, I start
drawing on the right-hand side of the
paper to avoid smudging the ink; if you
are right-handed, start on the left.
4
The completed ink drawing
You will note I have made some adjustments from the photograph:
I left out the rather ugly bush at the centre left of the photograph,
which I felt competed with the church. I’ve also indicated some plough
furrows in the foreground to create the autumn feeling but reversed the
direction of the furrows to give directional perspective lines leading the
eye to the centre of interest – the church. I also added a distant hill to
improve the composition and add depth.
5 6
Hatch in the shadows
The next C to explore is Contrast (tone
values). This refers to the darkness or
lightness of objects in the painting; I create the
tonal plan for the painting at the ink drawing stage
by hatching in the shadows using vertical lines.
The sun is coming from the left so there will be
shadows on the right-hand side of the tower, the
buttress and the gable end of the church, as well as
an eaves shadow caused by overhanging roof. If
you want to erase the grid lines, now is the time.
Paint the sky
Colour is the next C to consider, specifically whether it is warm or
cool. I’ve decided on a predominantly warm painting so the sky will
be warm light grey clouds with blue patches. I mix a warm light grey from
Cobalt Blue and light red and another pan of strong Cobalt Blue. Using my
mop brush, I apply clean water where I want the clouds and leave the
paper dry for the blue patches. To emphasise the centre of interest, I put
blue sky behind the church tower, leaving the domed cupola the white of
the paper. Then I quickly paint the light grey wash into the damp paper,
creating soft-edged clouds and drop in some more blue patches in a
single wet-into-wet wash.

Logical
approach
I developed my 5C’s of Painting
(concept, composition,

7
Begin the foreground contrast, colour, completion) to
One of my concept decisions was to change the season to autumn provide a logical sequence of
and create a freshly ploughed field in the foreground in rich browns steps in the painting process
and reds to give warmth to the painting. The plough furrows were drawn (see my book, Robert
in ink, so at this point a strong wash of Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna is Newcombe’s 5C’s of Painting).
sloshed on with my mop brush. The shadows created by the furrows are
dropped in while the wash is still damp.

87
Tutorials

8
First wash on
the buildings
I add a touch of Raw
Sienna to my grey cloud
wash to emulate the dull
yellow grey of the Cotswold
stone. Using my no. 12 round
brush, I paint the walls and
tower of the church in
addition to the gravestones.

Interpret
the scene
The major breakthrough in my
artistic approach came when I
realised that I didn’t have to
paint the scene or photograph
in front of me exactly; in this
workshop we aren’t painting
the photograph, we are painting
from the photograph, giving the
subject our own unique
interpretation. We have artistic
licence to omit, move or change
elements in the scene.

9 10
Finalise the wash
The church, cottage roof and the domed roof of the
cupola are all painted with a strong mix of Ultramarine
Blue and light red mixed on the paper to vary the wash. I then
use light grey again for the lead roof on the facing extension
and paint the cottage walls light red. The large bush in front of
the church uses Ultramarine Blue and Raw Sienna, and the
other bush is Burnt Sienna. Both are put in while the church
wall wash is slightly damp to give a soft-edge effect. The long
dead grass at the edge of the field is watery Burnt Umber.
The shadow wash
The hatched shadows are reinforced with a strong
shadow wash, which will turn on the sunshine.
Shadows aren’t grey; they are a darker tone of the colour of
the object plus some purple from the sky and reflected light
from adjacent elements. For shadows I use a transparent mix
of Ultramarine Blue and Brown Madder; the transparency of
the shadow wash allows the colour to show through, which I
reinforce with some strong colour dropped into the wet
shadow mix, for example, Raw Sienna into the tower shadow.

88
 Line & wash

11
Make the final
touches
Completion is the final C.
At this stage, I’m nearing the finish of
the painting and there is a danger of
adding too much. The trees need
some indication of shape, so using
quick downward strokes I dry brush
in some light Burnt Umber. Then
I emphasise the furrows in the
foreground with some corrugated
cloud shadows using the same shadow
mix as before, and I drop in some neat
Burnt Sienna as the local colour.

12
Enjoy your work
At this point I refer back to
my concept: English
country church in autumn. Have I
achieved my concept? I think I have,
so the painting is finished.

89
Taking it further

92 Capture light for a

harmonious result
98 Bring the outdoors in with
ink and watercolour
104 Get outdoors and paint
with gouache
106 Paint the landscape in gouache
114 Create great quality digital
copies of your work
118 Mount your artwork
122 Frame your own art

90
91
Taking it further
Capture light for a
harmonious result
Margaret Merry demonstrates how to produce a
simple architectural landscape using the clean,
vibrant colours that give watercolour its charm
Materials
Margaret uses tubes of Schmincke
watercolour paints with synthetic brushes.
She likes to paint on Arches 300gsm paper
with a fine surface, which she prefers as
“the surface has the right amount of
resistance to enhance the transparency
and brilliance of the watercolour”.
92
THIS WORKSHOP SHOWS how a wide
range of colours can be produced from a
limited palette. This gives colour
harmony to the finished picture and
avoids muddy colours resulting from the
use of too many pigments.
I never use black or synthetic greys as
they contain pigment that can easily
contaminate the purity of the other
colours. It’s a lesson I learnt when I first
experimented with the medium. It’s
important to understand how to mix
your own greys and greens, and I shall
demonstrate this as the painting
proceeds. I shall also talk about the most
important component of watercolour
painting: water.
Before starting, make sure you have
several containers of clean water to hand
and keep the water you use to rinse your
brushes separate from the water you
paint with. On the subject of brushes,
although I have sable brushes that I
keep ‘for best’, I mostly work with
synthetic brushes, which are cheap
enough to replace as soon as they begin
to lose their points. I like the flexibility of
these brushes and they are particularly
good for drawing in watercolour, as I’ll be
doing in this architectural landscape.
Because I work on a fairly small scale,
my brushes are also small, the largest
being no.12, which I use mostly for skies.
I have experimented with various
brands of watercolour and have
decided that the Schmincke range of
pigments suits my work best. I find,
tubes are better for working in the
studio, while paintboxes containing little
pans of pigment are better suited for
sketching outdoors.
Watercolour can be a difficult
medium and it takes years of
practice to become an expert. It’s
worth the perseverance, though, and
I love it for its ability to perfectly
capture light and mood with just a
few, rapid brushstrokes.
MARGARET
Almeria, Spain
Professional artist Margaret
lives in Almeria in Spain. She
has art training from Falmouth
Art School, Hornsey College
of Art and the West of England
College of Art.
margaretmerry.wordpress.com
 Capturing light

Paint & Draw February 2017 93

 Preliminary drawing
1 I begin with a fairly detailed
drawing. I chose this view because I
like the way the trees frame the
composition and lead the eye to the
church, the focal point. When drawing
architecture, faintly mark in a few
perpendicular lines, as the eye tends to
distort perspective. Never use a rubber
at this stage – it can damage the surface
of the paper and the paint will stain.
94
Picking up the brush
2 It’s always best to start with the
sky and spontaneity is the key.
I use pure Cobalt Blue, leaving the white
of the paper to create the clouds. If
there is a large area of sky, dampen the
paper by brushing it with clean water
before applying the paint. To balance
the horizontals and verticals of the
architecture, I leave diagonal streaks
of white to suggest clouds.
3
Killing the white
Too much white can be
distracting, so I paint in an
undercoat of very diluted yellow ochre.
Make sure each layer is dry before
overpainting, otherwise the result will be
a disaster. In the case of mistakes, non-
staining pigments may be removed by
brushing with clean water, or dabbed
Defining dark areas
4
with absorbent paper or a soft rag.
I now paint the dark trees in the
foreground, using a mix of
“I love watercolour Ultramarine Blue, Lemon Yellow, Raw
Sienna and a touch of Burnt Umber.
for its ability to I drag a fine brush (no. 2) through the
wet paint, to create the fronds on the
capture light and branches. I will paint where the trees
overlap the walls later. I have dropped
mood with just a pure Lemon Yellow into the green where
the light strikes the trees to give them
few brushstrokes” form. Hard lines should be avoided when
painting with this medium – it’s better to
allow the pigments to bleed into each
other while they’re still wet.
 Capturing light

5
Painting the shadows
The bright winter sunlight casts
dark shadows on the buildings in
the foreground. To paint these, I mix a
strong blue-grey using Ultramarine,
Alizarin Crimson and Raw Sienna, and
plenty of clean water. I work with quick,
fluid strokes to avoid hard edges in the
shadows. Again, I allow water to drop into
the paint to enhance the transparency.
The road, too, is given a wash of grey.

6
Draw with the brush
Now that the foreground is
established, I can begin the
church. For this I use Cobalt Blue, Yellow
Ochre and Permanent Rose to make a
soft, recessive grey mix to paint
shadows, such as for the undersides of
clouds or distant skylines. The warm
colour of the brickwork is a mix of rose

7
and Yellow Ochre. To suggest the tiles on Warm colours
the roof, I paint parallel lines into which I introduce warm
I’ve dropped clean water from the tip of colours into the
my brush. All the detailed work is done foreground by painting the
with a no. 2 brush. roof tiles and bricks in the wall
with a combination of
Cadmium Red, Cadmium

A im high
Yellow, Cadmium Orange and
Burnt Sienna. The cadmium
pigments are strong, so they
Use the best materials you can afford –
need to be diluted well. The
artists’ quality if you can. There’s often no
warm colours complement
pleasure in painting with inferior materials,
the cool blue of the shadows.
and the result will always speak for itself.
I overpaint the bricks with
grey where the shadow falls.

95
Taking it further

8
More foreground work
I now start to add more warm colours to the old,
crumbling wall on the left. I let plenty of clean water flow
into the wet paint, a combination of Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna
and orange, plus my grey mixture for the shadows. The darker
details are painted with the same grey and a touch of Burnt
Umber. Now, having established the light and dark areas, the
picture is beginning to come together.

9
Into detail
I’m ready to work on the smaller detail in the centre of
the painting. I continue with my blue-grey mix of
Ultramarine, Alizarin and Raw Sienna, and, with a no. 2 brush,
use quick strokes to suggest the doors and windows. Other
details, such as the street light, are painted with Ultramarine
and Burnt Umber which, when mixed together, work as a black.
I’ve painted the tree at the end of the street. This is an orange
tree and very symbolic of Granada!

True art
As a professional artist,
I’m often obliged to paint
subjects that aren’t always
inspiring to me. However,
when painting for pleasure,
inspiration is paramount. It’s
important to be original and try
not to copy others too much.

96
 Capturing light

Determined
10
Adding
more layers
I need to do some
more work on the road, so I
to succeed
add another layer of my If my headmistress at school
Ultramarine Grey mix, plus had her way I wouldn’t be a
some Burnt Sienna to give professional artist now. She
warmth to the foreground. wanted me to go to university
This is a useful pigment for to study languages, but I was
demonstrating how cool determined to go to art
colours recede and warm college. As a compromise,
colours advance. Also, it I agreed to stay on at school
combines well with other for an extra year to take
pigments in the basic palette. A-level Art and, perhaps,
There is a patch of light change my mind. Our school
between the buildings on the motto was Perseverantia vincit
right, so I’ve allowed a layer of (‘perseverance succeeds’)
Cadmium Yellow to blend into and, indeed, my determination
the grey while it’s still wet. to do what I wanted won.

Finishing touches
12 I’ve added in a few figures, but
care is needed as overworking
can result in disaster! Just a few, quick
dabs are needed and it doesn’t matter if
the colours run into each other. Feet can

11
Towards completion
My watercolour is almost finished. I tend to work more quickly
when I reach this stage, which is a good thing, because it helps
avoid getting bogged down in detail. I paint the overhanging branches of
the trees, adding more Lemon Yellow to define the lighter areas, and the
reddish tree on the right, using Alizarin and Ultramarine. I’ve added a few
more touches of Burnt Sienna to the trees to complement the green.
look strange if they’re given too much
attention, so just a suggestion is enough.
In order to direct the eye along the road
to the square and the church, I’ve given
the figure in the foreground an orange
jacket. Lastly, I paint a few oranges on
the tree with dabs of Cadmium Orange.

97
Taking it further

Bring the outdoors in

with ink & watercolour
With a focus on simplicity, Tony Underhill reveals how to get the fresh
and lively results of plein air painting indoors

TONY
Bedfordshire, UK
Tony specialises in line and
wash and is a regular
contributor to art
publications. He prefers to
work en plein air and favours
buildings. Not surprisingly,
he’s a keen urban sketcher.
tonyunderhill@me.com

I LOVE TO SKETCH outside in pen and

watercolour, travelling as light as
possible. I aim to capture the character
of the scene in front of me rather than
worrying too much about accuracy and
detail. This helps me work quickly using a
simple, easily repeatable process that
Ma terials
delivers the spontaneity I like. Tony likes to use the same
But working indoors with more time and materials indoors as when
equipment available (as well as a he’s travelling light and
self-imposed expectation to produce sketching outside.
better results), it’s easy for our paintings
to become overthought and overworked. n Mechanical pencil (2B)
To avoid this, I bring my outdoor process n Sharpie pen (black,
inside, and try to draw and paint as if I ultrafine)
were on location. Using the same n Soft eraser
minimum equipment and simple n Letraset Promarkers
techniques promotes confidence and – Cool Grey 2, Cool Grey 4
freedom and, therefore, enjoyment too. n Signo white gel pen
So although I’m painting indoors from a n Sable travel brushes:
photo for this workshop, I’ll be working Escoda Optimo, size 12;
as if I were sitting in front of the scene. da Vinci Maestro, size 6
Decision time

My main aim is to capture the character
of the houses and the harbour, and I’m
perfectly happy to move things around
to produce a composition that helps me
do that, or to change colours
if necessary. And all the time, I’ll be
reminding myself of my trusted painting
motto: keep it simple!
1
n Daler Rowney Langton
12x9in spiral sketchbook First I decide what to retain, omit or change.
with 140lb Not paper Tenby’s multicoloured houses are the star of
n Sennelier watercolour the show and we need boats for a harbour. But
tubes – Cinereous Blue, we’re keeping it simple, and focusing on character
French Ultramarine Blue, rather than detail, so we don’t want too many of
Yellow Ochre, Primary either. The reflections distract from the houses
Yellow, French Vermillion and we can lose the sky and the hill.

98
Outdoors

99
Taking it further

“It’s much
better to
spend time
now than
have regrets
later”

2 3
Focus on format
and thumbnail sketch
A vertical format will give the
houses height. I like the central group
and I move others to improve the
composition. My boats need to break
the line of the harbour wall and their
masts can link foreground to
background. I try this out on a quick
6x4in thumbnail sketch and find I’ve
got room for a seagull!
Make a plan
I redraw my thumbnail
making a few
improvements, and I use light
and mid-grey marker pens to
add form and tone. A plan like
this only takes a few minutes
but helps ensure an effective,
easy-to-read end result. It’s
much better to spend time
now than have regrets later.

4
Position
the big shapes
Sitting down with my
sketchbook and the photo
propped up in front of me (as
if on location), I lightly pencil
in the position of the big
shapes. I keep adjusting until
I’m happy they look right on
the page. With the big shapes
done, I know the smaller ones
will fall into place once I start
the pen work.

Simplici ty
My painting motto is ‘keep it
simple’. I try to apply this to
everything: equipment, subject
matter, composition and
technique. If things go wrong,
it usually comes back to this.
5
Start line work
I develop the drawing with my
pen working quickly, freely (and
definitely not perfectly), just as I would
outdoors. I start with big shapes first,
then add windows and finally slates.
All the time, I remind myself to keep it
simple; too much detail or precision
won’t look spontaneous. And I decide
I don’t need the seagull!

100
 Outdoors

6
Do a colour test
Although the houses are multicoloured, the
fewer colours I use, the more harmony my
painting will have. I plan on using five colours and
I test these on an offcut of the same paper. I’m
more concerned about value – relative lightness
and darkness – than colour matching. I also test
a shadow wash on each colour.

7
Paint the houses
I paint the house walls using very
weak washes, touching the paper
just once. Then I do the slate roofs using
Cinereous Blue with a touch of French
Vermillion and Yellow Ochre, varying the
wash as I go. I try not to be too careful
– accidental unpainted patches are fine.
Finally, I use Primary Yellow and French
Vermillion for the chimneys.

8
Harbour wall & beach
I use weak washes of Yellow Ochre
for the beach and Cinereous Blue
G o ou tside
and a little Yellow Ochre for the sea. I use I much prefer to work
a stronger mix of the same colours outdoors. It forces me to
(mostly Yellow Ochre) for the harbour travel light and work quickly,
wall, adding patches of each while the which in turn helps deliver the
wash is still wet. I’m not too careful, so fresh, lively results I like.
the washes complement the style.

101
Taking it further

9
Paint the boats
Now it’s time for the boats. I
remind myself they’re supporting
players and shouldn’t distract from the
houses. So I use simple one-wash
brushstrokes, although I’m careful to
leave the cabins as the white of the
paper so that they show up against the
harbour wall as per my plan.

Enjoy yourself
People ask why I don’t develop more
sketches into fully finished studio paintings.
For me, one’s quick, intuitive and fun; the
other involves time, discipline and a
self-imposed expectation of a better result.
Fortunately, in art at least, it’s fine to do what
you enjoy rather than what others expect!

10
Add shadows
I mix a large pool of
Ultramarine Blue with a touch
of French Vermillion – I don’t want to run
out midway through! It’s transparent, so
the underlying colours will show through
so long as I use confident one-wash
brushstrokes to avoid any muddying.
Shadows on the side walls, boats and by
the steps lead the eye to the white house
in the centre.

102
 Outdoors

11
Finishing touches
Keeping it simple, I add some shadows in
the window reveals, some ripples in the
water, and suggest some pebbles on the beach to
lead into the picture. Then I lift out some stones on
the harbour wall with a damp brush, patting dry
with a tissue. I add some white gel pen on the masts
and finally some railings.

12
Final review
As always, I review my final
painting. I’m pleased with the
composition, the line work and the
freshness of most of the washes.
There’s a few things I might have done
better, but there’s always next time.
I like the overall sense of ‘seaside fun’,
I kept it simple and, most importantly
of all, I enjoyed creating it!

103
Taking it further

Get outdoors and

paint with gouache
Peter Chan goes through his compact set-up that allows him
to paint both indoors and out

bring to work. So I decided to take up

PETER
Los Angeles, USA
Peter lives in LA, where he
works for Sony Pictures
Animation. He was previously
at Pandemic Studios as a
concept artist, and he has also
worked for DreamWorks.
www.pixelp.tumblr.com
PAINTING FROM OBSERVATION with
traditional media is one of the best ways
to study and improve your sense of
colour and light. After a decade working
in the animation industry with digital
tools, I decided to revisit this passion of
mine and began painting outdoors once
a week. This reinvigorated my passion for
painting, but also helped with my colour
work professionally.
Oil paint was always my go-to medium,
but it’s not the most convenient set-up to
gouache, and really fell in love with it. The
medium comes in vibrant colours, and
Materials
it’s very flexible in its application in terms Peter also used cheaper paint
of painting thick as with oils, as well as
brands such as Reeves, which is
wet like watercolours. It can also be great in quality as well as price.
prepared and cleaned easily, making it
the perfect medium for plein-air painting.
n Winsor & Newton Gouache
The tools required to use gouache are
n Holbein Gouache
relatively simple and compact, which is
n Watercolour paper
perfect for anyone who wants to go out
for quick studies in any breaks that come n Canson art boards
up in a busy work schedule. n Moleskine sketchbook
It’s been four years since I took up this n Flat brushes: 1/4, 3/8,
weekly gouache painting routine in the 1/2 , 3/4-in
mornings or at lunchtime, and I still n Round brushes #3, #6, #10
become excited by the beautiful natural
subject matter around me, which is a
great counterbalance to the imaginary
work I do for the animation studio. It’s
also the perfect excuse to get away from
working on the computer…

1
Simple and
compact set-up
Start by assembling a compact plein-air set-up
that enables you to start painting and cleaning up
easily. Mine comprises a sketchbook, my paint box, a
small jar of water, a small spray bottle to keep the
paint wet, masking tape, toothpicks for prepping the
paint, paper towels and my brushes in a bamboo
matt. I keep all this in a small bag except for the paint
box, which needs to be carried. I also have a simple
fold-out table instead of a pricey pochade box, where
I can rest my water and paint, and use the table top
as the mixing surface. A fold-out table is a great and
affordable option for painting in remote areas. Hold
the paint box by hand so the colours don’t flow into
each other. Roll up your brushes in a bamboo mat to Keeping the set-up simple and pared back
means the cleaning up can be easy too!
protect and organise them.

104
 Gouache

Try experimenting
2 with paper types
I like painting on many different types of paper.
It really pushed me to control gouache as a medium
when I first started using it. The thin Moleskine
sketchbook paper forces you to apply the paint
rather thick and dry, while Canson art board has
an absorbent surface and enables you to layer the
paint. Toothy watercolour paper suits a dry brush
Different paper technique, which creates interesting textures. You
can produce can learn all types of gouache application just by
different results.
painting on different paper surfaces.

3
Limit your brush choices
You don’t need to buy premium brushes for
these painting studies; it’s all about getting
comfortable and efficient with them. I mostly use flat
and round brushes at a couple of different sizes. The
flat brush is great for blocking in big areas and
cutting into colour shapes to create sharper, cleaner
edges. The round brush enables you to ‘draw’ the
colours, develop organic shapes, and is also good for
dry brush texturing.

The flat brush creates a blocky, hard edge look. The round
brush can develop a softer, organic feel on the canvas.

4
Prepping the paint
It’s important to prep your paint before each
session and make sure it’s not too dry. I
recommend adding the appropriate amount of paint
depending on the depth of the box compartments.
Spray the desired amount of water with the bottle –
I aim for a pancake-mix type consistency. Then mix
the water and paint with a toothpick. Depending on
the weather, I might also make the paint a bit more
watery on a very hot day, or add more fresh
pigments for thicker paint when painting indoors.

5
The paint box
I carry my paints in this compartmented box
and use the lid as my mixing surface. The
advantages with the paint box is I don’t have to
squeeze out new paint every time; it’s easy to control
the amount of paint I get on my brush; and it also
helps to keep the paint fresh for up to a week if it’s
kept out of the sun. It’s also easy to clear out the
compartment and replace old paints. I organise my
colours according to their values, which helps when
picking colours. Whenever I notice the paint is
drying, I can revive it by mixing in a few drops of
water. However, this has to be carried level in the
hand, so the paints don’t overflow into neighbouring Don’t forget to clean and prep your paint for each painting
compartments. Search for “24 well paint box” online session. Always keep the paint damp – once it dries hard it’s
and find something similar. more difficult to revive with water.

105
Taking it further

Paint the landscape

in gouache
Lancelot Richardson utilises the unique
layering and textural properties of gouache
for painting a rural landscape

106
 Landscape

LANCELOT
Brighton, UK
Lancelot Richardson is a painter and freelance
illustrator. He also works at independent drawing
school Draw Brighton as a life-drawing tutor.
lancelotrichardson.com

Materials
n Gouache Paint: Permanent white, Lemon Yellow,
Permanent Yellow Deep, Yellow Ochre, Winsor Red,
Quinacridone Magenta, Ultramarine, Phthalo Blue, Burnt
Siena, Ivory Black
n Plastic palette – I am using a children's finger painting
palette as it has a lot of space
n Kitchen Towel
n Water soluble pencils – any graphite, colour or
watersoluble can work with different effects
n Seawhites A4 Watercolour Paper– any watercolour or
a heavyweight mixed media paper will work well
n A mixture of flat and round synthetic brushes, ranging
from a 1” flat to a #1 round
n Pipette
n Spray bottle
n Jar for water
n Masking Tape

107
 Taking it further

GOUACHE IS A WATER-BASED
medium, also known as opaque
watercolour. It works in a similar way to
watercolours, in that it is watersoluble,
and can be used from a dry cake, or
fresh paint.
It also pairs beautifully with
watercolour paint –they can mix
together, or gouache can be kept for
opaque accents. Because gouache is
opaque, it is more forgiving than
watercolour, as it layers readily.
Over the following pages, we are going
to be using gouache as fresh paint. This
Reactivating gouache
makes the most of its ability to be One unusual property of gouache is that it can be 'reactivated' – dry paint can be wetted with a damp
applied as a thin wash in early stages, brush. This is handy for generating softer transitions and varied textures. When you make the gouache
working up to thick neat paint in the final wet, it will initially change colour, but don't worry, it will dry the same. Be gentle when you do this, as
highlights and details. rough handling will lift paint off the paper – try to nudge it around.

1
Set up a surface
Gouache is very tolerant of different surfaces, and
will go down well on any good-quality heavyweight
papers. Here I have watercolour paper, but thick kraft
paper, or toned mixed media papers create a nice
midtone to work on. Use a low-tack masking tape to
create a border.

108
 Landscape

2
Use a wet palette
A wet palette will help keep paint wet.
To make one, take a sheet or two of
kitchen towel and fold it into a narrow strip,
then spray with the spray bottle until evenly
damp. Lay this on the palette and squirt paint
on top. Use the spray bottle to keep it wet.

3
Initial sketch
Using an orange, watersoluble
pencil, I draw in my initial layer,
sticking to big simple shapes. At this
stage, we don't need to obsess over
details, just tone and colour.
Watersoluble pencil will melt, so the
sketch will be lost quickly, so you may
prefer something more permanent.

109
 Taking it further

4
Transparent layer
Looking at the dominant hues in the scene, I lay
down colour with very dilute paint. This
transparent layer kills any white gaps later on in the
painting, and will help the greens look more vivid. Don't
let things get too dark, or it will be hard to paint on top.

Lighttss dry dark,

Ligh
darks dry light
Gouache tends not to dry the same colour it is wet, especially
for the extremes of light and dark. Usually light colours get
darker when they dry, and darks get lighter. This makes things
tricky, but the best solution is to compensate for it. If a light
colour dries too dark, I will add more white or yellow to lighten
it further – it may look bizarre at first, but will dry how I want it.

Start
5 with the
sky
Although gouache is
more forgiving than
watercolour as it is
opaque, it is still a
good idea to preserve
any large tracts of
light tones early on,
as painting over large
dark areas can
reactivate the
gouache and
contaminate light
tones. I have put in
the sky to start with,
using wet-in-wet
paint for the clouds.

110
 Landscape

6
Block in darks
Still working thin and wet, I lay in
shadow shapes. Try to hold off using
black right now and instead mix dark
colours to create 'chromatic blacks' – black
mixed using complementary colours on the
palette such as ultramarine and burnt
sienna. I've added magenta or green to add
variety in different areas.

“Try to pay attention

to the shapes and
silhouettes of your
major colour areas”

7
Big colour areas
In this stage, the paint is getting
more opaque. Try to pay attention to
the shapes and silhouettes of your major
colour areas, and ignore any fine details.
This also mean ignoring highlights; try to
paint in the darker colours so we can put
lighter ones on later.

111
 Taking it further

8 Work wet in wet

To achieve soft edges and
transitions, you can work wet in wet.
In gouache this can be done by gently
brushing water over an area, and then
lightly applying paint, or painting two wet
areas next to each other and manipulating
them. Try to be gentle to avoid lifting the
gouache off the paper.

Push the darks

9 Here I have restated the darks to

push the contrast – another layer is
enough to give them an extra kick, and the
wet boundaries create atmosphere. It is
important to work through the painting as a
whole, rather than working from one point,
to maintain cohesive colour and light.

Opaque shapes

10 Once the surface is dry, I use more opaque paint to lay

in the lights and refine shapes across the painting.
Shape can help us indicate the direction, texture and layers of
foliage. There is relatively little water in the paint now, giving it a
somewhat creamy consistency.

Create textures with drybrush

Textures are a quick way to add detail. Dry brush is a technique that involves
picking up paint with a mostly dry brush, and dragging it over the surface of
the paper to create a fragmented texture. This works best with thicker paint,
but subtle effects can be made with dilute paint, as long as the brush is
dried out with a towel first. Use different brushes and movements (twisting,
flicking, dragging) to create varied textures.

112
 Landscape

11
Apply texture
Texture is important for
transforming shapes of colour
into more recognisable subjects. A lot of
the textures added in the grassy areas
and fields were applied using dry brush
techniques. We mostly see texture in
light areas, and around the edges of
shadow shapes, but not in the shadows.

12
Build details
It is finally time to get into the little details. Using a
smaller brush, and opaque paint, I am picking out the
branches in the trees, and refining the silhouette of the brightly lit
grass in the foreground. The alternating light-shadow pattern on
the left is important for showing depth, so I'm resolving that too.
13
Add highlights
Here we are really making the most of the opacity of
gouache by adding in small highlights with thick paint –
a mixture of white with yellow and green hues. Thick paint will sit
on top of anything that is dry. Be sparing with highlights, as too
many will overwhelm the image.

“The trees have more

highlights on them to
help convey a more
diffuse, leafy texture”

14
Finishing touches
Lots of small changes have been made
here. A dry brushed texture has been
added to indicate the grass around the path. I've
enriched shadows with colours to contrast the
grass in the foreground. Finally, the trees have more
highlights on them to help convey a more diffuse,
leafy texture.

113
Taking it further
Create great
quality digital
copies of your art
If you want to share your art, whether via email, posting
online, or making prints, you’ll need to digitise it first.
Nicolette Hamilton shows you how
NICOLETTE
London, UK
Art expert and artist
Nicolette Hamilton used
the techniques shared over
the following pages when
she oversaw the digitisation
of the London Borough of
Sutton’s art collection.
ART ISN’T JUST about creating, it’s
also about sharing. Once you’ve made a
beautiful work you’re proud of, it’s only
natural that you’ll want others to see it
too. There are several ways to do this. Of
course, you could frame your paintings
and drawings and hang them up at
home, or put them on display at
an exhibition. But you can also go digital
and share your work online by posting on
social media or on your very own blog.
If you do want to put your works online,
or even have digital prints made, then
you’ll need to digitise them. If your
painting is smaller than A4 size,
you could do this quite easily by popping
it on to an A4 flatbed scanner. However,
many artists work at sizes bigger than
A4 and, while A3 scanners are available,
it’s a bit extravagant to buy one just so
that you can scan the occasional
painting. Besides, flatbed scanners
aren’t great at capturing the depth and
texture of paint.
114
The best way to digitise your work is to
photograph it. What we’ll demonstrate
here is how art galleries and museums Ma terials
have digitised their art archives, but we’ll Gather together the following for your
do it in a way that won’t require makeshift photo studio. You should have
expensive kit. In fact, you might already most of these things to hand, but if not,
have most of the items you need. they are easy to borrow. Also note that
To capture your work at its best, the there is plenty of photo-editing software
two most vital things are to control the available to download for free.
lighting and set up your camera as
accurately as possible. This way, there n Artist’s easel
shouldn’t be a lot of messing around on n 3mm sheet of MDF board
the computer – if you get the shoot right, n Thin pane of glass
minimal computer work will be required.
n Digital SLR camera
Once you’ve set up your makeshift
n Tripod
studio for digitising your artwork and
n 2 soft box lights (or floor or desk lamps)
photographed a few pieces, it’ll become
second nature. You could go ahead and n Some black cloth or felt
start digitising your entire portfolio of n Some black paper or black sugar paper
work – even the sketches. People love n A computer and photo-editing software
looking at all aspects of art from the very
earliest stages to the end result.
Soft box
Lighting set-up lamps
Here’s the basic set-up. The lights face
Camera
one another fairly close to the easel,
casting an even illumination. Your camera
can move closer to the easel or further 6ft
x
from it, depending on the size of the
work. Keep an eye on the lighting (and
appro
reflections), and make small adjustments Easel
with each image you photograph.
 Photograph your artwork

1
Controlling the light
Don’t worry, you won’t need to
create darkroom conditions for this,
but it is a good idea to block out any light
from any windows and close any doors if
they are also letting in light.
Here we’ve used a piece of black paper
and parcel tape to cover a Velux window
in the loft room that we’re using as our
digitisation studio.
If you prefer, you could use blackout
cloth instead – this is easily available
online. Simply cut it to fit the window’s
shape, and fix it in place with masking
tape (especially if you’re concerned
about the paintwork). Don’t forget to
turn off the room’s main light when
you’re ready to start shooting.

Organise the artwork

2 Choose the pieces of art you want
to digitise and then organise them
into groups according to size. This will
make things much easier once you start
photographing the work, as you won’t
need to keep adjusting the easel, lighting
and camera set-up for each painting.
Instead, you will photograph all the
smaller works together, all the medium-
sized ones, and finally all the big ones,
having to make only minor adjustments.

3
Setting up the easel
An ordinary artist’s easel is
perfect – if you don’t already
have one, see if you can borrow one.
The back of the easel needs to be as
close to vertical as possible. You could
use a spirit level for this, but we’re doing
it by eye. Next place a sheet of MDF
onto the easel, followed by your sheet
of glass, in portrait aspect. Fix them in
place using the easel’s clamps.

4
G rea t idea!
If your artwork doesn’t sit perfectly flat on
the easel by itself, it’s best to put it behind
glass to even the surface. However, if it’s on
canvas or board, you won’t need the glass
to photograph it, and removing the glass
actually makes it easier because you won’t
have to control any reflections it creates.
Bring in the lights
Place the soft box lights about
six feet apart, facing one
another, on each side of the easel. If you
haven’t got soft box lights like the ones
we’re using, floor or desk lamps will do
the job. Just make sure they’re at the
same height and can provide fairly even
lighting across the front of the easel.
Don’t worry too much about reflections
– we’ll show you how to control them.

115
Taking it further

5
Position the camera
Attach the digital SLR camera to
the tripod and adjust its height so
it’s roughly level with the lighting and
the easel. You can move it up and down
to get it perfect once the artwork is in
place. We’ll shoot in portrait orientation
because the wider your set-up is, the
more chance of reflections. Even if your
artwork is landscape format, place it in
portrait orientation and simply rotate
the image in your computer software.

6
Get the artwork ready
Make sure your pane of glass is
clean. If your artwork was made
using a medium that requires fixing
(such as charcoal or pastel), make sure
this has been done and the fixer is dry
before placing the art behind the glass
and in position for you to photograph it.
We’re photographing a life drawing on
some flimsy newsprint that’s been rolled
up, so the glass really helps. Pegs can be
used to secure the glass to the backing
board, flattening the artwork.

7
Line it up
Raise or lower your camera so that
the centre of your shot is as close
to the centre of the artwork as possible.
Then move the lights to try to make sure
they are not being reflected in the glass.
Look through your camera’s viewfinder
and keep making adjustments until it’s
right. You might find you need to get
someone to hold a piece of blackout
cloth in a certain position to help dim
away unwanted reflections.

8
Camera action
G rea t idea Set your camera to take photos
at the highest resolution possible,
If your artwork has already then start shooting. We’d advise three
been framed, don’t remove shots per artwork, each at a different
it from the frame to shutter speed. Once you’ve taken a
photograph it. Just pop it few shots, take the memory card out,
on the easel and use the pop it into your computer and check the
same process to capture quality of the photos on your computer.
it on your camera. It’ll be easier to spot any flaws on the
computer screen than on your camera’s
smaller display. If you can see any small
reflections or things you want to change,
make the required adjustment to the
set-up and take some new shots.

116
 Photograph your artwork

9
Camera to computer
When you’re done, transfer the
images to your computer. If you’ve
used your camera’s Raw image format,
which captures the best detail and colour
depth, then you’ll need to convert the files
to a format your software can handle. We
recommend saving in TIF format to begin
with. JPEG will discard most of the detail.

Digital editing

10 You can use a free application

such as GIMP (www.gimp.org)
or Paint.NET (www.getpaint.net). Choose
the photo with the most accurate colour
representation from each set of three.
Crop the image to the area containing
your artwork, and save this as a new
file. Use the edges of the crop box to
11 Ready to share
Now that your file is digital, there are many
things you can do with it. You can upload it to
an online portfolio, or to your Facebook page. You can
determine whether or not your artwork have giclée prints made and give them to your friends or
is being seen flat-on. You might need to sell them. Or, why not use your artwork to create your
make tiny adjustments or rotate it ever own set of greeting cards? The possibilities are just
so slightly. When you’re happy with it, about endless, but the important thing is that other
save it as a TIF for printing, and as a JPEG people can now enjoy looking at your art as much as you
for websites or sharing on social media. enjoyed creating it.

117
 Mount your artwork
When framing your art, a mount is also essential to help
protect it. Rodney Dive shows you how it’s done
AT THE END of this book, we’re
going to show you how to create a
simple but professional-looking
frame for your art. But right now it’s
time to enhance your art by using a
mount. Thiswill add an aesthetic
quality to your work and create the
perfect environment for the viewer
to experience your pictures.
Mounts aren’t just for decorative
purposes, they also serve as
protection by allowing the art to
expand or contract depending on
temperature and moisture content
of the surrounding air. The mount
also prevents the delicate pigments
on the page from coming into
118
contact with the glass of the frame.
This is particularly necessary if you
are framing media that will stick to
the glass, and with prolonged contact
they can be difficult to remove
without damaging the art.
Although, it’s simple-looking the
mount is more sophisticated than it
appears. Most standard mounts will
have the window edges cut at 45
degrees to create a bevel. Cutting
through the board at an angle creates
a nice finish but requires a completely
straight and clean cut that meets at
the corners.
To create the mount you will need a
clean, flat working area and a few
basic tools. This workshop shows
you the basic methods you need to
mount your art, but the more you
do, the better you will get and
develop your own style.
RODNEY
Bath, UK
Rodney has been framing
for over five years, initially
as a way to save money on
framing his collection of
prints and art. He develops
traditional techniques and
methods with every
new commission.
 Gouache

1
How much board?
Measure the dimensions of
your picture accurately, then
decide how big the margin should
be around your image – sometimes
small images look great with large
mounts, and vice versa. For your
board, add double the border
dimension to the width and height of
the picture you are framing, then add
a touch more to the height to allow for
‘lower weighting’ (see step 2).

Ma terials
2
Mark the aperture
n Artwork
Make sure your working area is clean
n Mount board and dry, then place the mount board
n Cutting mat face down. With a sharp pencil and ruler
n Metal ruler mark out the area you will cut away to make
n Mount cutter the window. I prefer to make the border
n Pencil slightly larger at the bottom; this ‘lower
n Scalpel weighting’ has a pleasing proportion (most
n Hinging tape doors have a larger bottom panel or the
n Double-sided tape (optional) bottom drawer in a chest of drawers is often
larger). Extend your pencil lines beyond the
area to be cut.

3
Prepare to cut
Now you have marked your cut
lines, it’s time to make the actual
cuts. Because we’re cutting at a
45-degree angle through the board, it’s
important to work methodically so all
cuts are in the same direction. Align the
centre marker of your cutter with the
right-hand perpendicular cut line and
press firmly on the cutter so the blade
goes all the way through the board.
Maintain this pressure and slowly slide

Cu tt ing room the cutter along the straight edge until

the centre marker is just past the the
Buy spare mount board to use as a cutting next vertical pencil line.
mat to protect the surface you’re working
on. Also, you can practise cutting windows
on scrap mount board – remember you’ll
only get one chance to get it right for real.

119
Taking it further

All abou t
moun t board
There are many options when it comes to
mount board. Here’s a quick lowdown:

Museum grade: Top-quality board that’s

acid free with a high cotton content and
fade-resistant finish, these are the kind of
expensive boards museums use to preserve
precious pieces of art.
Conservation grade: A high-quality board,
which is acid free and fade resistant – it’s
more than good enough for most uses and
Check and repeat
4 Flip your board over to check the
blade has cut all the way through and
left a clean incision. Now turn it back over
is cheaper than museum-grade board.
Standard grade: Cheaper, easier to use and
widely available from most art shops, ideal
for practising mount-cutting techniques or
and rotate 90 degrees. Align your ruler to the
framing projects.
next pencil line and make another cut. Flip
and check that your cut lines meet at the
Aside from different grades, the board can
corner and create an accurate bevel –
come with different colour cores, such as
sometimes you need to slide a sharp scalpel
black, white or cream. So, regardless of the
blade in at 45 degrees to help release the
surface colour, the board that is exposed at
corner without tearing the surface.
the core of it (when the bevel is cut, for
example) will reveal a different colour.

Finally, most mount board come in several

thicknesses, typically:

Standard: 1400/1500 microns or

1.4/1.5mm thick
Thick: 2000/2200 microns – 2/2.2mm thick
Extra thick:3000 microns – 3mm thick

Book hinge the mount

5 Now that the aperture is cut, have a
close look at the face of the mount
and remove any blemishes and marks with
the eraser – be very careful if you’re using a
black mount as they mark easily. Take your
backing board and place it face up on your
work surface. Place some waste board at
the top and align your window to the top
edge of the backing board face down. Place
a couple of small pieces of tape across the
two boards to hold them in place while you
apply a long strip of tape across the whole
length of the card. Raising the front piece of
board will stop the tape from stretching
when the boards are folded over.

120
 Mount your artwork

Align the art

6 Place your image between the

backing board and the window
mount and align it centrally. Close the mount
together to check it’s aligned accurately.
Next lift one of the top corners and place a
small length (approx 5cm) of tape face-up
underneath the corner so about 5mm is
underneath the picture itself, press the
picture on top of the tape to form a bond.
Repeat with the other corner, being careful
not to move the position of the picture.
A weight placed on the picture will help.

7
Finish the hinges
Take a 5cm length of tape and place it
across the top of the exposed tape
facing upwards from underneath the picture,
press this down firmly. Repeat for the other
side. These two hinges will hang the image
from the backing board behind the window
mount, it will allow the paper to move around
as it expands and contracts. Don’t be
tempted to add more hinges down the side
or the bottom, as these will restrict
movement and the art will buckle.

8
Finishing off
Once you’re satisfied with the hinges,
flip the window mount back over and
check everything is lined up. Once happy
with the mount, stick a small strip of
double-sided tape on the lower portion of
the backing board and then press the
window mount firmly on top. This will stop
the two pieces of board from moving
around. Your mount is now finished and
ready for display or framing.

121
Taking it further

RODNEY
Bath, UK
Rodney has been framing
for over five years, first as
a way to save money on
framing his ever-growing
collection of prints and art,
developing the traditional
techniques and methods
with every new commission.

GETTING YOUR ART professionally

framed can be expensive. Ready-made
frames are a cheaper alternative, but
they’re only suitable if your work is a
standard size such as A4 or A3. If you
want a cost-effective solution, with the
flexibility to accommodate unique-sized
art, then make your own frames. It’s not
as hard as it sounds.
In this guide (part one of two), I’ll explain
how to frame your art at home, without
using the expensive automated equipment
you see in a professional workshop. With a
little practice and an eye for detail, there’s no
reason why your frames can’t be as good as
the ones your local framing shop makes.
You’ll initially need to invest in a minimum
set of tools to get started, but you’ll quickly
recuperate the cost of those when you
produce your first few frames at home. And
the more frames you make, the more value
you’ll get from your equipment. You can pick
up good quality second-hand equipment

Frame your from websites such as eBay or Gumtree.

When buying tools you get what you pay for,
since cheap tools generally produce inferior
results and don’t last as long. The best

own art buying advice I can offer is to start making

Rodney Dive shows you how to make affordable,
beautiful picture frames to protect your precious
artworks and make them shine
frames with whatever equipment you have
to hand (making sure your tools are clean
and your blades are sharp), and it will soon
be apparent what you’ll need to buy. As with
most things, the more you do it, the more
you will develop your own working methods
and practices, then you can buy tools to suit.
In the next issue we’ll explore cutting
mounts to complement your art and
attaching your artwork with hinges.

122
 Frame your own art

S afety first
Always wear protective equipment when
using power tools. Make sure you have
enough room to move around your work
without over-stretching, as this could make
you lose your balance. Take extra care
when cutting glass, since the cut edges are
razor-sharp. If you don’t feel confident using
some of the tools or methods in this guide,
please consult a professional for advice.

Measure up

1 Make sure you have an area to work

in that’s clean, flat and large enough to
fully support the piece you are working on.
First, measure your art. If you’re not using a
mount board or mat then your frame should
match the length and width of the artwork.
If you are using a mount board then the
measurements of the mount will of course
determine your frame size. Once you have
the dimensions, put your artwork out of the
way to prevent any contamination from
dust or glue. When working on a particularly
precious piece of work, I make a blank out of
card, the same size as the art I’m framing, to
use for test fitting in the workshop to avoid
damaging the original painting.

Ma terials
2
Work it out
To work out how much
n Art to be framed
moulding you will need,
n 2.5mm MDF first calculate the perimeter of
n 2-3mm float glass the whole frame by adding your
n Frame moulding measured width and height
n PVA wood glue dimensions together, then
n V-nails doubling that number. Next,
n Gummed tape measure the width of the
n Framer’s points or panel pins moulding you’ll use, multiply
n Cord hangers and picture cord this measurement by eight and
n Hand v-nailer tool add it to your total length, to
account for the mitred edges
n Pin hammer/ framer’s point gun
(the 45-degree cuts that will
n Mitre saw
match up to form the corners
n Mitre guillotine
of the frame). Add on 10% to
n Glass cutter allow for wastage. Examine
n Craft knife your sticks of moulding for
n Adjustable square or T-square knots in the wood or transit
n Band clamp damage, then cut around these
n Long metal ruler so that they don’t affect the
n Marker (similar colour as your moulding) final finish of the frame.

123
Taking it further
Chop shop
A host of online framing
retailers offer a chop service
so you can order your frame
moulding ready-cut to your
specified size. Some will even
supply you with perspex or
small panes of glass cut to
your required size (see p80).
Because these companies
use professional equipment,
the mitres are clean and
accurate and will bond
together well. This is a great
way to get started and build
up your framing skills without
needing to buy any equipment
yet. Sites offering this useful
service include DIY Framing
(bit.ly/diychop), Ashworth &
Thompson (bit.ly/ashchop),
Lion (bit.ly/lionchop) and
Brampton Picture Framing
(bit.ly/bramptonchop).
124
3
Mark your lengths
Measure the frame moulding from
the inside of the rebate (the tab
of material that sticks out at the bottom
of the moulding. Once the frame is put
together, the rebates make the aperture
that holds the glass and art in place). This
needs to accurately match your artwork’s
dimensions to ensure a snug fit. Aim to cut
slightly larger pieces than required, since
it’s easy to skim off a few millimetres to
fine-tune the size, but once something’s
cut too small, nothing can be done. With
this in mind, cut the longest lengths first
so if you do make a mistake then it can be
re-cut to make one of the smaller sides!
4
Cut the moulding to size
Cut the moulding lengths in two stages, first using a mitre
saw to rough cut the lengths. It’s worth investing some time
in setting up your saw to make sure it cuts true – use some of the
spare moulding to do test cuts to check the angle accuracy and to
see if the saw blade will splinter the finish. If this does happen, wrap
some sticky tape around the area you’re cutting to prevent it from
splintering. Use the finest-toothed saw blade you can get hold of –
the finer the teeth, the cleaner the cut.
Moulding
material
Mouldings come in all sorts
of materials for many different
purposes. Wood mouldings
are easy to work with and can
accept dye, varnish and oil
finishes. I prefer to work with
hardwood such as obeche,
which has good working
qualities and will stay straight
and square. Metal mouldings
are modern-looking and can
look attractive with the right
art and environments. Metal
needs specialist blades to get
an accurate, clean, burr-free
cut. Plastics are cheap, light
and easy to work, and are
ideal for pictures in a child’s
bedroom, for example. But
they’re affected by heat and
sunlight, and over time they
may warp and become brittle.

I f you buy
one thing...
The FrameCo PushMaster
(bit.ly/pushmaster) hand
v-nailer is worth investing
in. A cost-effective way to
professionally finish your
frame joints, it also doubles
up as a handy point-nailer for
attaching backing boards.
It has a magnetic head that
holds the v-nail or point in
position ready for insertion,
and a solid metal construction
that can take a bash with a
hammer if you need to push
some v-nails in to hardwood.
The starter kit costs about
£45, including enough points
and v-nails for 50 frames.
Frame your own art
5
Prepare for joining
Finish the moulding cuts with a
mitre guillotine, which will hone the
edges to be joined to create a flat, smooth
surface that will bond well and produce a
good-looking perfect mitre once joined. Use
the guillotine to shave off a millimetre or so
from the edge of your rough-cut piece of
moulding, then check that all the edges are
angled at either 45 degrees or 90 degrees.
Hold your two lengths and two width pieces
back-to-back to make sure they’re exactly
the same size, so the finished frame will be
square. Before joining them, use a marker
to colour around the top of the cut edges to
hide any slight imperfections in the join.
6
Join the lengths
Test-fit the pieces to make sure they
sit flush together. Do this on a clean,
level surface to also make sure the frame
is flat. Make slight adjustments if needed.
Next, use some PVA wood glue to bond
the faces of the mitres together, then run
a band clamp around the perimeter of the
frame and tighten it to apply even pressure
around the edges while the glue dries.
Underpin
7 Push a v-nail into the underside of
each corner, using a handheld v-nailer
tool (see the ‘If you buy one thing’ box, left,
for my favourite). These metal v-shaped
wedges will pull the frame edges together,
adding strength and preventing the weight
of the frame from deforming it when it’s
hanging on the wall. Make sure you get the
v-nail into the wood the right way around,
with the sharper end facing down into the
back of the frame corner, with the point
of the v-shape meeting the angled join. If
your moulding is wide then you should put
a number of v-nails along the join – here I’ve
used two v-nails to add strength.
125
Taking it further

8
Measure the glass
Lay the glass for your frame on a
flat, clean surface that’s big enough
to support the whole surface of the glass.
Use a sharp cutter and a sturdy straight
edge that won’t slip – a T-square is ideal
and will help you to make straight, square
cuts. Measure the glass to fit your artwork
by putting the square underneath your
ruler and moving the square into the
correct position, remembering to allow
for the width of the cutter itself. Before
you commence cutting, make sure that
everything is in the correct position and
that you have enough room all around you
to cut the full length of the glass without
any obstructions or distractions.

9
Cut the glass
Types of glass Cutting glass is all about confidence.
Scribe the glass firmly with the cutter
along the straight edge (if you use enough
PLAIN GLASS
pressure it should sound like frying chips).
Also referred to as standard, float glass,
Make sure you only scribe the surface once,
soda lime glass or picture glass, it’s usually
as this creates a single fault line along which
2-3mm thick and is available in all glass
the glass will snap cleanly. Once marked,
merchants. It’s also very cost-effective.
hold either side of the scribe-line and apply
an even upward pressure until the glass
NON-REFLECTIVE GLASS (NRG)
breaks cleanly. Alternatively, place one side
Available in specialist glass stockists and
of the glass on an elevated surface (the edge
most bespoke picture framers, this is more
of the T-square, for example) and apply a
expensive than plain glass. Non-reflective
gentle downward pressure to the other side
glass has an etched finish that dulls down
until it snaps. These newly cut edges are very
the surface, cutting down on reflections but
sharp, so be careful when handling.
also flattening colours in framed images.

PERSPEX
Sometimes called Plexiglas, this clear
acrylic is easy to work with and doesn’t
leave any sharp edges once it’s cut, plus
it’s fairly inexpensive. It scratches easily,
though, and it sometimes turns opaque over
time and exposure to sunlight/UV light.

CUT TO SIZE
Whatever the type, glass merchants will
usually cut glass to size, but you will have to
be accurate with your measurements and
be prepared that there could be a tolerance
of up to quarter of an inch in its finished size.
I prefer to cut my own glass so I can get an
exact fit – it’s not hard to do (see step 9).

126
 Frame your own art

Cut the backing board

10 Use 2.5mm MDF or standard hardboard,

available from all good hardware merchants.
Measure and mark your backing board with a ruler and
square. Use a sturdy straight edge and a craft knife to
cut the board to shape – you might have to take several
passes through the material to cut right through. Once
cut, sand or plane the edges to prevent splintering.

11
Make it shine
Clean everything, then clean it
again. Vacuum up all of the dust,
polish the frame and clear away surplus
tools and equipment. Remove the band
clamp and place the frame face-down on
your clean, flat surface, then run around
the rebate with the vacuum to remove
any dust or debris. Next, clean the glass on
both sides using a quality cleaning agent to
prevent any smears, leaving a crystal clear
finish. Lay the glass into the frame, handling
it as little as possible. Again, run the vacuum
around the inside of the frame to clear any
debris. Next, lay the art on the glass and
finally put the backing board in place.

12 Add finishing touches

Pin the backing board tight into the frame with some
framer’s points or panel pins. Carefully insert these
with a pin hammer or a specialist framer’s point gun. Or you
could use a PushMaster, which has a handy groove for inserting
points by hand. Give everything a wipe down and then run a
length of gummed tape around the frame and backing board,
cutting it into the corners with a sharp blade to seal the back
of the frame. Finally, position a couple of cord hangers on the
frame edges and run a length of picture cord between them.
Knot these securely and your frame is ready to hang.

127
 Pro tips and
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tutorials from
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