Watercolour painting tips from Painting the secret world of nature :

• 'With the limited time I have to record information for my work, my camera is an essential aid, and I am seldom without it. Wherever possible, however, I back up the photo references with sketches and color notes. I also collect interesting and unusual objects, which I sometimes include in my paintings' Sylvia Frattini

• 'Make it a habit always to carry a pencil and sketch pad - one small enough to slip into your pocket is quite sufficient - and to do quick studies wherever and whenever the opportunity arises. You will be surprised at how quickly your drawing will improve and your confidence increase' James Lester.

Painting the secret world of nature - contents

Painting the secret world of nature - large pictures

Watercolourists complete guide to colour

Watercolour painting tips from the watercolourists complete guide to colour :

• Though I'm always open to changes, my usual full-color palette is : Winsor yellow, new gamboge; scarlet lake, alizarin crimson, permanent rose; ultramarine, cobalt, manganese and thalo blues; thalo green; raw sienna or yellow ochre; and burnt sienna.

• When we dilute watercolor paint with water, we get a tint ...

Watercolour painting tips from the watercolour painters handbook :

• A view finder is a useful aid to the choice of the most suitable section of the landscape, to a clearer understanding of the compostion, and speedy orientation.

• If the view finder happens to be left at home the index fingers and thumbs of both hands will serve to form a viewer quite easily.

Watercolour painters handbook

Practical watercolour techniques

Watercolour painting tips from practical watercolour techniques:

• Anyone interested in painting their fellow humans should carry a sketchbook at all times and perhaps a watercolour box or watercolour crayons.

• There are countless opportunities to draw and paint unobserved. Never attempt a detailed treatment, but try to grasp the essentials as quickly as you can using any methoid you find you are happy with. Line and wash is much used for this kind of work, as is a combination of pencil and watercolour.

Watercolour painting tips from Crawshaws watercolour studio :

• When you are out, screw up your eyes and look at a tree. The mass of small branches (the feathery ones) will show only as a tonal area, not as individual branches.

• Paint water with horizontal brush strokes, so that any underpainting or paper that shows through accidentally or by design gives the impression of moving water.

Crawshaws watercolour studio

Painting in watercolour

Watercolour painting tips from painting in watercolour

• Color is one of the topics which must be studied in detail by any aspiring artist. It is a complex subject, made more so by the difficulty of predicting how pigments will react when mixed. Only constant experimentation with different paints and papers and personal observation, making careful notes of the results you achieve, will enable you to develop your knowledge and skill.

• To make a successful painting it is important to understand the range and limitations of your palette and the color theories and effects involved in using a variety of colors in certain ways.

Watercolour painting tips from Painting Towns and Cities :

• People in cites are usually moving ... The head is one-seventh of the body, and is usually one-third of the width of the shoulders. The length of the leg is approximately half the height and the suspended arms extend about halfway down the upper leg.

• Figures should be an integral part of the cityscape from its original conception.

Painting towns and cities - contents

Painting towns and cities - large pictures

Watercolour step by step art school

Watercolour painting tips from step by step art school - watercolour

• On a bright sunny day there will be a lot of contrast between the areas in full light and the shadows, which will be dark with clearly delineated outlines. So, if you want to suggest brilliant sunshine introduce a few contrasty shadows.

• Collect jam jars and coffee jars - they make excellent water containers.

Watercolour painting tips from the encyclopedia of watercolour techniques

• Colours in nature are seldom perfectly flat and uniform, and it is often necessary to lay a wash that shifts in tone from dark to light or one that contains two or more different colours.

• A gradated wash shades from dark to light, and is laid in the same way as a flat wash, the only difference being that more water is added to the pigment for each successive line of paint.

Watercolour techniques

Watercolour troubleshooter

Watercolour painting tips from watercolour troubleshooter

• Often, it is the small details that make or mar a painting. It is all to easy to overwork a specific area, so even when you paint fairly detailed objects try to follow the maxim 'for looser work, use larger brushes'.

• It is essential to vary the height and bulk of a hedge to prevent it looking like a flat surface.

Watercolour painting tips from watercolours a complete beginners guide

• The three primary colours are red, yellow and blue. They are the three colours in your palette that cannot be produced by mixing any other colours together.

• Watercolour paint is translucent. This means that, when the paint is laid on to paper, any underlying colour will show through it.

Watercolours a complete beginners course

Watercolours a step bystep guide

Watercolour painting tips from Watercolours a step by step guide

• When you are painting buildings, beware of using hard outlines to define individual bricks and stones, as the result could look awkward and unnatural. Use a neutral tone - never black - to paint a very thin line along the shadow edge, then dampen your brush with water and run it along the line to soften and break it up.

• By spraying watercolour paint on to watercolour paper using a plant mister spray, you can create a convincing stained wall surface.