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  • Home
    • Online Art Courses >
      • Why it works
      • FAQ's
    • Give as a gift
    • About me
    • My Gallery
    • Testimonials
  • Watercolour
    • Complete Watercolour Course
    • Fast and loose
    • Watercolour Landscapes
    • Watercolour Textures
    • Paint Your Own Christmas Cards
  • Acrylics & oils
    • Acrylic Course
    • Oil Course
  • Drawing
    • Drawing Course
    • Watercolour Pencils
  • Color Mixing
  • Freebies
    • Hints and Tips
    • Videos and more...

The  Blog

A Wonderful Sketchbook 

3/2/2016

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Came across this blog with lots of wonderful sketchbook paintings and drawings in it. 
http://yal.over-blog.com/

All I can say is, enjoy!
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Painting small, painting often

2/22/2016

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At Christmas I was given a book called Daily Painting, by Carol Marine. In it she describes how she decided to paint a small 6" x 6" panel every day, and in doing so, how her painting improved very quickly. I thought it was a great idea and so went off to a nearby hardware store and got them to cut me a pile of 6 x 6 mdf panels, which I then coated in gesso. 

I've begun painting through this pile - not daily, as other things have crowded into life - but often. And it is very liberating. If it doesn´t work out then I've not wasted lots of time (I'm giving myself no more than an hour a panel), and yet with each painting I am having to work with composition, colour, tonal values and so on, so each one teaches ,me something. 

So, can I encourage you to have a go. Get Carol's book for inspiration, or just start painting small, as often as you can. 


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Light and Shadows

2/2/2016

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John Singer Sargent (1856 - 1925) was an incredible watercolourist, and a man ahead of his time. One of the things I love about many of his paintings is the exquisite way in which he handles light. Just look at the two examples of his work below. Doesn't the sunlight just blaze out of them? And he makes this happen by his smart use of colour in his shadows.
Even though both the ships and the ox are white, he brings amazing colours to them by the way he handles the shadows. There is colour everywhere and the paintings 'zing'. He has been clever in his use of complimentary colours from opposite sides of the colour wheel, with the blue and the orange ochre bouncing off each other - always such a good combination of colours. But more than that, his lively brushwork and confident mark making, putting just the right colour in just the right place, tell of a man at the top of his game. 
Shadows do not need to be boring! Next time you paint (and why not even have a go at copying these paintings here?) liven up your shadows with bold colour, and see what a difference it makes!
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White Ships (c.1908) John Singer Sargent (Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
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White Ox at Sienna (c.1910) John Singer Sargent
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    Author

    Andy Walker

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