Ho ho ho! Happy holidays!

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another watercolour week. With Christmas just around the corner, it’s almost like you can almost smell the mulled wine in the air! Or maybe it’s just all the Christmas markets that are popping up all over the place. It’s been a busy week here in Looseville, what with present shopping, village carol services, and Christmas functions all being packed in. I’ve been travelling all over this week, as there’s been lots of Christmas office dos on, so I’ve really been kept busy on the artist circuit. I’ve been to Cambridge, Whitby, and what feels like everywhere in between, so I’ve seen enough Christmas lights to keep me feel festive till next December.

This week’s live broadcast was ‘Santa in the Sky,’ which was, of course, a seasonal design. As always, it was so lovely to see all of you joining in, and there’s been some excellent examples already posted on the Facebook group for everyone to enjoy. This picture was a little trickier than normal, mainly because it’s a little more detailed, especially the bits around Santa’s face. With that being said, I was very impressed when seeing everyone’s work, so you’ve definitely come a long in all of your painting journeys this year.

‘Santa in the Sky’

If you’d like to see everyone’s paintings yourself, or just fancy getting reminded whenever there’s a live broadcast coming up, why not join the Loose Watercolour Beginners Group? You’ll never miss a broadcast again, and you’ll know whenever there’s been a new tutorial uploaded, so you’ll be up to date with all your painting practice. Plus, there’s over two thousand members now, so you’ll have a fantastic community of supportive artists to share your work with, alongside all sorts of tips and tricks to help you improve your painting going into the new year. You can join the group here.

Speaking of Christmas-themed tutorials, there’s another seasonal video available on Patreon, ‘Cute Mistletoe Robins.’ A sweet little image in a fun style, this tutorial mixes both paint and line to create a slightly different image, looking right at home on a greeting’s card or two – especially if, like me, you’ve been slightly late with sending out the Christmas cards this year! It’s a good one to try if you’re looking to experiment a little with your painting, or you fancy a little challenge that’s not a typical loose watercolour design.

‘Cute Mistletoe Robins’

If you’ve had enough of Christmas, or just watched A Christmas Carol one too many times, there’s also some new videos available that haven’t been based around the holidays. ‘Butterfly Soft Landing’ is now available on loosewatercolours.com, so you can look forward to spring and some slightly warmer weather. Plus, it’s a great excuse to get out all of the brightest paints in your paint box and create some colourful fun!

‘Butterfly Soft Landing’

That’s all from me this week, folks, as it’s always a little busy around here in the lead up to Christmas. We’ve got some exciting things on the horizon, though, especially in looking forward to 2024 (can you believe it?), as there’s some changes coming up for Loose Watercolours – I’ll fill you all in very soon. In the meantime, hold onto your hats, and dance along to some Christmas tunes as the holidays draw ever closer.

For those of you that are paid subscribers to this Substack, there’s an exclusive tutorial at the end of this post, where, continuing with the Christmas theme this week, you can paint along to ‘Bauble Boogie!’ A perfect opportunity for a moment of painting calm amongst the Christmas chaos, it’s a nice little tutorial which focuses on showing movement and colour.

I’ll be back in your inboxes at the usual time next Monday, which is a special day next week, as it also happens to be my birthday! I won’t tell you how old I’m turning, so let’s just say I’ll be 21. And a bit. So celebrations all around! In the meantime though, have a peaceful week, and happy painting!

‘Bauble Boogie’


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