Magical Moments

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another week of loose watercolours! For those keen-eyed painters amongst you, you may have noticed that there wasn’t a Loose Watercolours Substack post last week, and that’s because I was up in the air. That’s right, I was in sunny Italy this week for business (all will be revealed soon!), so of course, I took advantage of the lovely scenery to get some painting done.

There was a live broadcast directly from Venice this week, and it was great to see so many familiar faces join in the fun! I hope you all enjoyed painting along to ‘Loose Venice Window’ as much as I did! I’ve really enjoyed seeing all of your versions on the Facebook Group!

‘Loose Venice Window’

Over the years, I’ve found that art really has brought me some magical moments! I was painting in a quiet backstreet a few days ago, when I got caught in a sudden downpour. Now I don’t know about you, but there’s something about rainwater and loose watercolours that don’t seem to mix. This lovely Italian man called Nico came and got me an umbrella, and he also sorted me out with a chair and a steaming pot of English tea! When I had nearly finished, he came over to ask if he could take a picture of the painting, but I decided to give him the painting to say thank you for all of his generosity. My painting now hangs in his restaurant alongside some 300-year-old frescos! Wow.

Thanks to Nico for saving the day!

Of course, when in Rome… or in this case, when in Venice. I made the most of the opportunity to practice some plein air painting, and I found many weird and wonderful spots that were perfect for a dramatic painting or two. Outdoor painting may seem quite daunting to start with, but there’s something about art that really brings people together. I’ve met people from far and wide just painting in the street, as they’ve come up out of curiosity as to what I’m doing, and I’ve had many interesting conversations with people from all walks of life about art. So sometimes pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone a little can be a good thing!

A mysterious underpass for a dramatic painting!

In non-travelling news, there was also a live broadcast on YouTube last night, ‘April Showers.’ It was lovely to see you all, and I hope you enjoyed the bright colours and abstract background of this one – it was certainly a lot of fun splashing colours across the page! If you’re not sick of loose watercolours yet, and want to join in the fun tonight, there’s another live broadcast at 8pm GMT, which you can find by clicking the link here: https://loosewatercolours.com/live-broadcast/. Tonight’s subject is ‘Daisy, Daisy,’ so gather your paintbrushes and get ready for some floral fun!

‘April Showers’

I’d also like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to all of you who have joined the Beginners Watercolour Group on Facebook! It’s an incredibly enthusiastic response, and I hope you’re all enjoying it as much as I am. After all, it’s the best way to keep updated with all of the new tutorials and broadcasts so you don’t miss a thing! If you’re interested in joining, here’s the link: https://m.facebook.com/groups/753969806117098/?ref=share

That’s all from me this week, as I’ve got to go and unpack my suitcase. It’s lovely to be back though, and of course, Toby the dog can’t come travelling, so it’s always a warm welcome when I touch back down in England. This week, there’s an exclusive tutorial at the end of this post for paid subscribers as an extra special thank you for all of your support, so I hope you enjoy painting along to ‘Dancing Tulips’ – perfect in time for April. If there’s anything in particular that you’d like to paint, please feel free to get in touch!

Until next time, though, have a great week, and happy painting!

‘Dancing Tulips’ is the paid tutorial this week.


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