Hello everyone, and welcome back to some loose watercolour fun this week! How was your weekend? Hopefully not as rainy as it’s been over here. We’ve had wet weather consistently for the last couple of days, so not much chance for any outdoor painting practice. It must be because we’re already in September – which I find quite hard to believe. This year has flown by so quickly! Nevertheless, hopefully the sun decides to shine for a little bit longer before Autumn well and truly kicks in.
Last week’s live broadcast was ‘Lanterns & Blossoms,’ and it was great to see you all painting along and enjoying some watercolour fun! This one was a little trickier than usual, mainly as we had to think about the background as well as the actual lanterns, which were the focus of the painting. It’s finding a balance between the darkness of the branches, and balancing it with the bright lights of the lanterns and delicate blossoms. It all takes practice, but the more you paint, the better you’ll get!
This week’s broadcast is on tonight at the usual time of 8pm GMT (but not the usual day, you might note). The subject this week is ‘Abstract in Pink,’ so we’re looking at a fun floral this time. Here’s the link should you want to join in: https://loosewatercolours.com/live-broadcast/
And if you enjoyed the Wash & Line tutorial last week, you’re in luck, as there’s another one available on Patreon now! As the air is getting slightly crisper and there’s a whiff of orange leaves in the air, I thought this week’s theme could be ‘Dance of Pheasants.’ It’s a fun little animal scene with lots of movement, so it’s one to test out your loose watercolour skills on. You can paint along by following the link here: https://www.patreon.com/andrewgeesonloosewatercolours
There’s also another new tutorial on loosewatercolours.com this week, ‘Misty Day Flowers.’ I really enjoyed painting this one, as I think the picture really suits the loose watercolour style – especially the blurred background and gentle edges. If you’d like to give it a go yourselves, you can find it on the website, which is here: loosewatercolours.com
If you’d like to be notified as to when there’s a new tutorial available, why not join the Loose Watercolour Beginners Facebook Group? You’ll never miss a tutorial again, and you’ll be in the know for every single live broadcast and painting tip that gets mentioned. Plus, you’ll find some delightful watercolours created by your fellow artists, so it’s a great spot to go and look for some loose inspiration! If you’d like to join, here’s the link: https://m.facebook.com/groups/753969806117098/?ref=share
Despite the rain, I did manage to get up to a little bit of painting, and here’s a plein air – if you can call it that when it’s indoors – for our local church. It’s medieval, and dates back to at least the 1300s, so there’s lots of interesting things to look at and paint.
And that’s not all – I did a bit of experimenting over the last few weeks, and I decided to try out a new style. After all, sometimes different mediums can really help you figure out some new and exciting things to try in loose watercolours! So an afternoon was spent painting a large abstract in blue with the help of my daughter – and it’s now hanging on the wall in the kitchen.
That’s all for this week, as the live broadcast is starting soon, so I’ve got to get my brushes ready. As always, though, there’s an extra special tutorial at the end of this Substack, exclusively for paid subscribers, as an enormous thank you for all of your support. After all, I wouldn’t be able to run this without you! So I hope you all enjoy painting along to ‘Florals on Check’ this week.
Until next time, though, it’s goodbye from Toby and I, and we’ll see you soon. Very soon, indeed, if you’re coming to watch the live broadcast tonight. In the meantime, though, we hope you have a lovely week, and happy painting!