Beginners Watercolour Video Demonstrations
A set of videos for complete beginners new to painting in watercolours. Starting with the very basic techniques, they show how to apply watercolour washes and use different brush techniques, building confidence and finding creative enjoyment through experimentation. My aim is to encourage people of all ages to have a go at drawing and painting and discover their creative abilities. This will enable them to really see the world differently and appreciate the beauty around us whether it’s a suburban street lit up by late evening sunlight or a silver birch tree in the autumn.
The full set of eight videos can be downloaded as a set for £30 or £5 per individual video link (payable by bank transfer). They can be sent to you by WhatsApp (07858 054522) or by email: neilaclarke75@gmail.com (by return link).
The images below show all the demonstration videos currently available all with commentary and duration times.
The six basic colours I use in my paintings … (duration: 24 mins and 49 secs). A shopping list of basic materials/equipment with current prices is available to send by email.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/TjLJqSc3joQaX3Cj8
Beginners 1 – Colour mixing circles – x 2 or x 3 colour mixes – an A4 size blank template can be sent by email to print off at home (31:38 duration)
Beginners 2 – Colour washes (10:17 duration combined)
Beginners 3 – Experimenting with wet into wet colour (12:40 duration)
Beginners 4 – Brush techniques, masking out and wax resist… (23:35 duration combined)
Beginners 5 – Layered washes and simple drawing (33:58 duration combined)
Beginners 6 – Clouds and an oak tree (20:13 duration combined)
Beginners 7 – Still life, feather and leaves (42:48 duration combined)
Beginners 8 – Simple landscapes (15:47 combined)
Stretching watercolour paper to keep it flat when laying washes of colour over the whole surface – follow the link below to see a practical demonstration.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pYLhagS34drxrsZcA
All videos approximately 140mins in total.
Ongoing advice can be given as part of the overall price, reviewing your work by email or WhatsApp (using the above subject matter only).
Equipment and materials that I use for watercolour painting
The main palette of six Winsor & Newton ‘professional quality’ watercolours that I use (from the tube) include: French Ultramarine Blue, Winsor Blue (red shade), Winsor Lemon (replacing cadmium lemon), Yellow Ochre, Alizarin Crimson and Burnt Sienna (cheaper quality watercolours, such as the W&N ‘Cotman’ range, include bulking paste that can lead to dullness of colour if over mixed). I do not mix in any black or white paint when using a pure/transparent watercolour technique, but I often use permanent white gouache for body colour/highlights etc. I use Copydex (latex) glue as a masking fluid to preserve areas of white paper and white wax crayons are good for wax resist.
I mainly use round (size 10, 12 or 14) synthetic sable Pro-Arte – Prolene Plus ‘series 007’ brushes for most of my painting with the addition of a 3/4″ flat wash brush and a ‘rigger’ for fine lines (stiff oil paint brushes are good for texture and spattering). Pure ‘Kolinsky’ sable brushes are better but cost a fortune to buy. Avoid cheap ‘squirrel/horse’ hair brushes at any cost!
I normally paint onto a thick (medium ‘Not’ texture surface) watercolour paper, stretched (if larger than A4) onto a 9mm thick piece of plywood board using brown paper gummed tape (the watercolour paper has to be completely wet on both sides before taping down – then it will shrink fractionally when it’s dry to leave a flat drum tight painting surface).
I use a porcelain plate for mixing paint in the studio along with a plastic palette with spaces for the dried paint to remain (and topped up from the tube when needed). Out on site I use a small folding metal paint box.
