Trying to loosen up

I am asked many times how to produce looser watercolours , and as with most things in life it isn't easy. I think you have to be quite confident in your painting to begin with and then you have to be brave. 

This is a starting point, some watercolourists take things much further, Jean Haines for example has very loose paintings where the paint drips from the page. Also check out Anne Bockley's work, she experiments a lot with watercolour.

 

So lets call this an entry level looser watercolour , ist's a start, watercolour is endlessly fascinating and also very difficult. The process is as important ( if not more so than the finished piece.

 

No painting is ever a waste, so go on loosen up, shake away your fears and have a go....

I found a good photo that was royalty free and sketched it out 

 

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Then I like to paint the eye as realistically as I can, I use a very small brush and add yellow ochre and a very small amount of cerulean blue. I also leave a spot of white paper 

 

 

Then I add a darker brown , leaving a small patch or yellow to bring some light into the eye. 

 

 

I add more dark's to the eye and a pupil , look really carefully and when it looks 'real' stop. 

Then I painted the beak 

 

 

So now I have the hooks to base my painting on. I like it to be loose but not unrecognisable 

 

I wet the body of the robin and add wet paint into it, so wet in wet. I am adding the shadows and the shading on the body .

 

Be really careful as it can all get just too wet, look at the reference photo and decide what is important.

Then I moved onto the red breast, I used some masking fluid to protect the area around the eye and some markings on the wings, so far it all looks quite neat

 

 

So now you need to be brave....

I sprayed my work with a spray bottle 

 

Cover the eye when you do this, and most importantly don't panic, let the colour spread and see what happens

Then let it dry and keep going . reinstating colour and adding darker areas of shadow

 

 

So in this painting you need to control how much water you use, but also let the watercolour work it's magic. Now we are in the final stages, I wait for it to dry and remove the masking fluid so I can paint the area around the eye. I also add some legs and some splashes and splatters. Stand back and have a look and only add things that add to the painting

 

It isn't easy but it is fun, the painting goes in and out of focus but stick with it, if it doesn't work you can always try again, often the braver you are the better the results