'Painting Animals in Watercolour'

I was at Margam Discovery Centre, Port Talbot, last weekend, for a 'Painting Animals in Watercolour' course for the FSC. I concentrated on drawing first as, with subjects as complicated as animals, getting proportions right is so important.
We then went on build up the paintings in about three washes, using just 5 colours (just sepia for the Tiger). These are some of my demonstration paintings from the course.

Demonstration at Exmouth

I was at Exmouth last night, to do a demonstration for Exmouth Art Group. I painted this one on a half imperial sheet of Saunders Waterford 200lb NOT, which I had stretched onto a board the previous day.
Thanks to Paul Gosling for the photo of me with the finished painting.

West Moors demonstration

Here's a recent demonstration I did for West Moors Art Society. I was asked to do 'animals' so I chose this feline model.

A recent demonstration...

A demonstration from my recent course at Art Holidays in Dorset. Done in three washes, there are a few drips, which are a bit of an occupational hazard when you're board is almost vertical.

'Black & White Moggy'

Got back from a painting course at Art Holidays in Dorset, on Monday. This was painted as one of my evening demonstration paintings... next door's black and white moggy.
After sketching the outline with a 5B pencil onto 200lb Bockingford paper, I soaked the paper and then mixed colours on the page to create a soft, atmospheric foundation wash, lifting out some areas with a damp brush. Once it was dry, I began to build up the washes on dry paper. All in all, the painting took about an hour, from start to finish.

'Sun Worshipper'

Here's a demo painting from my workshop at the Watershed Studio on 14th/15th July. An exercise in painting loosely. It's the shape and character that's important, rather than detail.
Many thanks to Allison for providing me with some great lunches and lots of cake.
I'll be back again next year for another 2-day workshop: 'Watercolour Landscapes in 3 Washes' (2nd/3rd August).

'Catch Me If You Can'

I spotted this little dog on the local beach one morning, running rings around its owner. In this painting I wanted to capture the movement as it dashed across the sand, and its lively character.

Click to Bid

'Winter Hens'

A few years back we kept some hens, which came from a charity which re-houses ex-battery hens. When we first got them home they were in a bit of a state, with bald patches all over them. After a change of diet though (virtually everything we gave them), and their next moult, they were transformed. 
They were quite partial to porridge, especially on a cold day, which is how I've shown them here.

New Article in Leisure Painter

The new issue of Leisure Painter magazine contains a three-page article I have written. The subject is one that I am keen to get across at my workshops, and that is painting with a limited palette. I tend to work with 4 or 5 colours, for a particular painting. Some subjects, like floral studies, may require more but, in general, I make do with just a few. It creates a harmonious look to the painting. For the above painting I used only 3.

For those of you outside the UK, you can view the article online by following this link:

http://www.painters-online.co.uk/Features/Using-a-Limited-Palette-to-Create-Effective-Watercolours/_ft351_mg12

"Comfortable"

I recently led a painting course at Earnley Concourse, Chichester. The title of which was 'Paint Your Pet in Watercolour'. Animals are always a popular subject and people want to paint their cats, dogs, parrots, goldfish etc. Trouble is, animals don't make it easy for us, do they? Even a cat, which may sleep all day, will suddenly become animated at the sight of a pencil and paper. We started with some lively contour, or gesture, drawings. Working from photos (It's just not practical to bring along the real thing!) we soon got into it. I find these initiatal sketches help students to loosen up and make them start to observe features and proportions.
By the time we get the paints out, everyone is in the right frame of mind and less hesitant.
I painted the cat, above, during a demonstration. I began with an all-over wash, dropping colours into the appropriate areas. Once dry, I finished off with a few hard-edged, wet-on-dry washes.
Miaow!