'Controlled Wash' demo

Here's a demonstration painting from the last day of my most recent course at Art Holidays in Dorset. When I can, I like to use the ,controlled wash, watercolour technique, as described by Jack Merriott in his book 'Discovering Watercolour'. The first wash is applied to wet paper, the colours being allowed to blend wet-in-wet on the surface. While the wash is wet, the paint can be moved around and allowed to create a soft, foundation wash. Once it has dried, a further wash or two can then be applied to dry paper.
This method of painting creates an atmospheric feel to the whole painting, and that first wash influences whatever transparent washes you place afterwards. It's a really good technique for depicting sunny scenes, as here.
I usually stretch the paper beforehand but here I simply used masking tape around the edges of a quarter sheet of 200lb Bockingford.

Painting in Monotone

This little monotone study demo' is also from my course. It's a good exercise to paint something using only one colour. I use Ivory Black for these little studies. It's not part of my regular colour palette but is ideal for tonal sketches.

Painting in Monotone

Students attending any of my workshops will be familiar with my thoughts on tonal relationships, and how important I consider them to be in painting. If I had a list of priorities, in making pictures, I would put tonal values just beneath design and just above colour.

I often start my workshops with a few 'loosening up' exercises, and monotone studies are a good way to begin. 

  This small study of a glass bottle was a class demonstration. I wanted students to concentrate on just 3 tones: light/medium/dark, plus white for highlights. This exercise really helps them to stay focused, especially if they don't stray from the idea of just 3 tones.

  Of course, in watercolour, your lightest tone is the white surface of the paper. Being a transparent medium, every wash that is applied makes a darker tone. Less water in the washes, means darker tones.