Absolutely beautiful. A jewel of a painting. Thank you for taking us along on your climb and for the live description of your process as you paint. Favourite line …”love how watercolour dribbles”.
Hi John , Thanks, it’s good to be back! Scotland is so beautiful and I’m pleased you enjoyed seeing it. We’ve got lots more trips to come! Best wishes, James
I like the way you mix your colors minimally. It's so fresh and lively. That's a painting that you could have on your wall for years and never get bored with. It's more of the essence of the waterfall than a photo depiction.
I’m really pleased you enjoyed that painting so much. How you mix the paint is so important and I do enjoy the minimal mixing. I have framed the picture and enjoy looking at it. Best wishes, James
Hi Steve, Glad you enjoyed the video. Will be getting out much more in our van and hopefully showing you more of the beautiful Scottish landscape. Best wishes, James
Hi James, good to have you back out painting again. If you can get hold of some 200gsm (90lb) paper for winter use it does dry much quicker. Downside is the tendency to cockle if not stretched.
Hi Colin, It’s good to be back painting. That’s a good idea about the paperweight, maybe I could do the small ones on lighter paper, then they are less likely to cockle. Hope your painting is going well. Best wishes, James
If anyone is coming to Moffat to look for the waterfall, its full name is the Grey Mare's Tail and is found a few miles out of Moffat towards Selkirk on the A708. It's a tricky path, though, and the local mountain rescue team have to call a couple of times a year - please be careful. If you get that far and have the time and ability, carry on up to Loch Skeen. The name is pronounced "mair", as the water is said to look like the tale of a grey mare. Nice painting though, glad you enjoyed our area.
Hi Laurel, I’m so pleased that you are enjoying the loose style. It’s such an interesting challenge to try and interpret what you see and put it down on paper. Glad you like the ultra marine blue. Best wishes, James
Hi Mary, Good to hear from you! I’m glad you’re enjoying the loose style. I am trying to experiment in a new direction. It’s good to do a bit of walking and get the blood flowing! Best wishes, James
Great video. So happy to be traveling through Scotland with you! Your country is so beautiful! I am limited in where I go this time of year but there is always a little park or pond, or even your own backyard! I do love to sketch a quick something and work out the composition and colors before maybe redoing it at home. Repetition helps me learn! Thanks James…and Tara!
Hi, Glad you enjoyed the video. It’s good to be back in our van travelling around. We’ve got lots more planned! Glad that you’re getting out to paint. It doesn’t matter where or how good the view is ,it’s the painting of it that’s the most important thing. Best wishes, James
Hi Robert My pleasure. One of the great benefits of painting outdoors is that everything is correct. When you take a photo and paint from that, it never seems right. Hope it helped your painting. Best wishes, James
Hi, I’m really pleased you enjoy this one so much. It is amazing how many marks you have to make on a painting to bring it out. Good to hear from you. Best wishes, James
Glad you like the painting. The colours really were nice. I do enjoy adding that bit of blue at the moment. We’ve got lots more trips planned travelling around Scotland 🏴 ! Best wishes, James
Hi, I do like to be bold when I paint Watercolour and when there’s so little time you have to be even bolder! Glad you like the end results. Best wishes, James
Hi Vicki, Glad you enjoyed it. It was quite a hike and we did have to take a few moments to take in the scenery ,or is it catch Our breath. Tanya is very good though at giving it to go! Best wishes, James
That one went well. As you say drying times will be challenging. But as Bob Ross used to say "happy accidents". It should make good viewing James. I look forward to seeing the results.
30:34 If your paper does not dry quickly in winter, try painting with alcohol or vodka. People who paint in sub-zero temperatures paint watercolours using alcohol instead of water since alcohol does not freeze. Check your local pharmacy or chemist for a small bottle of alcohol. Try the alcohol at home first and see how the paint behave on the paper and whether the paint will bleed through to the other side. Try different techniques and different brushes. Also, double check that the alcohol won’t damage the enamel on your paint box. It probably won’t, but double check as a precaution.
That’s an interesting idea. I haven’t heard of that one. Hopefully the temperatures won’t drop too much over Winter, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind. Thanks, James
I just took a couple of lessons from an artist with a similar style, Kent Kerns. This is really stretching me from a style and letting go , just not me. But I am loving it 2 weeks in. Also, I fully understand living in a high value scenic area like you do. I live in the foothills of the Rockies on the west side of Pikes Peak. Come on over for a visit, would like to host both of you.
Hi Garry, I’m very pleased to hear that you’re taking some lessons. Watercolour is quite difficult to learn, especially at the beginning, but it’s really just a question of pain in there and staying positive! I’m glad that you have some great scenery to paint and if we ever come your way it would be great to stay with you! Best wishes, James
