I really appreciate your videos, Liron. Keep making them. My tip for loosening up is to let go of perfectionism and the death-grip it has on expressive painting.
dgdraws that’s the challenge isn’t it. I strive to get away from my tendency for perfection...., it ruins most of my painting attempts. This fantastic tip from Liron May help with that.
That’s it. I’m absolutely certain now that you are in fact a mind reader! Somehow, you always seem to perfectly time your videos with exactly what I am struggling with at that moment. Boggles my mind it does. Over the last few years you have helped me, and so many others, with our struggles in watercolors, and I just want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, and the top too! I am so grateful that you are so generous with your time, wisdom, and beautiful art. Thank you! Much Love and Respect as always, Stacy
I agree so much with " values are more important than colors" ! I experienced it and I really know when my paint is not good based on that haha. Also thanks so much for all your tips, they are so valuable !
Decided to gradually adopt your advice a couple of days ago. I naturally reached for a number 10 brush but forced myself to stop and take a number 12 instead. I noticed where I was holding the brush every time I picked it up and forced myself to hold it just a bit further away from the ferrule. The result was amazing - the washes seemed looser and more transparent! I almost felt like a real artist!😁 So, definitely going to continue gradually increasing the size of my brush (except for fine details, maybe) and gradually aiming to hold it by the tip of the handle. Thanks, Liron.
I really enjoy your videos Liron. What I find so important is anything to do with SIMPLIFYING from a photo. That's one of the most difficult things to do. You , Castagnet, Zbukvic and Eric make it seem soooo easy. It isn't. Any time you want to do another one of those, much appreciated.
Thank you so much Livonia, I really really enjoyed watching you teach us all these techniques and I’m extremely impressed with your skills and creativity. I’ve subscribed and given you a thumbs up too
Thank you, you are appreciated by many. I’ve been painting since I was a child. Decades have passed, painting here and there whenever I was able. I now I have another new studio and all the time in the world to dedicate my to my first love, painting. I’ve suddenly found myself stuck for the first time. Go figure that? I will accept inspiration from whatever means to actually pick up one of my many brushes.
Hi Liron, Great video as always. I would add one idea to your wonderful tips - set a time limit that is short. For example, if you're painting an 8" x 10" paper, try to finish it in 5 or 10 minutes. Doing this exercise has forced me to avoid fussing with detail and focus on the bigger, more dominant shapes. Thanks again for all your videos!!!
this was literally the most helpful thing for me lol I did not realize how tense I was being instead of letting the water do some of the work. Thank you!!
Tip #2 works brilliantly. When I have used a tirade of primary colours in a painting and concentrated not on local colour but value...allowing the colours to mix on the paper my paintings improved immediately. I picked this tip up from an artist named Laurel Hart....I cant wait to try your other 2 suggestions. Thank you .
Thanks Liron, really look forward to your videos! I plan on trying this tonight. Any chance to see you do a video with a simple sketch and the primary colors only technique so we can better grasp the message you’re conveying to us?
Your timing is perfect. Yesterday I bought a small 5x8 watercolor sketchbook because I need to PRACTICE. It will be perfect for this as I attempt to loosen up. Have had several good ideas, as well, to get the most out of practice without using my Arches paper. Thanks again for your vids.
I’m going to try holding my brush that way. I’ve been going more toward using pure pigments for a while but for some reason hearing you say it out loud made the light bulb come one for some reason. Great video!
Saw this just when I have discovered using a larger brush is indeed better...so now will try the other tips..esp the bit about not mixing colour. Interesting.
Hi Liron..... I am in a constant struggle with this issue and sometimes it frustrates me to the point of avoiding painting altogether. My brain is telling me to paint realistically but I aspire to do just the opposite. I’ve even tried squinting to blur the details, but you can’t do that for very long. :) I liked what you said about focusing on the ‘shapes’ and the ‘contrast’. I keep thinking one day it will just click for me but so far it hasn’t happened. Regardless, I am quite simply ‘addicted’ to watercolor, and I’m determined to reach my goals with this medium. Your continued lessons and tips are welcome, and especially any other ideas regarding painting loosely. Thanks.
Great tips - I was lucky enough to do a workshop with Alvaro Castagnet here in Brisbane, Australia and I too have adopted his tip to use the brush as an extension of your finger and hold it at the end - AND immediately I found it soooo freeing and now it comes very naturally to me. I’d love to see a video on doing thumbnails in which you try various compositions of shapes, values & simplification of scenes... thanks for your time😀
This would be so helpful for me, too. I am a complete novice to art and just learning to draw, so any guidance from Liron about setting up a good composition would be invaluable to me.
Great tips with details. I just packed a bigger round brush to my travel bag, just in case, but likely I should use that the most and avoid the small ones.. 😅 Nice advice on color use as well.
Yes! I find I can really get away with using a large brush more carefully (: But if I'm stuck with only small brushes, it's a nightmare to cover large areas 😂
Thank you again. You teach from what you have learned in an easy manner. I will work on this. BTW, the best teachers are those who give understandable instruction as you do.
Wow Liron! Those tips worked like a charm! I did 2 smaller versions of landscapes I had labored over for hours and ... Presto changeo ... Loose paintings. Other videos offer nebulous/theoretical methods but yours were perfectly practical! Thanks a million.
Wow I just discovered you today and you are a saviour. I’m just starting out with watercolour painting and have looked at so many video’s about mixing colours which is overwhelming. Thanks so much for making it easier. Your the best. 👍
I found finding and focusing on simpler shapes, accentuate the beauty of the object. I will try using pure colors to focus on mastering the medium more.
Woah, such great and simple tips! Thank you! Keep up the great work, Your videos are really packed with info when done such condenced time! Beautiful painting, might recreate it too🤭
Hey Liron - great video. Solid, solid stuff. Particularly about the limited palette. I have a question about paper if I may. I need a bright white paper with sizing that doesn’t disappear after the first wash! Not as slick as Yupo by any means, but something that keeps the surface workable but bright. I’m not concerned about price (amazingly). I like the Royal Watercolor Society paper but am very open to trying other options. Arches has gotten way too absorbent and doesn’t stay clear. Thank you!! 🙏 I love your informational videos and really appreciated your interview with Janine. Much Aloha to you!
Hmmm, very interesting. To be honest I’m not super versed in different types of paper. But the ones that came closest to what you describe for me is Saunders Waterford - HOT press. The smooth surface is sometimes harder to control, but the paint tends to pool more on the surface, allowing you more time to work it. Hope that helps (:
Hi Liron, Great to see you again. While I agree with almost everything you mention and you have set out some great tips. I believe you have missed the most important and Quickest Lesson in How to paint Loose! The answer and method is:- DO NOT DRAW FIRST!!!!! (if at all) The mere action of drawing first, takes away your initial Freedom of your brush and you are governed by the marks you have created. Anyone can understand this and the beauty is, most pupils get amazing results first time of trying. This is also a wonderful exercise to improve your drawing too. I continue to watch your growth and improvement and wish you every success.
I love to watch Javid Tabatabei weild his brush (as I call it) especially with details. As I am new to watercolor I find using single pigments work best for me. It really helps as you are learning water control. I do use Mission Gold single pigments. I am sure I will eventually try other paints but for now this is an excellent paint for me. I also practise using the tip of my brush as well. I find my strokes are cleaner this way.
Javid's work is amazing 🤩 A very fun part of learning watercolor is indeed improving brushmarks. It gets so much more fun with time, and you come to learn the HUGE variety this aspect, alone, can achieve (: Keep it up!
Interesting video, Liron - thanks for posting. There's very definitely a big difference when holding the brush at the tip instead of close to the bristles. I've been using the technique mostly for initial washes but your enthusiasm has persuaded me to give a it a try for the later stages of a painting too :-) I know that for some time you've been an advocate for mixing colours on the paper - I still tend to do most of my mixing in the palette wells but I shall try to do more on the page - and will also try your suggestion of using primary colours to see what results I get. It's all good learning material and thanks once again for everything you contribute to the community via your videos. Cheers, Brian.
Thank you! I always wondered how to achieve those "loose painting." It is good that you made a video on this effort-- since people might not even consider it as a subject to teach. Will try these three techniques and see... btw, I have never unmixed colors. It is a long habit of mine -- I always mixed colors! 😆🙄
I've started with the "little paper, big brush" tip. It's very freeing, and I find myself wanting to explore more of what I can do while the swatch is wet (I wasn't much of a wet-on-wet method artist)! It's very lovely! I need to take the next steps! :D Thanks for the tip!
All good tips, Liron. The one I think is the most helpful to me is holding the brush at the end of the handle. Terribly hard at first, but really frees you up once you get used to it. I'm still working on it, though. Thanks. :)
Don’t know if or how to post images on RU-vid comments but I have not been able (so far) to paint with water colors lightly (loose painting) & have tried from very wet brush & paint on pallet but somehow still end up with pretty colors but almost no white shoes through the paper!! Is that ok just heavy handed or trying to go over & over to fix that one place 🤔. Ty as enjoy watching yours & have shoulder injury so holding at end will be a “interesting” try ☺️..
The comment about painting more quickly with one color is brilliant. I tried that with a portrait which was Way Beyond my ability and it came out fantastic! I just held the brush Loosely and pretended like I was sketching. No worries about the color. Thank you for this. Future video idea. I need help on keeping my paper and watercolors wet enough. I live in a very dry environment. Things dry so quickly! Do I just use the spray bottle?
Thanks for the brush holding tip. I was really struggling with painting large areas and not having enough range of motion to follow long lines (arcs especially) watching this I had a real ‘duh!’ Moment and realised what I was doing wrong. :)
In regards to tip #2, would pre-mixing before even starting negate this tip? I can see how taking the time to mix would disrupt the flow and be distracting, especially if you're on a time limit to help prevent overthinking, but I am still curious if pre-mixing would still be enough of a distraction and not helpful in the goal of painting loosely.
Liron, thank you for your videos. They are so inspiring and alive. I totally agree, that limiting yourself to three colours is so loosening. Now I am working on my colour triads. Trying to make some notes on what works and what not. Maybe you could make (or already made) a video on best choices. Cool vs warm (should the triad include both). Which colours are considered to be blues, yellows and reds (I assume that it is those having Y, B and R pigments). Secondary colour triads - some of them work really great. To sum up, are there any rules or just trial and error way?
Enthusiastic beginner watercolorist here, and I've actually already been cutting all my 9x12 papers into fours to paint small pictures (Also if I royally mess one up, it's only a dinky picture so no great loss). My BF bought me a decent brush set, but I seem to stick to a 10 and a 2 mostly thus far, primarily the 10. The only thing I probably need to do is let go a bit more and hold more towards the tip vs like a pencil. It's so hard to let go of control though! >.< haha Currently trying to work on values and soft edges, will see how changing my grip will affect my painting. TY for the tips! ♥
The hardest thing for me is not mixing paint, I think not mixing in the palette requires your brain to be more imaginative in thinking of what colours to apply but it definitely pays off! And it's fun to see colours mixing on paper. Great tip!
This is so helpful. I've been buying so many tubes of colors I see being used by artists. After watching your videos I'm wondering.. What is a "pure" color? Maybe i went overboard. Is Prussian blue, out of the tube a pure color?😊 thanks
When a building is partially in the shade, do you use a Paine's Gray in a glaze? Or would you use another single color? Thanks for your tips, I will have to try them.
Hmm, nothing that perfectly matches that topic, but the closest would probably be this one on warm and cool colors: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Zmmk6M7qgYQ.html And here's a decent one on colors: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-70KX8h5eDyg.html And one on saturation: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IuZ3HVJWb3Y.html I probably need to figure out how to tie this all together. Good idea for a future vid 😊🙏🏼
I will try those. I really overthink watercolor as I've always painted and drawn in high detail/realism etc. Could you please go into paper. I can't stand the warping. I've tried every weight, hot/cold press, high quality, illustration board etc. It always warps. I try less water- I get a mess...
The #3 tip isn t really good cause whatever the color you wanna use, pigments will react to the same way regarding their size or their tinting properties. The only thing which can be in favor of #3 is the amount of water using pans colors and the difficulty to keep a concentrated pigment but if it s not the case you can buy tubes.
You made a video a few years ago about the big brush thing, and it leveled my painting immensely. I think I picked up the high brush technique from you as well maybe last year? Anyway, all fantastic tips. Love your vids!
Thanks for your insight and encouragement❤️I too would love to see a tutorial about this by you, I believe it'd be very beneficial to assist in my improvements ❤️🧑🎨🖌️🎨
have just started watercolour painting. why are my colours not merging into one another as i see in your videos. i always get like hard lines of one colour over the other, they are not blending
What are the three colors/paints (brand names, please!) that you recommend for a limited palette? I know some artists that recommend red with more pink/magenta tint ( or cool red if you prefer this term) as part of their color triad.
