QUICK & Simple WATERCOLOUR Birds Episode 9 - Wren & Foliage 

Ahh, thanks so much Michelle. Really appreciate the support! T

Thank you so much!!:)

Yes they are...I’ve painted many a wren before got the grips with markings! Simple and less is more always works :)

Thank you!:) Glad you enjoyed it. T

Thanks so much! Covering up and working with mistakes; a vital part of watercolour :) They are beautiful little birds...so glad you enjoyed it :)

This is so excellent to hear! Really pleased. Sounds like you struck a good balance. And what a wonderful thing to do with the painting. The gesture of gifting a painting, or anything we've created ourselves is a really special one!! :) T (ps I have not forgotten about the Liron video, just waiting for a chance ot give it some proper ttention)

@@tomshepherdartist Hopefully I'll see her tomorrow. The radiation burned me. Not plesant. Had to take a break from the daily treatments because the burns went to 2nd and 3rd degree. Very painful and not healing. May be like this for several years if I survive the cancer.

Thanks Catriona! Yeah not easy, and especially with quick drying conditions!!:)

Vidit thanks so much for the very kind words!! I really appreciate it....so glad it helps and is well received. And yes, there’s plenty more to come!!😁....thanks again!!! T

The best are usually the least appreciated. I say that from the heart. Well done Tom.

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Thanks so much!!☺️🙌🏼🙏

Thanks so much, Linda. So glad you’re enjoying them and getting something out of them. T

Thank you for a lovely comment, and so glad it helps! Yes, ai feel just as important to show the "mistakes", for the reason you mention!!!:) I am a huge fan of Darren's work, I actually own a couple of his pieces, plus he's really lovely!!!:) His simplicity and freshness mixed with the character he captures is juts wonderful!!!:) Thank you for your support. Kind Regards, T

Thank you!!!!!:) T

Thank you so much! T

So pleased to hear. Thank you for the support. T

☺️ thank you!! T

So glad it helps! Thank you for the comment. T

Thanks for such a lovely comment! Keep the inspiration up!

I avoided them for ages fir the same reason...slowly introduced simple ones then more recently more complex ones. They’re a lot of fun!!!😁 thanks so much for your kind words and support!!!:)

Thanks Simone. Nice to hear from a like minded artist. So pleased to hear you are getting something form the videos. T

Hi Joanne, thanks for the comment. So glad to hear that these videos are helping. I am about to start a new series of little quick tips for watercolour (focused more on theory but very useful for beginners I would hope!)....good luck, it's a wonderful medium (and at times frustrating)...stick at it and the rewards are wonderful. Thanks for your support, T

The eye always makes it! That's so lovely to hear, thank you!!:)

Ahh thank you so much!! That’s great to hear :) T

Gracias, es mi placer! T

Thank you so much!!:)

Thank you! T

Thank you so much for your kind words. Much appreciated:) T

Thanks so much...much more watercolour and bird related content to come very soon too :)

They are beautiful birds aren’t they? Ha, not many of them around here. All though have wetlands centre in middle England where there’s plenty :) that painting actually now lives in Florida. Very fitting:)...thank you so much for your kind words and support! T

Thank you so much!!:) T

So glad it helped to see the mistakes and dealing with them. Some are easier than others, this was trickier one! Students often say when I'm demoing in person, "You don't make any mistakes? I can't do that!"...to which me honest reply is, "I am constantly making mistakes, I'm just very good at covering them up quickly!".....joking aside though, learning to kind of roll with what the painting ives you and also understanding that as long as an area is still fairly wet you can easily wash it out, adjust, pull out the paint really helps give me confidence. All easy said than done I know! I think working with a light touch, brushstrokes and colour mixing is a great topic. Thank you!

Marvellous!

Ahh, thank you!!! I’m so pleased you’re enjoying them!!....wrens are deceptively tricky. In fact I think all the small garden birds are. My mistake has often been painting them too big!! Because they are small and flitty and delicate, they seem to suit being painted small much better. But then the trickier aspect of that is painting them small, with enough little details but not overworking them or making them too detail heavy!! It’s certainly a real balance to be struck!! I don’t always get it and the challenge keeps me coming back for more!! (Ha!) T

Thanks so much Carol. So happy to hear you're getting lots out of these :)....the markings on any bird are really hard. Often because they are so beautiful and a juicy detail, I have a tendency to "over do" them, make them too complex, overworked and then they just look dead, and the bird looks heavy....I'm planning a RU-vid video soon where I talk about picking interesting shapes and poses for birds so that they don;t feel static, but rather feel light and full of character. If you can find a good pose, accurate drawing and keep the paint light, not over cook markings/details; you're on to a winner!! If only it was as easy as that sounds!! (ha!)

Thank you!!:) T

You're welcome!

Thanks so much for the kind words and support!:) T

Thank you!:)

Thank you. Ha, yes, you may well be right! :)

Thanks so much!! I appreciate the support. T

Thanks Linda, really appreciate the feedback, I am trying to bring exactly that into more recent videos :) thank you, T

Ahh, thank you so much!!:) T

Thanks so much Sarah! Great feedback, thank you...you;re not the first person to ask so I will start doing that from now on :)...

Thanks so much. Will do so in future. Kind Regards, T

Thanks so much for a lovely comment, and so pleased you are enjoying them!! The next episode is a house Martin, then a green and yellow bee eater, followed by a Carmine bee eater flying ...then hummingbird, puffin and a woodpecker....and then lots more to come!!;) T

Thanks so much and that’s great to hear. I generally use 300gsm (I think that’s 140lb). It’s a nice balance of thick enough to work on well but not so heavy that the cost jumps way up (all though I do love on 300lb for larger pieces) T

Hey Tricia, I answered this question of yours on another comment :) T

Hi Tricia. I usually use coldpress 300gsm. Most of this series is done on Winsor and Newton classic paper. It’s actually very affordable wood pulp paper but I love working it. Other than that I use baohong professional. Baohong also do a student/academic range which is great too :)

Thaa as is Ann. Appreciate the feedback. I now very little or no music in present o Ed for that exact reason. Kind Regards, T

Thank you!!!☺️🙌🏼✨

Thank you. I don’t generally wet the paper first, it can be a really useful technique but I tend to paint these birds more directly and you could say that I work wet into wet but in smaller areas, if that makes sense. T

P.s. your personality and upbeat presentation style make the videos even more fun to watch!

Hi ya Paige, so pleased you found the channel and are enjoying the videos (and are learning lots!). I clean the mixing areas of the palette but I leave the squidges of paint around the edge.....I d prefer working with freshly put out paint simply because I use a lot of pigment and sometimes find it hard to get the density of pigment from dried paint...However, I often just rewet the paint and I have never noticed any negative affects on the properties form doing so :) Good question!!:) T

@@tomshepherdartist Thanks so much for answering! :)

This one is Winsor & Newton Professional. Gummed block. I often use Jackson;s Eco Paper which is duller and softer but lovely for wet into wet :)

You didn’t miss it!! I totally forgot...thank you...I’ll pop it up over the weekend :)

Thanks so much. My favourite brushes are Escoda Ultimo mop, size 18. Jackson's Raven mop, size 0. ProArte Rounds size 8 & 10...I have also juts started using the Winsor and Newton Synthetic Brushes, faux squirrel quill and the faux sable rounds, size 8 & 10. Hope that helps. T

My pleasure...I’ve done a couple of flamingo videos. That was a big oil painting from a few years ago...I’m sure they’ll creep in again at some point :) T

Hi ya Paige, great question. I totally feel your pain (ha!) Hey, I still throw the odd one across the room, and there are plenty that don't work out. I come from an oil painting and acrylic background. The hit rate and mindset of watercolour is completely different! It takes time to adjust, especially early on. Oils/acrylics - just keep throwing more paint at it until it looks good Watercolour - follow the process, don't overwork it or put too many layers down, there's a point where the painting says it's finished because you can't do anymore....and you will either like it or you won't (there will be many you don't) In watercolours favour is that it's a relatively quick medium, so whilst you may feel there are more failures, hopefully you can quickly move past them on on with the next painting, and therefore improve faster Just remember that not every painting will be a good one, but every painting will make you a better painter. In watercolour you can get lots of paintings under your belt quickly and therefore improve quickly. Juts take that time after each painting to really consider what it is you don't like? Where you struggled? Actively take those lessons into the next painting - so that you have a goal in mind with each painting. You will improve very quickly then! It sounds like you are at a certain stage where you are trying to really take it to the next level but are very frustrated. I was there not that long ago, and honestly you juts have to keep painting. It may not feel like it but those frustrations and your perceived failures are what will get you where you want to be. They are very necessary...and...however confident and accomplished you get, those times will come again, juts at a higher level - just keep pushing through them by painting!:) My confidence with watercolour has only really come in the last 1.5 - 2 years, and even more so the last few months. And I've been painting in watercolours a lot for a good 5 - 6 years - I've had students who have never tried watercolours (have painted before) before and within 3 years they are selling work and teaching themselves (not that should be everyones aim, but it was theirs!) It's all learnable!!:) So take your time, enjoy the process, actively learn and focus on what you want to improve going into to each painting. It will come eventually, it's all learnable and with confidence and experience we come the fluidity. In terms of time scale - everyone is completely different. Regular short painting sessions will get you there much faster than spaced out long ones. And the active thinking and learning with each painting will speed up the process :) It sounds like you are a committed and passionate painter, which I believe are the two key elements that will get there faster than anything else. As long as you are getting to the painting as much as is possible for your personally :) Hope that helps and gives you plenty of hope that you will get there, I am sure you will!! And so quickly you will look back in the not too distant future and vaguely remember those times when you really struggled ;)

Brilliant question. Brilliant answer.

@@tomshepherdartist Hi Tom, this was such a wonderful and encouraging letter, I've quite honestly copied and saved it to my computer. Thank you so much. I bet a lot of people struggle with this medium because it's so unforgiving (yet so thrilling and exciting!) and it's helpful to know a professional such as yourself went through challenging times. I think this medium will always be challenging; the more you learn the more you'll realize how much you DON'T KNOW lol. I often wonder how people (non-artists) go through their day without feeling the pure joy felt when painting a picture. :) Again, many many thanks for your thoughtful response and for this treasure trove of content on your channel. It's a great day-in-age when you can watch your favorite artists paint, and not just view their art in galleries while trying to guess at what they did to achieve a technique (pre-internet days). I think I will eventually get to where I want to be simply because I love painting so much. :-) And I also like your view of failed paintings being the best lessons and opportunity for growth. Boy I must have learned A LOT this past week. I created some real doozies lol. :)

@@paigek720 Hey Paige, I'm so pleased it helped!!:) Haha the realising how much you don't know stage - it even has a name, because it's part of a recognised cycle in psychology of learning. It's called "conscious unknowing" I think....it follows "unconscious unknowing", basically we're blissfully unaware of how little we know (ha!)...then we learn juts enough and know juts enough you then realise how little we know...don't worry, "conscious knowing" comes after this.....and then we cycle back round to the beginning, juts at a higher level!!!:) anyway...basically, it;s a necessary stage for all of us, and break throughs are not far away by the sound of it. As I said, you clearly love your painting (totally agree on the joy it brings!!;) and that will get you through it and ot the other side... And not always easy to view our perceived failures in a such a way, I still get frustrated at times, but if you can stay on that mindset as much as possible it really helps. I also find embracing the ones the don't work, and analysing them, makes me far more relaxed and care-free when painting (as opposed to uptight and desperate to create a master piece) - and watercolour loves us when we are in that carefree headspace!!!!:) Happy painting...I look forward to hearing how you get on over the next few months!!:!) T

@@tomshepherdartist Oh I bet the higher level is going to be tough but very rewarding. This is probably why people paint well into their 90's (as I hope to do!) because it's always a challenge, and there's no end point. Watercolors will always be out of our control and unpredictable to some level. This kind of reminds me of the Calvin and Hobbes comic (I don't know how popular that is in the UK) where he shouts at the stars, "I'm significant!" and then a few panels later he says, "..screamed the speck of dust". Everything to learn about watercolors is like the seemingly infinite number of stars. :) Thanks again for your time, I truly enjoyed chatting with you! Looking forward to exploring all of your Patreon content. Happy eartly Christmas to me LOL!

I’ve never find a way of doing it that I like...always an option though.

Hey Karin, that's strange that you can't see anything. I can;t see that you are a Patron at $10, it maybe that the membership didn't go through properly? T

Haha I did indeed...got to show the mistakes, don’t want people getting wrong idea

@@tomshepherdartist very nice work I respect you for that more over your personality is kind ..

Thanks tom

Appreciate the kind words!! T

🙌🏼

Thank you, have tried to sort this in more recent ones. T

Thank you...yes I learnt quite quickly from earlier videos that music is a distraction and pain for most part ha!!

Thank you...learning as I go!