What would be your TOP watercolour tip for others? Was there on of these that really helped you? ___________________________________________ Previous Watercolour Bites Episodes: 1) Basic Terms - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4icHxwdzQYQ.html 2) Colour vs Tone - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qnVjTLxivQI.html 3) Tonal Values (Part 1) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OE6itosi2Hw.html 4) Tonal Values (Part 2) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9A8s21LOpuA.html 5) Tonal Values (Part 3) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-y9h1qXH30Vs.html 6) Single Most Important thing in Watercolour - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1spfpfhqCuY.html 7) Simple Watercolour Process - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AbvleXlDoBw.html
Hi Tom a few I would add to your list 1) Get your colours ready and your washes ready before you start so that you’re not wasting time getting more out of the tube! 2) if you use watercolours in pans (ones that need to be activated with water) use a spray bottle to spritz them for a few minutes before you start. It will also save your brushes from scrubbing at them to get the colour out! I use a mix of pans and tubes, but invariably I have paint left over that dries, so I just spray it with water! 3) reference colour mixing, I spent time making colour mixing charts, just picking two random colours and mixing them in 25/75 and 50/50 strengths and diluting each mix down to create lighter versions of each. So I get a colour swatch of 12 different colours. I find it incredibly useful. I have them stuck on the wall where I work and I refer to them when I’m trying to find a certain colour and I can’t remember how to mix them. Ok I’ve finished now 🤣
Haha ...mine too! We’re all guilty of it I think..so never hurts to have a reminder! In fact I should have it tattooed on the back of my painting hand ...”stop fussing” 😆
I love the idea of loose watercolor paintings because it is opposite of my controlling personality. I have taken some watercolor classes, but none really touched on the advice and the techniques I need. Finding your channel is exactly what I needed to be inspired to do the type of painting I aspire to create. Thank you so much for your wonderful tutorials!
So pleased to hear you are finding the tutorial useful! Thats great...painting loose is so much fun, and I come from a very, very tight painting background! So learning to loosen up has been quite a journey for me!!:)
Thanks Tom, I love colour and I’m trying to use the colours I love rather than boring neutrals that I see so often. So now I’m having fun with colours and bold brush strokes, little and often. You are amazing, I’m thrilled I found your videos, thanks again. 😊😊🎨👩🏻🎨✏️
Escoda brushes are my absolute favorite, and I have brush envy! : ) I spent too much too quickly on too many things, and I think reminding people that less can be more is extremely important.
Just watched this today. I wish I’d seen it 18 months ago when I just started, as green as grass. Wish me luck as I try to focus and apply your tips , thanks. Love the sweater by the way.
Thank you Tom. From the way you talk I can see how sincere you are about loving watercolor. Best kind of teacher! So happy I discovered you a few days ago. More portraits please :)
Ahh, thank you for such a lovely comment. I am so pleased it comes across like that. I do love watercolour and I love sharing it with other people!!!:) More portraits to come!!:)
Hello Tom 🐝🐝 Here. What you have taught me is; learning to paint is not about copying the scene in front of me, instead studying what I see then implementing it in paint and most of all ENJOYING It!
Hi Tom Just want to thank you for such great info ! Love your clean fresh work and as an Illustrator I love all mediums and will come back to WC because of your great tutoring…. Just Subscribed as I know I will enjoy all your content and insight into art in general.Thanks 🇨🇦
Just discovered your channel today and as a total ‘Newbie’ to water colour , am enjoying these excellent videos very much indeed ! Honest, inspiring and clear to understand. Thank you ! 🤗🤗
Great essentials for sure. I think the best tip is try and be prolific as you said. The more you paint, the more you learn. The learning curve is not always going up! It's having the "oomph" to sit at another blank page after you've done (what you consider to be) a crappy painting. Thanks from Australia 😊
Hi Tom.....I’m a coloured pencil gal, but now & again ‘dabble’ in watercolour, which to be honest terrifies me! 😂 just found your channel, & seen you do a lot of animals ( my passion) so you’ve inspired me to get my pallet & brushes out & give it another go ... Thanks for the tips🙏🎨🖌
This is nice and concise, the precise reminder I needed Simplifying forms is hard for me as I began my artistic bent with drawing, very detailed drawing...must look for tones more as well, that’s for sure! Thanks for your video, Tom! Very helpful!
Thank you!!...I came from a very detailed, more drawing based background...simplifying forms has taken me a long time 😅 getting there though!!...thanks for your support and comments!!:)
Thank you, very wise words 🙏 I really need more confidence - and have to remind me - no success without try, no success without fail and - its just water, paper and paint (and YES, I'm worth it not only to buy good paper, but also to USE it), 😉
Oo yes, I like those....just water and paint is a great one!! And yes, you are worth it!!!☺️🙌🏼...confidence is the key to it all. But that too takes practice and time :)
@@tomshepherdartist West Wales, was it something we said? Seriously I hope you are very happy there. Keep us in the loop, I’m sure Jacky would like to see you again too. Jillxx
Top tips- don't fuss and little and often. I have painted almost daily for about 3-4 years. I have fussed and not fussed and finally, decided the less I fuss, the more I like the work. Slow learner? Maybe....
Haha I hear you on that...the less I do in painting, generally the more I like it...slowly starting to understand that, and even more slowly trying to implement it! T
hi Tom, what brushes would you recommend as a must have? I want to get myself decent quality brushes but I do need expert opinion as some can be so expensive, thank you for advise :)
Hi Renata, good question...there’s such an array out there. It wasn’t long ago that to get the best for water colour you would be looking at natural hair but these come with a price tag...nowadays the synthetic versions are unbelievably good, I only use synthetic ones these days and they are much cheaper, but very good quality. I would say a medium round mop, say a size 14 or 16 would be good. These can be lovely and soft and I have a Faux Squirrel Hair, Neptune by a Princeton brushes (really lovely brushes) and also an Escoda Ultimo... For finer details I then have a size 10 synthetic, that’s a little stiffer and springier. It’s just a Pro-Arte round. I honestly only use those brushes for 90% of my painting. You could go up a few sizes into a nice size 20mop for bigger work and also go down to a size 8 or 6 round for even finer detail... So in summary you could get away with a size 14 or 16 mop, and a size 10 round. But to expand a little maybe consider a size 6 or 8 and a size 20 or 22....great place to start then you can experiment and expand from there. Depending on how you like to work you may start to look at square brushes and riggers too. But the brushes above will so pretty much anything. I personally love Escoda Ultimo, Neptune by Princeton, and Pro-Arte. Just personal preference as there’s plenty of great brushes out there!! You can get a good range at affordable prices. Rosemary and Co have just released a synthetic series, I’ve not tried them but have heard good things:) Very generally, softer brushes are good for washes and calligraphy type marks. The stiffer springier brushes are easier for detail and a little more control. I hope that helps:) please feel free to ask more questions :) T
@@tomshepherdartist amazing reply! Thanks a lot. I have just started watching your videos and I absolutely love your technic. It will be probably a while before I could do anything near as good as yours but we all have to start somewhere 😉 I am looking forward to more of your lessons! Have a great New Year and all the best.
