If you want to paint a picture from a holiday photo, then this course is for you. So often we look at a view and think 'I'd love to paint that, but when we look closely we see all sorts of problems. ' The things we like are in the wrong place, or there's to many trees or buildings to make sense of and you give up before you start. This course will help you with your problem solving process when it comes to planning and painting a picture. Here I will show you how to break it down into manageable chunks. Use your artist's licence to move and add details. How to solve large expanses of 'green'. Make sense of masses of buildings. Alter perspective so the end result so it makes sense. Create great tree foliage effects with salt. This is a great course which will help you in so many ways, whatever you chose to paint. So take it slowly and follow the process, then when you have painted this scene you will be able to tackle your own special painting. Enjoy your painting, love Nicola

Stuck in learning watercolors? Tired of having your paintings look identical to you instructors, but unsure of how to progress a painting on your own? This course is the bridge to fill that gap between the need for instruction and the ability to follow and find your own style. We'll complete a full watercolor fox painting from start to finish, while learning color theory and key watercolor painting techniques along the way that you can take and apply to your own work. This painting encourages the use of important watercolor technical skill while allowing you that breathing room to start narrowing in on your own unique style. So grab your brushes, and let's learn watercolor skills while staying true to the vision the brought you here in the first place! Why choose me as your instructor? As a self-taught artist myself, I'm all too familiar with that stuck feeling.  Of not knowing how to progress a painting to that finished state.  I wanted to branch out on my own, and was tired of making paintings that looked like a rip off of my instructor's style.  But I didn't feel good enough to do it myself.  I also didn't know the key watercolor skills to help me get there. That's what this course is for.  I can walk you through the painting step by step, and you can simply follow along, or you can start to bring in your own inspirations as we progress through the more abstract sections of the painting. I use a friendly teaching style, after all, we're here to have fun , right?  But I also emphasize the proper techniques to give you that solid grounding you can stand on, and feel confident in bringing the skills you learn here to your next original masterpiece! So let's get started and paint something awesome together!

In the course we will concentrate on a particular painting by JMW Turner (the painting in the course picture). Many years ago when I stated out painting in watercolours I would look with envy at this painting wishing "if only"and,by learning the same techniques shown here,gradually I became more adept with my brushes and paint and by practicing every day I was able to produce more professional looking paintings Venice, Looking East from the Guidecca, Sunrise, 1819 This is just one name for this piece because no one can agree where exactly in Venice this is! The particular beauty of the painting makes it perfect as our reference and we only need to use 4 colors. You can do this course as often as you like, I would say if you do it at least 3 times you will have your very own JMW Turner masterpiece. We start by applying our washes and watching how they dry,we use a HAKE brush quite a lot,if you are not familiar with this brush you can watch the half hour free preview where I paint a full picture using only the HAKE,if this does not convince you on this brush nothing will. When we have finished the background and foreground washes we will build up the middle ground,dont worry if this sounds like too much,many of my students have painted superb pictures by painting along with me. The last thing we tackle is the boats at the front,we do this in a very impressionistic way which means it does not matter if we are accurate,it is all about the colors so come on in and give it a go,regards David Art is such a beautiful way to express yourself and as a watercolor artist for over 30 years I can not urge you enough to give painting in watercolors a try,I never get bored with the effects of the colors on my paper,I still learn new techniques in my work every time I paint something,it is such a free and easy medium and it is well worth the time and effort you may invest. To paint a watercolor picture is to escape into your own little world where nothing else matters and all your problems and worries can be forgotten, at least for a little while. To give your own watercolor painting as a gift could not be more rewarding,I never get bored with the expression on the face of a friend or family member when I present them with an original watercolor painting which I have painted specially for them. The medium of watercolor, for me, is the ultimate medium because even as a complete beginner you can achieve many effects using techniques which sometimes you are taught and sometimes you learn by complete accident which we call "happy accidents",such as when one color runs into another color and creates water marks or bleached paper,this is why sometimes I sit and watch the painting paint itself in front of my very eyes. Of course now and then it does not work out as I wanted it to but all I have lost is a little bit of paint pigment,a piece of watercolor paper and a little time so I put that piece of paper to one side and start again! Too many people have a go at painting with watercolors and think that they have to produce a perfect painting every time and they overwork the piece,desperate to get a finished painting to hang on their wall and of course they end up with a mess,get dispirited and give up announcing that they will never be an artist and so never paint again. I would like to show these people the hundreds of watercolor paintings that didn't work out for me because without making mistakes you can't improve.I keep all my paintings good and bad and I look at the failures quite often,in these failed paintings there is quite often a part of the painting that I really like and I try to remember which technique,which colors I used,which brush made a particular mark on the paper so I can use these same techniques in my future watercolor paintings. If I was stranded on a desert island,my watercolor kit would be the first thing I would wish for.

Create this magical landscape the fun and easy way in this to the point and easy instruction class.  I invite you to join me on this watercolour journey as we go through wash methods, different trees and those amazing distant mountains.  All you need are watercolour paints, watercolour paper and brushes and let's get to it.  I can't wait to see you succeed and be proud of the art you are about to make.

Many hours have been spent putting this course together and making it a success is my goal. Please leave feed back when you have completed the course. If your not happy with the course please let me know how I can improve it, I will do my best to do so. This is a 'learn through play' course and is very basic.  You will simply learn how to get the paint from the box via the brush and onto the paper. In this course I invite you to spend a few days in a camping. We will take our backpacks, a campervan and will enjoy the pure nature through watercolors. Here we will learn about: simple mixing colors creating distnace we will paint reflections on the water we will learn more about highlights and core shadows on objects we will enjoy a simple starry night in the woods and we will take a ride on a campervan how to simplify and make the most of the foreground Have you ever had problems painting landscapes in watercolor? Have you struggled to paint water, buildings and people? Then this course will help you! I'll show you how to paint some of these common elements of the landscape with confidence! I'll teach you how to paint water. You will learn some simple techniques that will help you paint great landscape paintings. No matter if you are a beginner or if you have a little experience of painting, this course will help you improve. Paint Along Step By Step With Me Let your creative side run wild. Make sure you use the Q&A for any questions you may have. When you Enroll on this workshop I will do my very best to help you succeed, enabling you to reach your full potential.

Many students message me with questions about how to find the right watercolor paints to tackle all the different skin and hair tones they encounter when painting their watercolor portraits. I have been painting professionally for nearly 30 years and in that time I have painted literally hundreds of watercolor portraits. Over this time I have developed a very limited palette of just 7 colors with which I use to paint every different color of hair and skin tone. In this,the first course in my new series "How to paint hair and skin tones, Course #1 Medditeranean/Middle Eastern" we start off in the introduction where I show you a sped up version of the course and I show you the very limited tools (just 7 colors and 3 brushes) which you will need to do this series of courses . Then I show you how to use tracedown paper to get an outline of your image and how to locate "landmarks" on your portrait. Masking fluid is then explained in detail before we dive into the watercolor painting. This course concentrates on hair color and texture and skin tone and texture using a very limited palette of colors,for ease of description I have classified it as Medditeranian / Middle Eastern. Using a photograph as reference I explain exactly how I achieve realistic portraits by using real time videos without editing anything out except for drying times .This means that you will learn,not only about the colors but you will also learn how I go about tracing,sketching and masking my work. I am always at hand to answer any questions you may have,just message me in the Q and A section. I will see you in the first lesson,cheers David

Hello and Welcome! In this class I'm going to show you how to paint Cinque Terre, Italy in watercolour. One of the things I struggled with as a beginner was learning how to loosen up my brushstrokes while preserving a sense of realism. I will show you a quick and simple process in simplifying details in a reference picture to turn this into a loose watercolour painting. This class will help you loosen up as well as go though some essential wet-on-wet watercolour techniques when painting boats, water, reflections and buildings. This class is for beginners to intermediate learners. You will need some watercolour paper, watercolour paints consisting of blue, yellow, red and green, a 3/4 inch, and number 6/12 flat brush, and a number 4 round brush. I'm looking forward to sharing my knowledge with you, so enroll in this class and you'll be producing some simple and beautiful paintings in no time.

Hello my dear friend! In this course I will share with you all my experience with eyes drawing and painting for portraits. Eyes are the most impressive part of human face and one of the most difficult for artists at the same time. I'll try to provide all information you need in simple words. You have a chance to see a whole process from sketch and analysis to final brushstrokes and accents. So, let's Rock!

EXTRA lecture added Are you ready to turn your painting passion to good use? Then get ready to have even more painting fun by up-cycling some of your pictures into cards to send on any occasion. So you have been busy painting away and are building up quite a collection of paintings of all different subjects and sizes . You may even have a folder of unfinished ones, disastrous ones and maybe ones that you might frame and exhibit or sell.....one day ! What ever you have wouldn't it be nice to recycle the ones which are hanging about into original greeting or holiday cards? Just think of the money you could save , how impressed your friends and family will be with an original hand painted and crafted card AND how some people may even want to buy them? I give you tips on how to cut up and even weave your paintings to give them a new lease of life Who knows you may even start a little business. How creative is that? So sort out your paintings, get ready to have some fun and let's get started.

This course is aimed at beginners in watercolour, and no previous painting experience is necessary at all. In this course, I show you six easy ways to capture a body of water in your nature journal, using watercolours, including the ripples, waves and reflections found on water. You can easily transfer this knowledge onto a different body of water, such as a dam or river, by changing the colours used. Keeping a watercolour nature journal is a fantastic hobby to have, and can be very satisfying. The emphasis is on capturing your memories, so once you know a few simple skills to illustrate various elements of nature, you'll be enjoying a new hobby and creative outlet. You don't need to travel to illustrate a nature journal - you can use your daily life and surroundings as fodder to fill your journal pages.