Dragons: Day 2 – Watercolour Layout

Today was the first day I’ll be charging my Dragon-loving client. The first days of sketching were on postcards, to get me used to posing dragons; it is unfair to make a client pay for my early efforts, before I

A Watercolour Landscape

Here, I have a landscape in watercolour. It is pretty simple, and my intention here is to talk you through it. It is mostly made up of washes. A wash is a thin layer of paint that goes on and

Dragons: Day 1 – Initial Sketching

Last week I brought in a new commission, on the subject of great big winged flying majestic lizards – I’m going to be painting dragons. The client would like to replace a print over her mantelpiece, meaning it’s going to

How To: Tighten a Canvas

Canvas is a historic material for paint, and provides a pleasant surface to look on, but it is not completely stable. While modern materials allow for a fully synthetic weave, the traditional surfaces are still linen and the more modern

Allegro, Day 2

The second day of painting on the Allegro was slightly shorter than the first, but as I had folded the sketching time into the first, I can still face my conscience. At the end of the day I had done

Planning a Painting: First Sketches

Part of the process of making a painting is working out what will go where. Part of the process is working out what shapes it will be, and how the shapes interact. Sketches help with both of those. The first

Still Life, Roses and Reflections: Day 6

Day six of the painting was dedicated to the bottle, which has several reflections in it. The left-hand side reflects the brass, including the watch, and the right-hand side reflects the coffee pot. There are also shadows cast by the