Watercolour Workshop - Painting Birds

Come join me and watercolour enthusiasts from around the world as I take you step by step through a live online watercolour tutorial. Viewers can watch, or join in and replicate the steps while I explain some basic watercolour techniques, tips and recommendations.

Cost: £20.00

Duration: 120 Minutes

Platform: Zoom

Module 1, 45mins - Technique Lesson: Painting feathers, achieving a mottled plumage effect, how to give beaks and eyes detail

Module 2, 75mins - Main Demo: Painting a Larger Bird in Flight

If you'd like to join in, here are some items I'll be using - don't worry if you don't have these, it's just a guide for your reference:

Paper -

36x28cm, I recommend a cotton based paper, 300gsm - personally I prefer Saunders Waterford, Arches, Fabriano or even Bockingford. I use masking tape to keep it still on a board, which also leave a clean, crisp border once removed.

Brushes -

Chinese Caligraphy Brush - good for dry brushstrokes to achieve tail feathers and broken edges

Medium/Large Mop Brush - perfect for big areas such as sky and foregrond. Squirell hair is best as it holds the most water.

Medium Synthetic Brush - something with a fine point for medium sized areas and smaller details, i use Escoda Perla's

Rigger Brush - a longer thin brush, perfect for branches, railings and long thin lines

Paint -

Chinese White

Ivory Black

Neutral Tint

Cobalt Blue

Ultramarine Blue

Marine Blue

Turquoise

Yellow Ochre

Cadmium Yellow

Pyrrol Red

Burnt Sienna

Raw Sienna

Raw Umber

Vandyke Brown

Sepia

Sap Green

Hookers Green

Horizon Blue (opaque)

Lavender (opaque)

Brilliant Jaune (opaque)

Grey of Grey (opaque)

Titanium White (opaque)

I currently use and highly recommend Holbein Watercolour Paints

Other Equipment -

Water Pot - I usually use two, one to wash pigment out of a brush, a 2nd to load up with clean water

Atomiser - a fine mist water spray

Tissue - helps to dry a brush if needed, mop up drips

Hairdryer - to speed up the drying process

Pencil - for preliminary sketch

Masking Fluid - I use Brisk Blue Fineliner masking fluid

Palette - with several large wells  to ensure enough space for mixing

Sea Salt - We will use this to create the mottled plumage effect