QUICK & Simple WATERCOLOUR Birds Episode 9 - Wren & Foliage
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- čas přidán 5. 08. 2024
- A couple more British Garden birds in this series, then we're going to dive into some more exotic ones! This time round we're looking at a Wren. Wonderful little birds with the main thing to tackle being those lovely markings!
The colours for this painting were all from Holbein:
Carmine Red
Ultramarine Blue
Imidazilone Yellow
Quinacridone Gold (Daniel Smith)
Burnt Sienna
It was painted on Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolour paper (gummed block) with a size 14 & size 8 synthetic round brush.
Also a great source of copyright free images:
Pixabay.com
In this series we will be looking at using minimal equipment to create quick & simple, 10 - 20 minute, watercolour paintings of birds. The emphasis will be on lots of movement, character and letting the beautiful medium of watercolour just do it's thing! With just the odd hit of detail. These are going to be fun and expressive watercolours, full of life...and hopefully for everyone from total beginner to seasoned watercolourist.
As the series goes on I will be building on the these approaches, principles and tips, so please consider subscribing if this is your thing.
You can follow this new series here on CZcams, so be sure to like and subscribe. You can also follow on Instagram TV at the link below.
/ tomshepherdartist
If you're keen on deeper tutorials and much more behind the scenes goings one, hop over to my Patreon page. You can also show your support for this new series there too:
/ tomshepherdart
Other useful links:
www.tomshepherdart.com/
/ tomshepherdart
How to paint birds, particularly in watercolour. Wet into wet techniques in watercolours. Watercolor flying birds and watercolor perched birds, of all sorts, from tropical birds to garden birds, and everything in between. Garden Birds. UK birds. British Birds. Blue tit - Jak na to + styl
Sweet little bird...they have a lovely song when luring the female to a nest site!!!
I love your lessons. They are such a blessing and you are such fun and easy to listen to. Thank you, Tom. Missouri, USA
Ahh, thanks so much Michelle. Really appreciate the support! T
Love wrens!!ty❤
Wow!
Excellent lesson, even teaching us how to cover up mistakes. Definitely going to try this. Love Wren, small but sing better. Thank you very much🙏🌹🐦😇!
Thanks so much! Covering up and working with mistakes; a vital part of watercolour :) They are beautiful little birds...so glad you enjoyed it :)
Wow, beautiful!
Outstanding.
Using your techniques I finally produced a painting that I'm not unhappy with. American Goldfinch. Not as tight as my usual but not so loose that I lost control, which is what usually happens when I try for loose. I'm giving it to another patient at the cancer center. She likes birds.
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.
Congratulations .... beatufulllllll paintings
Thank you so much!!:)
Beautiful as always! The markings are challenging but I appreciate all the information.
Yes they are...I’ve painted many a wren before got the grips with markings! Simple and less is more always works :)
These birds are sooo fun & rewarding to paint even tho they are far from my goal. They look pretty good. I appreciate your talking us thru your process - it’s exactly what I need. Thank you for sharing
Thanks so much, Linda. So glad you’re enjoying them and getting something out of them. T
Thank Tom ,your videos are so good ,and easy to understand.
So pleased to hear. Thank you for the support. T
I've been following your watercolour bird series and I must say it is fantastic, you are an excellent artist, miracle worker, one of kind, your bird videos are at a regular pace and not sped up so they are easy to understand by my inexperience mind, hope you make more videos like this, perfect editing, to the point explanation.......as you can see a lot to say😅. Just keep up the good work and by the way MOST UNDERRATED CHANNEL EVER. Best of luck for the future.
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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Sehr gut gemalt
Thank you! T
beautiful painting, that's my favorite bird ! I just start watercolor today :s i hope I can try this painting one day !!
Just beautiful 👍❤
Thank you so much!!:)
Love it, again 🥰
Thank you!!!!!:) T
Lovely strokes... so expressive👏👏👌
Thanks so much!!☺️🙌🏼🙏
A really helpful video. Thank you!
So glad it helps! Thank you for the comment. T
Amazing, yeah I love your drawing style ¡
Thank you so much!!:) T
Having never taken lessons in watercolor painting of birds, my style is on the same track as yours but not nearly as fabulous. I've really learned so much watching your tutorials. Especially being even more loose and carefree with the background. Thank you for sharing! Simone
Thanks Simone. Nice to hear from a like minded artist. So pleased to hear you are getting something form the videos. T
Love your bird and love the colors! Thank you for the lesson on wash’s as well!
Thank you!:) Glad you enjoyed it. T
You are an excellent modern artist sir
Oh goodness. Never mind. There are emails that were in my spam folder. I bet that is the special content! Can't wait to check it out. Your birds rock!
Thanks so much...much more watercolour and bird related content to come very soon too :)
😍😍😍😍😍
Perfect blend of detail and suggestion of form. Thank you for sharing your talent!
Thank you so much! T
Another great tutorial, thank you! For some reason I found this one quite tricky - getting the right tones and consistency of paint, and working quickly enough wet into wet is a real challenge in the summer! Really enjoyed it, thanks for sharing with us!
Thanks Catriona! Yeah not easy, and especially with quick drying conditions!!:)
Wow! The strokes are just amazing! I should have watched this tutorial early on. 💕
☺️ thank you!! T
Tom, I am very, very new to water colour and have just stumbled across your channel. I am learning so much from you but also enjoy watching and hearing you describe the process. Thank you!
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
I've just found your channel and have been binge-watching all your bird videos.. I paint very tight and love detail, but I've been in love with Darren Woodhead's birds and have been practicing emulating the style as I would like to loosen up sometimes, and your paintings remind me so much of his work, they are lovely!
These videos have been great and watching your process is super helpful, thank you so much for sharing it.. It's also fabulous in my opinion that you will not edit out little errors, it's always nice to see different ways to tackle a problem; not to mention it also helps relieve the anxiety about not producing perfect work immediately and every time ;)
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
So perfect. You have inspired me. Thank you so much..
Ahh thank you so much!! That’s great to hear :) T
Happy to find you and I am here to stay … 🥰
Thanks so much for the kind words and support!:) T
Tom, you make your watercolor bird perfect. You succeeded the master of birds. Your strokes are dramatically right on. Love your WREN. Seriously still trying to keep my desire to paint:
Thanks for such a lovely comment! Keep the inspiration up!
¡Wow, excelente tutorial!! ¡Gracias por compartirlo!
Gracias, es mi placer! T
I watched the tutorial and started with some trepidation. So many things that could go badly wrong and most of them did! The most valuable lesson for me among so many was seeing you correct mistakes. It really inspires confidence. I ended up with a wren that is amateurish but clearly recognisable. So thank you for the tutorial, Tom.
I know I’m way behind and you might already have covered them but I could do with tips on painting with a light touch and colour matching. I watch the speed with which you mix minute amounts of the right colour with awe!
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!
I am in awe of what you are doing 🤩 . Thank you for sharing your talent :-)
Thank you so much for your kind words. Much appreciated:) T
The eye definitely brought it all together! Your videos have helped me learn about using watercolors better than any tutorial I’ve seen 💕 lovely work
The eye always makes it! That's so lovely to hear, thank you!!:)
wonderful thank you .
Thank you so much for this great tutorial! I can’t wait to paint it tomorrow. I especially love that you’re adding backgrounds. I never add them bc I’m scared to ruin the painting. 🙃
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!!!:)
Beautiful and grt tutorial thank you
Thank you!!:) T
Thank you my teacher
thanks 🙏
Thanks
Absolutely love wrens! Have them here in a Texas too. The flamingos in the background have me mesmerized! My favourite bird! Not many of those in Canada where I grew up or Scotland where my family is from. Love pink! I know there is a tutorial on my list from you somewhere! But that painting behind you is STUNNING! You are a fabulous artist! I must spread the word. Have shared with two other artist pals already...
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
This is the third video of yours I have watched and I am hooked. I love your little tips! And everything else! I painted a wren myself with pastels and a blue abstract background but somehow it doesn't look 'small'... Great to learn from you how you handled this topic.
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
Another wonderful lesson, I'm learning so much from you. I have struggled with bird wings and markings for ages and also my birds appearing static which is in fact opposite of what they are (especially wrens) :)
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 CZcams 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!
You're welcome!
❤
Stunning work! Great lesson!
However. I have doubts about its being "quick and easy" :) these are master strokes that come to you quickly and easily after 10 intense years of painting, I guess!!
Thank you. Ha, yes, you may well be right! :)
So nice
Thank you!:)
thanks
Would be nice to show your reference foto as you paint. Cafe Watercolor shows the ref. Foto small, the palette and your painting together on the screen, just a tip. So glad to have found your channel!
Thanks Linda, really appreciate the feedback, I am trying to bring exactly that into more recent videos :) thank you, T
Hi Tom, I hought this painting of the Wren would be easy. My problem is that I am impatient and I also forget to leave the wbite parts. I will keep trying. Love your style. If only I followed your instructions!
Hi Tom!! I loved this video. Thank you. New suscriber!!
Thanks so much!! I appreciate the support. T
And now Tom your painting style has moved on. Two years later your paintings are more freestyle and multicoloured. Amazing how we change. Although this bird is still good, I prefer your work of today. 🐝🐝
New subscriber here. Love your work 😁
Ahh, thank you so much!!:) T
Love watching you paint Tom thankyou for the tutorial but I would like to ask..I notice you have a different style to many with jagged, somewhat aggressive or maybe just a very confident brush stroke style..do you still find it relaxing? cheers from Western Australia
I love the way you paint. I never see you wet down the paper. Is this not wet on wet?
Mare
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
Lovely painting!Are you working outside?I hear birds in background.&what the hell is marmite?
Hi Tom. I’ve just started watercolour painting and love this series which I’m gradually working through. Love the way you demonstrate the painting techniques and I’m really pleased with my efforts so far! I’m looking for episode 10 and can’t obviously see it on youtube. Is it there and the title doesn’t show episode 10? Grateful if you can point me to it.
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
Great painting Tom as always. Would be really useful to see the reference photo you are using so you can see how you are interpreting it for us newbies ☺️
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 :)...
Hi Tom. Love the bird series and am anxious to try .. just wondered what paper you have used - gsm / cold pressed NOT?
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 :)
Thanks so much.Easy to follow.
But kindly mention d shades before starting the painting.Great tutorial.
Thanks so much. Will do so in future. Kind Regards, T
Love your videos... Really helpful for this beginner.. What weight of paper do you use?
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
Love this series… pls advise what paper you have used - gsm / cold pressed NOT ?
Hey Tricia, I answered this question of yours on another comment :) T
Hi Tom, I'm a new subscriber. I discovered your paintings on google and was over the moon that you actually have a full-on youtube channel with tutorials! I've learned so much already. I was wondering if you clean your pallet in between each painting, and if you do, why you prefer that over rewetting dry pigments. Does rewetting them damage their properties? Thanks!
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! :)
Hi. Thx for your videos! What do you mean by professional water color paper?
What paper do you use, if I may ask?
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 :)
Great demo, but for those with hearing issues, the music background is distracting.
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!!!☺️🙌🏼✨
Ps- can you add the link to the drawing? Unless I missed it!
You didn’t miss it!! I totally forgot...thank you...I’ll pop it up over the weekend :)
Thnx for ur videos....can u do the birds painting behind u...
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
Help! I can't find the line drawing!
Lovely demo sir. May I know the brand of the brushes you are using. Expecting your reply sir.
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
Hi Tom, I. have one more question and that's about being a frustrated student. I was wondering how long it took you to paint so effortlessly. As I follow along with these tutorials, everything I'm doing feels so awkward and effortful. My brush strokes lack the grace of yours, and I'm still getting down the color theory. When I took up oils years ago, I had a natural knack for them. With watercolors I feel like a fish on a bicycle. Will it continue like this for another year? Five? I'm still enjoying myself but I also can't help but feel disappointed in most of my paintings after they're complete. I've folded some into airplanes and winged them across the room lol
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!
Tom, can you help me figure out how to access my patreon stuff? I signed up for the $10 a month platform, but am not seeing any additional tutorials other then these free ones. I am sure it is all me, but I would love to see the other stuff 😀
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
Just white it out
I’ve never find a way of doing it that I like...always an option though.
Way to go dexter 😎 you screwed it up in the end
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
Se potessi farlo metterei 10 like 😮🤩
🙌🏼
The music makes it hard to hear you, much better with it off :-)
Thank you...yes I learnt quite quickly from earlier videos that music is a distraction and pain for most part ha!!
Your hand covers up your strokes..
Thank you, have tried to sort this in more recent ones. T
Your hand covers the brush strokes you are making. 🤷🏼♀️
Thank you...learning as I go!