Kerrie Woodhouse's Blog, page 12

Art Challenges - Pros, Cons and How to choose the best challenge for you

What is an art challenge?

Art challenges come in all sorts of shapes and sizes but generally involve a commitment on the part of an artist to complete some sort of series of work over a period of time. An art challenge can be a great way to for any artist to improve their skills, build a body of work and can even be a fairly social activity.

There are a lot of good things about art challenges, but let’s be honest - that is only half the story. 

Before diving into an art challenge you might want...

World Watercolour Month and my 50th monthly painting series!

This is my 50th monthly painting series.

(I can’t quite believe that I just wrote that sentence!)

And quite serendipitously it just happened to be World Watercolour Month. I couldn’t think of a better way of celebrating my 50th monthly series than painting 31 paintings in 31 days alongside a myriad of other watercolour enthusiasts.

Want to see me painting them?

Scroll down below the gallery and I’ll show you…

How to use tonal values in painting a watercolor swan - step by step tutorial

This step by step tutorial will have you using tonal values in painting a watercolour swan in less than an hour. It is a quick fun project that is also tremendously helpful in building the skills you need in your painting arsenal.

Let’s begin!

   

By the way, I have a time lapse video of this whole painting which you can watch by scrolling down to the end of this post.

Step 1: Choose an image

Choose an image with a strong light source so that you have a good contrast of darks and lights to work...

How to add a watercolour background to your paintings

Choosing the right background for your watercolour painting can make or break the whole painting.

Don’t be alarmed though - even though the background is important, it doesn’t have to be complicated!

   

There are lots of options available to you and once you know what there is to choose from I am sure you will find the whole process of adding a watercolour background to your painting far less vexing than it might once have appeared.

How important is the background in a watercolour painting?

Ve...

Autumn Watercolour Paintings (and a cute surprise)

I have spent a glorious month painting autumn in watercolour. It is, by far, my favourite season. I had imagined that I would be painting autumn landscapes in watercolour and of course those beautiful autumn leaves.

But a total cutie popped up in one of my paintings this month - luckily I happened to be filming that one so you can see it for yourself at the end of this post.

 

Autumn no 4 - Autumn Shed (Watercolour on Paper 8” x 10”)

 

In my part of the world it is actu...

How to draw people for beginners (to add to your paintings)

Learning how to draw figures for beginners can be something of a daunting challenge.  If we are honest, it's not just beginners - I have met quite a few experienced artists that still have some reservations about drawing and painting a human figure. I have a few tips for the terrified to get you on your way, if you think you fall into this camp.

   Why add people to your paintings?

Many painters love the idea of adding people to their paintings.

Why wouldn’t they?

Pop a person into a painting...

How to Use Watercolour Tubes and Pans - Ultimate Guide for Beginners

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you buy something we may possibly get a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Figuring out how to use watercolour tubes and pans is often not the first hurdle for beginners… It’s actually choosing what paint you need to begin with!

Here are the answers to the questions I get asked most often about how to get started with watercolour painting and everything a new painter needs to know about the kind of watercolour paint that co...

Vineyard Landscape Paintings - Achieving a Balance in Everyday Life

Recently, I participated in my very first You tube challenge. It was a lot of fun! The challenge was to make some sort of art work using green gold. Well, that’s one of my paintbox favourites (yes, I do say that about so many of them).

To me green gold is the colour of sunlight dancing across grassy fields so I knew that I would have to paint some sort of landscape scene. I ended up painting a vineyard.

Want to see?

I paint because it makes me feel happy, and this...

Watercolor Problems - I hate my art… now what?

Have you ever turned out a painting that you hate? Of course you have - everyone does.

One of the watercolor problems that every artist needs to learn to solve is handling the paintings that they don’t think are good enough. It happens to us all, believe me.

   

Don’t be fooled by the Facebook effect where only the brightest shiniest versions of everyone’s life see the light of day. Even the most accomplished artist will turn out a painting or two that no one ever gets to see because they don...

How to paint a rooster in watercolour - instantly lift your mood!

Let me show you how to paint a rooster in watercolour… then you can tell me if it lifts your mood!

But really, I know the answer already. Choosing your painting subject can really change your painting experience.

Want to feel calm and relaxed? Try painting a few skies…. Or perhaps a calm sea.

Want to smile and feel the energetic light hearted side of life? Paint a chicken!

   

If you are feeling a bit down, there is nothing like a bit of painting to lift your moo...