Enjoyed watching you do this one. No problem with showing the odd mistake along the way and often it is very helpful to see how something can go wrong and how we can then go on to fix it. Thanks Smoothie for sharing the whole adventure with us.
+Tony Green You're welcome Tony, glad you enjoyed this one, I think its a lesson to us all about not overworking areas in our paintings and knowing just when to stop, thanks for the comment, much appreciated.
I'm SOOO glad you posted this one! I, too, am a fiddler and it's hard to see it in my own work when I overdo. It was very helpful to see you pointing out when the problems started evolving, as it helps me tremendously to recognize those moments. THANK YOU!!!
Hello smoothie77 ! Thank you very much for sharing your great skills. I'm from France, and I like it so much! By now I'm working on the graphite powder's style. I've spent a lot of time, looking at your videos, trying your tips. It's really very useful. You're an ARTIST ! I'm a fan !
The end painting is fine and the less detail in the for-ground and the more soft focused the for-ground, it will pull you right into the building which is the main focal point of the painting, nicely done painting and video.
Keep them coming mate; I'd say that your style of painting and choice of subject matter makes your postings some of the most interesting on the internet. Very informative and yes the volume was infinitely better than before. A lot of water-colour artists have that wishy-washy, loose look about them but your finished product has a better quality appearance. Congratulations.
+NickPenlee Thanks Nick, that's very kind of you to say, I guess we all have different taste when it comes to watercolour painting style, I do like loose watercolour very much, it looks great when done well, I just cant get results when painting in a loose style, glad to hear the volume has improved.
Thank you once again sir. I hope one day, my good work looks as good as your "repairs". I truly appreciate your presentation too; no two minute musical lead in and other nonsense. Additionally your audio is noticably better than in the older videos. I continue to look forward to seeing more and more of your work, keep up the great work.
I love that you post what you think are mistakes! And you are right, I know that I definitly can learn from what you are doing! It is so good to hear your thoughts about it! For me, it is just intimidating to always watch artists make everything perfect every single time! And I love that you didn't give up, but saved it, and I really loved how it turned out in the end!! Thank you!
Thank you Bitte, that's very kind and thoughtful of you to say, we all make mistakes and none of us are perfect, as long as we keep trying then its ok :)
Very nice! I think even the dark shadows in the foreground are believable and create a nice contrast. They could be cast shadows from some trees out of view. Great work!
Good rescue Smoothie. It's reassuring that someone with your experience can overwork a painting, but I think you rescued it nicely. I think the path leads one's eye into the cottage area. You couldn't make a crap painting if you tried! It's beautiful.
Thanks Mary, oh I've done plenty of bad paintings lol , i dont think any of us are immune to watercolour disasters if we are honest, I appreciate your kind words and support, thanks again:)
You almost had me in tears you sounded so despondent! Don't be so hard on yourself. It turned out fine. l have learnt so much from you and if l can do a painting half as good as this I'd be delighted. .
LOL, sorry Angela, I didn't think the video would bring people to tears, I must admit though...it nearly had me in tears too :) I agree it turned out fine in the end, Thank you so much for your kind comment, its very much appreciated!
I agree with everyone else smoothie, I learnt so much from this not just the techniques which as always are flawless, but from your unhappy accident at the end and how you rescued it. I was almost in tears but do you know I think it was the most important lesson I gave learned in the many hours watching you and I like your humility and fearlessness in showing us all it can happen even to you Maestro x
Its not the first time and it wont be the last, but as long as I can do something to save them, its all good, thanks for the kind encouragement Margaret :)
smoothie77 I've started on the line drawing for the Belgian canal, slow and steady for this one. The graphite is really good for me it doesn't hurt my hands like the pastel pencils did and they are much easier to sharpen! Which is a huge factor x
I am so glad you shared this video. It is, in some ways, more informative than videos that don't show what can happen. Thank you for the "truth" in art. And I believe your landscape is beautiful!
The painting turned out wonderful, I'm so happy you were able to salvage it. I've learned so much from your videos and am very grateful, thank you. Your patience and attention to detail are exemplary and each finished product reflects that. The volume.of your voice was much much better in this one than the one when you drew this. I had no trouble hearing you at all. Love your real time videos, but understand how difficult they can be due to time constraints. Looking forward to more!!
Thank you Robert, that's a very thoughtful and considerate comment, I appreciate it very much, I'm pleased you were able to hear me better, more videos are on the way, hopefully with good audio, I do tend to mumble when I'm painting in real time, I get so focused on the painting and I forget to speak louder :)
I so agree that every painting is not a success. I am encouraged from you that I am not the only one suffering from it. But sufferin, or learning from our struggles is how we learn to be better
Hello smoothie77 , wonderful work, incredible, beautiful watercolor. since i know you, i have change my way of drawing and painting. Thanks a lot ....:-) for me, you"re my " best "artist . Many thanks again
Hello smoothie77 , wonderful work, incredible, beautiful watercolor. since i know you, i have change my way of drawing and painting. Thanks a lot ....:-) for me, you"re my " best "
Good recovery. I like the effect of the Pencil/ Watercolour Wash. I was trying to think what it reminded me of and finally got it; my grandfather used to hand colour black and white photographs. The final result is very similar.
I have only recently discovered your tutorials but find them extremely informative and inspiring. Your simple and modest approach encouraging and welcoming. My usual medium,as quite new to painting,is pastel,but I will be hopefully be trying watercolor very soon. Excellent drawing/painting,please keep up the good work.
+Garry Inman Hi Gary, very kind of you to say, I hope you find lots of tips and inspiration on my channel to help you with your watercolours, I try to post new videos every week, many thanks for commenting its very much appreciated.
Hi Smoothie, Great video and terrific save on the piece. I wish I had a nickle for every watercolor I've tossed in the trash. It happens and your finished product looked great. Thanks again!
An incredibly detailed drawing. I liked your glazing techniques. I might have been tempted to just crop the bottom an inch but hey, who am I?!!!! I would have been thrilled to produce such an accomplished watercolour!
Thanks Jane, I agree, it would better with an inch cropped of the bottom, I think if I ever frame it I will try and hide an inch or two with the mount card, thanks for the comment.
Whow! I think that's a wonderful picture and I'd have that above my fireplace any day. Love your work. Most interesting the layering technique of colours. Its inspiration for me to get on with my work. Thanks for posting this video but I really do think its brilliant work.
Enjoyed this one. It's always the foreground that goes wrong with my paintings. I always overpaint too but am gradually getting better at making each mark count. Am gonna try glazing up layers. Thanks for all the tips
Thanks Linda, glad you liked this one, foregrounds have always been a problem for me too, I think a lot of people struggle with it , I have a video coming up soon where I talk more about glazing, thanks for the comment.
I have to say, I am new to your channel, but I love how you use colors. I love how you always set up the composition, and your drawing is absolutely wonderful! I wish I could draw like you. I can spend a long time just mesmerizing your work. :)
Thanks for the kind words, hopefully you can pick up a few tips on my channel that will help you draw in a similar style, thanks for commenting, much appreciated:)
Had a go this afternoon! All went fairly well,and I was quite pleased with my Oast houses,then like you I completely messed up the foreground! I think I was feeling too confident! Anyway I did the unforgivable and washed the bottom of my paper,dried it and used Chinese white!!! I'll have another go,as Frank says.....you pay for both sides of your paper!!!!
Pleased to hear it went well, I always struggle with foregrounds in watercolour, at least you had a go and you get a second chance with the foreground after washing it off, if that fails...go with what Frank said lol, I do :)
A very honest account, Smoothie - but you really are a little hard on yourself. You are right when you say that we've all ruined paintings! This one wasn't ruined in reality, but you improved what you thought was an imperfect painting and now it looks the equal of any on You Tube. I, and I'm sure along with many others, do appreciate the efforts you go to and your descriptions. Thanks again, another delightful painting.
You are most welcome Tony, Its always nice to know that people appreciate what I do, it works both ways, I very much appreciate all the support and wonderful comments I receive, but the truth is, its a real pleasure for me to make these videos and communicate with people around the globe, sharing ideas, tips, etc, Yes, I guess I was little hard on myself, its often said "we are our own worst critics" I'm certainly guilty of that at times :) Thanks for taking the time to view and comment, always appreciated!
we are always our own worst critics , being from an artistic background ( my dad ) I think you saved it beautifully . it makes me want to walk up to it . so I believe it's absolutely gorgeous!!!. but i do understand what you meant about overworking a piece. i do it too but I'm a beginner in watercolor. I am a stickler for detail as well.
I think it's brilliant, as is all your painting. Thank you for continuing with it as I think you pulled it back just great, you maybe don't think so, but I do.. Would also like to see two more tips from you, as I watch the video I notice the light changes on the picture, is this because you are waiting for it to dry first, I kind of get confused as what is wet into wet with it, can you show us the difference between a glaze and a wash, sound is great for me, well done and can't wait for the next one..
+Steve Beard Thanks Steve, yes when the light changes it means the paint has dried, it look very noticeable when there's a cut in the video as I wait for the paint to dry. (watercolour always dries lighter). Wet into wet simply means wet paint is applied on to paper that is already wet with paint or water, I will talk about the difference between glazes and washes in more detail in another video, it simply means a wash is a coat of paint, and a glaze is a thin wash of paint that is applied over one or several areas of dry paint to glaze over and tint the paint underneath, hope that helps.
Love your style, like so many of us I can paint (sort of) but can't draw very well, so one request TEACH US TO DRAW, BTW, I can't see anything wrong with this painting. Can't wait for your next vid. Just wish I had found your channel earlier than a couple of day's ago, Happy Drawing and Painting.
Hi Old Timer, glad you like my videos, I have done several "how to draw" videos on various subjects, you may find them useful, I will be making lots more "how to" and drawing videos in the near future, thanks for your comment, much appreciated.
I hope you don't mind me asking - How do you paint if you can't draw? Do you trace the picture and draw in the highlights etc like paint by numbers? Do you have trouble knowing where to place shadows if you only draw in outlines?
Hi Ramo, personally I tend not to trace, I have in the past and I don't have a problem with anyone that likes to trace, I think its good way to learn how to draw to start with, or just to save time, as long as you don't become dependent on it and you learn to draw free hand and allow your drawing skills to develop then its ok, or if you have no interest in drawing but you just want to paint then yeah go ahead and trace, its not illegal ! lol , I have a video coming up soon about glazing and creating shadows you may find it helpful.
Ramo, I didn't say that I could not draw, what I said was, I don't draw very well, not up to smoothie77 standards, I am an oil painter and you don't need detailed drawings for that, just some quick outlines, and yes I know all the rules about shadows and perspective, as for tracing, never traced a picture in my life, and never used tracings to do my art. But there is nothing wrong with tracing, (as smoothie77 said), even the old guy's used tracing as such in there art, eg:- Canaletto and Joshua Reynolds used a device called a camera obscura , which projected the image onto paper or canvas, that is also a form of tracing. Michelangelo used cartoons then traced them onto the cysteine chapel ceiling, So to my way of thinking there are no rules in art. you use whatever it takes to get the job done. hope this answers your question.
Wow I hope my mistakes end up looking that amazing! You are great at explaining your colour mixes and it's really helpful for beginners like me to be able to see the paint as you are mixing it so thank you for that. I am struggling with which colours to mix together so any tips would be appreciated or a list of ones you use regularly together. I did say I was a total beginner didn't I lol thank you for sharing your talent, I spend hours watching you. I need to know more bout your patreon thing too.
Hi Suzanne, thanks again for you nice comment, I have videos on youtube that show my watercolour supplies and the colours i use, also there is a colour mixing video on patreon, unfortunately its paid content, for $4 a month you can access all the videos on patreon, a lot are about graphite drawing with a few about watercolours and its growing all the time :)
Thank goodness you decided to show this,I have learned a lot from it. I'm totally fascinated by your style,can you tell us what pencils you used? I have always used minimum pencil strokes,as long as the perspective was correct on buildings etc,but now can't wait to have a go at your particular style.Thank you so much for the tuition,by the way the sound was perfect.
Hi Carol, you're very welcome, for the drawing I used a HB and 2B pencil, I don't like to go too dark with the pencil and wash technique because the softer graphite can smudge into the washes causing a muddy effect if you're not careful, glad the sound was ok.
Hey, really nice demonstration! I actually liked that you showed us the video even its not peferct. Those things happen to all of us I think, so I like to hear that its normal. I just messed up a colored pencil drawing, because I changed my paper and my technique didn´t work anymore... The painting is still awsome. I love this graphite/ water color technique. Because I am more into animal painting/ drawing I was wondering if you would suggest this technique for animals as well...
Thank you, yes we all make mistakes its not such a bad thing as long as we learn from them :) I would imagine this technique would work for animal paintings, it might not look so vibrant as coloured pencil but with your skills and talent you would make a great job.
I think you did just fine ,maybe if you dried it before another layer was applied,regardless looks beautiful you pulled it back and that's the main thing,there is a product called magic eraser it's found in the supermarket cleaning isle ,it's safe to use to lift areas out ,it's a very fine abrasive ,mistakes are a valuable lesson that we can all learn from.
+Maria Kellner Thank you for the kind words and advice Maria, I do keep meaning to get a magic eraser, could of put it to good use on this one, everyone please take a look at Maria's watercolour website, her paintings are incredible, she has invented a new product called colour previewers, check them out at www.marylkaart.com
thanks for doing this scene in colour... was very informative as to how to separate the buildings into their own distances... don't worry about posting vids when things go wrong, it's a lesson for us all too! lol. glad you rescued it in the end though :) question; would glazing another thin layer of yellowish mix help to brighten a dull foreground more, or would it be best to leave it pale...? -i've had the same thing happen with a painting as this, and been temped to try and brighten it further, but resisted the urge... have you tried it, or would that be back to 'fiddling'?! lol :)
+shellelodge Hi, thanks for the nice comment, That's good question regarding glazing, Its hard to say without seeing the painting, if the foreground is too dull and dark, glazing might make it worse, but if the foreground isn't too dark and just looks light and washed out, then glazing would help, I would go easy and mix a very weak mix of yellow and see what effect it gives and take it from there, applying a second glaze if needed, also the yellow you use will make a difference too, cad yellow is opaque and could look muddy if applied too strong. hope that helps :)
thanks for getting back to me :) i'd say that it usually looks about the same as you managed to rescue in this one... ('it' being i've had a few paintings that i've had this happen to over the years! lol) i tend to use either lemon or indian yellow tbh, keeping yellow ochre and cad yellow for first glazes, due to the opacity, to try and avoid the mud! lol i usually stopped at one 'introducing the colour back in' glaze, but just wondered as to your experiences in doing additional strengthening glazes... :)
+shellelodge My usual approach is to always start with lighter than normal washes and build up slowly, that way I tend to avoid a lot of disasters, another trick I use is to test colours on scrape paper first, I can then test the glaze over the colours on the scrape paper to see if they will work, you could roughly sketch the foreground colours on a separate piece of paper then test the glazes over that before you apply then to your paper, also have you seen Maria Kellner's colour previewers, they look just the job, I have put a link on the comment I made to Maria here in the comments,
+Victoria Tucker Thanks Victoria, its a pleasure to share these demos with you all even if there are a few mistakes here and there, thanks for the support and the nice comment.
It would certainly make a nice painting, a lot of work involved in that scene, it's something I will consider for a future demo, thanks for the suggestion Tyler, much appreciated
Very inspiring Sir, I have collectet many photos of old Ceylon as it was hundred years ago, landscapes with mountains, rivers and elephants, woul it be possible to create a drawing and painting video of such landscapes ?I could send some photos to you via email
Hello smoothie77 , wonderful work, incredible, beautiful watercolor. since i know you, i have change my way of drawing and painting. Thanks a lot ....:-) for me, you"re my " best "artist . Many thanks again
Hello smoothie77 , wonderful work, incredible, beautiful watercolor. since i know you, i have change my way of drawing and painting. Thanks a lot ....:-) for me, you"re my " best "artist . Many thanks again
Hello smoothie77 , wonderful work, incredible, beautiful watercolor. since i know you, i have change my way of drawing and painting. Thanks a lot ....:-) for me, you"re my " best "artist . Many thanks again
Hello smoothie77 , wonderful work, incredible, beautiful watercolor. since i know you, i have change my way of drawing and painting. Thanks a lot ....:-) for me, you"re my " best "artist . Many thanks again
Enjoyed watching you do this one. No problem with showing the odd mistake along the way and often it is very helpful to see how something can go wrong and how we can then go on to fix it. Thanks Smoothie for sharing the whole adventure with us.
+Tony Green You're welcome Tony, glad you enjoyed this one, I think its a lesson to us all about not overworking areas in our paintings and knowing just when to stop, thanks for the comment, much appreciated.
I'm SOOO glad you posted this one! I, too, am a fiddler and it's hard to see it in my own work when I overdo. It was very helpful to see you pointing out when the problems started evolving, as it helps me tremendously to recognize those moments. THANK YOU!!!
Hello smoothie77 ! Thank you very much for sharing your great skills. I'm from France, and I like it so much! By now I'm working on the graphite powder's style. I've spent a lot of time, looking at your videos, trying your tips. It's really very useful. You're an ARTIST ! I'm a fan !
Thank you Sebastien for your kind comment, I'm glad you find my videos useful, its nice to receive comments like yours, it makes my day :)
Excellent picture well done you saved it by going back in and re working. I only wish I could turn out work like yours
The end painting is fine and the less detail in the for-ground and the more soft focused the for-ground, it will pull you right into the building which is the main focal point of the painting, nicely done painting and video.
Thanks Ian, much appreciated.
Your videos are always worth watching. They are head and shoulders above others. I have learnt so much.
Thank you Ken, that's very kind of you to say, much appreciated, I'm pleased to hear you are learning from them.
Keep them coming mate; I'd say that your style of painting and choice of subject matter makes your postings some of the most interesting on the internet.
Very informative and yes the volume was infinitely better than before.
A lot of water-colour artists have that wishy-washy, loose look about them but your finished product has a better quality appearance.
Congratulations.
+NickPenlee Thanks Nick, that's very kind of you to say, I guess we all have different taste when it comes to watercolour painting style, I do like loose watercolour very much, it looks great when done well, I just cant get results when painting in a loose style, glad to hear the volume has improved.
Thank you once again sir. I hope one day, my good work looks as good as your "repairs". I truly appreciate your presentation too; no two minute musical lead in and other nonsense. Additionally your audio is noticably better than in the older videos. I continue to look forward to seeing more and more of your work, keep up the great work.
+Christopher Hasty Thanks Christopher your nice comment is very much appreciated, pleased to hear the audio is better.
I love that you post what you think are mistakes! And you are right, I know that I definitly can learn from what you are doing! It is so good to hear your thoughts about it! For me, it is just intimidating to always watch artists make everything perfect every single time! And I love that you didn't give up, but saved it, and I really loved how it turned out in the end!! Thank you!
Thank you Bitte, that's very kind and thoughtful of you to say, we all make mistakes and none of us are perfect, as long as we keep trying then its ok :)
Very nice! I think even the dark shadows in the foreground are believable and create a nice contrast. They could be cast shadows from some trees out of view. Great work!
I would be more than happy with that I wish I could turn out work like that well done.
Good rescue Smoothie. It's reassuring that someone with your experience can overwork a painting, but I think you rescued it nicely. I think the path leads one's eye into the cottage area. You couldn't make a crap painting if you tried! It's beautiful.
Thanks Mary, oh I've done plenty of bad paintings lol , i dont think any of us are immune to watercolour disasters if we are honest, I appreciate your kind words and support, thanks again:)
It looks beautiful!
You almost had me in tears you sounded so despondent! Don't be so hard on yourself. It turned out fine. l have learnt so much from you and if l can do a painting half as good as this I'd be delighted. .
LOL, sorry Angela, I didn't think the video would bring people to tears, I must admit though...it nearly had me in tears too :) I agree it turned out fine in the end, Thank you so much for your kind comment, its very much appreciated!
I agree with everyone else smoothie, I learnt so much from this not just the techniques which as always are flawless, but from your unhappy accident at the end and how you rescued it. I was almost in tears but do you know I think it was the most important lesson I gave learned in the many hours watching you and I like your humility and fearlessness in showing us all it can happen even to you Maestro x
Its not the first time and it wont be the last, but as long as I can do something to save them, its all good, thanks for the kind encouragement Margaret :)
smoothie77 I've started on the line drawing for the Belgian canal, slow and steady for this one. The graphite is really good for me it doesn't hurt my hands like the pastel pencils did and they are much easier to sharpen! Which is a huge factor x
Excellent Margaret, yes, slow and steady especially with the buildings to get the perspective right, all the best and Happy drawing!
I am very happy that I found your channel. So many can learn from you. Everything is detailed and clear. Very helpful. Thank you)
Thank you! that's very kind of you to say, I'm so pleased you find my channel helpful, thanks for taking the time to view and comment.
I am so glad you shared this video. It is, in some ways, more informative than videos that don't show what can happen. Thank you for the "truth" in art. And I believe your landscape is beautiful!
Thanks bj, that's very kind of you to say, much appreciated.
The painting turned out wonderful, I'm so happy you were able to salvage it. I've learned so much from your videos and am very grateful, thank you. Your patience and attention to detail are exemplary and each finished product reflects that. The volume.of your voice was much much better in this one than the one when you drew this. I had no trouble hearing you at all. Love your real time videos, but understand how difficult they can be due to time constraints. Looking forward to more!!
Thank you Robert, that's a very thoughtful and considerate comment, I appreciate it very much, I'm pleased you were able to hear me better, more videos are on the way, hopefully with good audio, I do tend to mumble when I'm painting in real time, I get so focused on the painting and I forget to speak louder :)
It's perfect now, I think that by re working the foreground you have improved the balance of the picture, I love it and thank you for this demo
Thanks Paul, kind of you to say, I appreciate your comment.
I so agree that every painting is not a success. I am encouraged from you that I am not the only one suffering from it. But sufferin, or learning from our struggles is how we learn to be better
I agree, every failure is a stepping stone to success.
Hello smoothie77 , wonderful work, incredible, beautiful watercolor. since i know you, i have change my way of drawing and painting. Thanks a lot ....:-) for me, you"re my " best "artist . Many thanks again
+serge massa thanks for the kind words serge, much appreciated.
Hello smoothie77 , wonderful work, incredible, beautiful watercolor. since i know you, i have change my way of drawing and painting. Thanks a lot ....:-) for me, you"re my " best "
Good recovery. I like the effect of the Pencil/ Watercolour Wash. I was trying to think what it reminded me of and finally got it; my grandfather used to hand colour black and white photographs. The final result is very similar.
I have only recently discovered your tutorials but find them extremely informative and inspiring.
Your simple and modest approach encouraging and welcoming.
My usual medium,as quite new to painting,is pastel,but I will be hopefully be trying watercolor very soon.
Excellent drawing/painting,please keep up the good work.
+Garry Inman Hi Gary, very kind of you to say, I hope you find lots of tips and inspiration on my channel to help you with your watercolours, I try to post new videos every week, many thanks for commenting its very much appreciated.
Hi Smoothie,
Great video and terrific save on the piece. I wish I had a nickle for every watercolor I've tossed in the trash. It happens and your finished product looked great. Thanks again!
Thanks Barry, it happens to all of us, I have certainly had my fair share of watercolour right offs, its nice to be able to save one once in a while.
i think it turned out perfect. art is relative perfection subjective. well done.
+christy hannah Thanks Christy, much appreciated.
An incredibly detailed drawing. I liked your glazing techniques. I might have been tempted to just crop the bottom an inch but hey, who am I?!!!! I would have been thrilled to produce such an accomplished watercolour!
Thanks Jane, I agree, it would better with an inch cropped of the bottom, I think if I ever frame it I will try and hide an inch or two with the mount card, thanks for the comment.
Whow! I think that's a wonderful picture and I'd have that above my fireplace any day. Love your work. Most interesting the layering technique of colours. Its inspiration for me to get on with my work. Thanks for posting this video but I really do think its brilliant work.
Thank you Graeme, that's very kind of you to say, glad it gave you some inspiration, thanks for the comment, much appreciated,
Enjoyed this one. It's always the foreground that goes wrong with my paintings. I always overpaint too but am gradually getting better at making each mark count. Am gonna try glazing up layers. Thanks for all the tips
Thanks Linda, glad you liked this one, foregrounds have always been a problem for me too, I think a lot of people struggle with it , I have a video coming up soon where I talk more about glazing, thanks for the comment.
Great demo smoothie, wonderful work and the volume is just fine now. Thank you.
+nosineb Thanks for letting me know the volume is better now, glad you liked the demo.
I would never have known - it looks wonderful!!
Thanks Liz, kind of you to say :)
I have to say, I am new to your channel, but I love how you use colors. I love how you always set up the composition, and your drawing is absolutely wonderful! I wish I could draw like you. I can spend a long time just mesmerizing your work. :)
Thanks for the kind words, hopefully you can pick up a few tips on my channel that will help you draw in a similar style, thanks for commenting, much appreciated:)
HQ video and tutorial. Thanks again smoothie77.
You're welcome Lee, thanks for the comment, much appreciated
Had a go this afternoon! All went fairly well,and I was quite pleased with my Oast houses,then like you I completely messed up the foreground! I think I was feeling too confident! Anyway I did the unforgivable and washed the bottom of my paper,dried it and used Chinese white!!! I'll have another go,as Frank says.....you pay for both sides of your paper!!!!
Pleased to hear it went well, I always struggle with foregrounds in watercolour, at least you had a go and you get a second chance with the foreground after washing it off, if that fails...go with what Frank said lol, I do :)
Thank you for sharing. It is useful to get all the information. Especially when things don't go as planned..
Thanks Grace, glad it was useful, thanks for the comment, much appreciated .
You are a great artist and I love your technique using watercolor over pencil drawing. I would like to see you using it for a portrait.
Thanks that's kind of you to say, I'm not good at portraits but might try one in the future.
looks great to me ! like your style of painting !
+glen miller Many thanks Glen, I appreciate the comment.
adorable art, I would like to see the whole process in a iceland art, it would be amazing, thank you for showing us your work
Thank you, I never drawn an Iceland scene before, it would be interesting to try.
A very honest account, Smoothie - but you really are a little hard on yourself. You are right when you say that we've all ruined paintings! This one wasn't ruined in reality, but you improved what you thought was an imperfect painting and now it looks the equal of any on You Tube. I, and I'm sure along with many others, do appreciate the efforts you go to and your descriptions. Thanks again, another delightful painting.
You are most welcome Tony, Its always nice to know that people appreciate what I do, it works both ways, I very much appreciate all the support and wonderful comments I receive, but the truth is, its a real pleasure for me to make these videos and communicate with people around the globe, sharing ideas, tips, etc, Yes, I guess I was little hard on myself, its often said "we are our own worst critics" I'm certainly guilty of that at times :) Thanks for taking the time to view and comment, always appreciated!
Hello smoothie77 , wonderful work, incredible, beautiful watercolor. since i know you, i have change my way of drawing and painting.:-)
Thank you for the info Smoothie,just off to set up my paper and board! Very prompt reply,I appreciate it. I'll let you know the outcome!!
Happy painting :)
I like the end result, but I loved the, (what you called a mess) ! We are our own worst critics. And yes, I did get a lot out of it. Thank you.
I agree we are our own worst critics, but I am glad you got something out of it, I think its reassuring to know we all make mistakes:)
Beautiful, well done!
+Larry Nelson Thanks Larry, much appreciated.
Suas obras de arte são simplesmente fantásticas..... parabéns professor
wow....i like its now,thank you,love art
Thank you Nill, kind of you to say.
we are always our own worst critics , being from an artistic background ( my dad ) I think you saved it beautifully . it makes me want to walk up to it . so I believe it's absolutely gorgeous!!!. but i do understand what you meant about overworking a piece. i do it too but I'm a beginner in watercolor. I am a stickler for detail as well.
Thanks Jo, so true we are most certainly our own worst critics, glad you like this one, thanks for commenting, much appreciated:)
so very welcome =)
It is brill wish mine came even a smidge close to yours
Thanks, that's very kind of you to say.
I think it's brilliant, as is all your painting. Thank you for continuing with it as I think you pulled it back just great, you maybe don't think so, but I do.. Would also like to see two more tips from you, as I watch the video I notice the light changes on the picture, is this because you are waiting for it to dry first, I kind of get confused as what is wet into wet with it, can you show us the difference between a glaze and a wash, sound is great for me, well done and can't wait for the next one..
+Steve Beard Thanks Steve, yes when the light changes it means the paint has dried, it look very noticeable when there's a cut in the video as I wait for the paint to dry. (watercolour always dries lighter). Wet into wet simply means wet paint is applied on to paper that is already wet with paint or water, I will talk about the difference between glazes and washes in more detail in another video, it simply means a wash is a coat of paint, and a glaze is a thin wash of paint that is applied over one or several areas of dry paint to glaze over and tint the paint underneath, hope that helps.
Love your style, like so many of us I can paint (sort of) but can't draw very well, so one request TEACH US TO DRAW, BTW, I can't see anything wrong with this painting. Can't wait for your next vid. Just wish I had found your channel earlier than a couple of day's ago, Happy Drawing and Painting.
Hi Old Timer, glad you like my videos, I have done several "how to draw" videos on various subjects, you may find them useful, I will be making lots more "how to" and drawing videos in the near future, thanks for your comment, much appreciated.
thanks smoothie77, already watched some of them, looking forward to the next one's.
I hope you don't mind me asking - How do you paint if you can't draw? Do you trace the picture and draw in the highlights etc like paint by numbers? Do you have trouble knowing where to place shadows if you only draw in outlines?
Hi Ramo, personally I tend not to trace, I have in the past and I don't have a problem with anyone that likes to trace, I think its good way to learn how to draw to start with, or just to save time, as long as you don't become dependent on it and you learn to draw free hand and allow your drawing skills to develop then its ok, or if you have no interest in drawing but you just want to paint then yeah go ahead and trace, its not illegal ! lol , I have a video coming up soon about glazing and creating shadows you may find it helpful.
Ramo, I didn't say that I could not draw, what I said was, I don't draw very well, not up to smoothie77 standards, I am an oil painter and you don't need detailed drawings for that, just some quick outlines, and yes I know all the rules about shadows and perspective, as for tracing, never traced a picture in my life, and never used tracings to do my art. But there is nothing wrong with tracing, (as smoothie77 said), even the old guy's used tracing as such in there art, eg:- Canaletto and Joshua Reynolds used a device called a camera obscura , which projected the image onto paper or canvas, that is also a form of tracing. Michelangelo used cartoons then traced them onto the cysteine chapel ceiling, So to my way of thinking there are no rules in art. you use whatever it takes to get the job done. hope this answers your question.
Wow I hope my mistakes end up looking that amazing! You are great at explaining your colour mixes and it's really helpful for beginners like me to be able to see the paint as you are mixing it so thank you for that. I am struggling with which colours to mix together so any tips would be appreciated or a list of ones you use regularly together. I did say I was a total beginner didn't I lol thank you for sharing your talent, I spend hours watching you. I need to know more bout your patreon thing too.
Hi Suzanne, thanks again for you nice comment, I have videos on youtube that show my watercolour supplies and the colours i use, also there is a colour mixing video on patreon, unfortunately its paid content, for $4 a month you can access all the videos on patreon, a lot are about graphite drawing with a few about watercolours and its growing all the time :)
smoothie77 thank you for getting back to me. I’ll check out the patreon thing.
Thank goodness you decided to show this,I have learned a lot from it. I'm totally fascinated by your style,can you tell us what pencils you used? I have always used minimum pencil strokes,as long as the perspective was correct on buildings etc,but now can't wait to have a go at your particular style.Thank you so much for the tuition,by the way the sound was perfect.
Hi Carol, you're very welcome, for the drawing I used a HB and 2B pencil, I don't like to go too dark with the pencil and wash technique because the softer graphite can smudge into the washes causing a muddy effect if you're not careful, glad the sound was ok.
Hey, really nice demonstration! I actually liked that you showed us the video even its not peferct. Those things happen to all of us I think, so I like to hear that its normal. I just messed up a colored pencil drawing, because I changed my paper and my technique didn´t work anymore... The painting is still awsome. I love this graphite/ water color technique. Because I am more into animal painting/ drawing I was wondering if you would suggest this technique for animals as well...
Thank you, yes we all make mistakes its not such a bad thing as long as we learn from them :) I would imagine this technique would work for animal paintings, it might not look so vibrant as coloured pencil but with your skills and talent you would make a great job.
I think you did just fine ,maybe if you dried it before another layer was applied,regardless looks beautiful you pulled it back and that's the main thing,there is a product called magic eraser it's found in the supermarket cleaning isle ,it's safe to use to lift areas out ,it's a very fine abrasive ,mistakes are a valuable lesson that we can all learn from.
+Maria Kellner Thank you for the kind words and advice Maria, I do keep meaning to get a magic eraser, could of put it to good use on this one, everyone please take a look at Maria's watercolour website, her paintings are incredible, she has invented a new product called colour previewers, check them out at www.marylkaart.com
thanks for doing this scene in colour... was very informative as to how to separate the buildings into their own distances... don't worry about posting vids when things go wrong, it's a lesson for us all too! lol. glad you rescued it in the end though :) question; would glazing another thin layer of yellowish mix help to brighten a dull foreground more, or would it be best to leave it pale...? -i've had the same thing happen with a painting as this, and been temped to try and brighten it further, but resisted the urge... have you tried it, or would that be back to 'fiddling'?! lol :)
+shellelodge Hi, thanks for the nice comment, That's good question regarding glazing, Its hard to say without seeing the painting, if the foreground is too dull and dark, glazing might make it worse, but if the foreground isn't too dark and just looks light and washed out, then glazing would help, I would go easy and mix a very weak mix of yellow and see what effect it gives and take it from there, applying a second glaze if needed, also the yellow you use will make a difference too, cad yellow is opaque and could look muddy if applied too strong. hope that helps :)
thanks for getting back to me :) i'd say that it usually looks about the same as you managed to rescue in this one... ('it' being i've had a few paintings that i've had this happen to over the years! lol) i tend to use either lemon or indian yellow tbh, keeping yellow ochre and cad yellow for first glazes, due to the opacity, to try and avoid the mud! lol i usually stopped at one 'introducing the colour back in' glaze, but just wondered as to your experiences in doing additional strengthening glazes... :)
+shellelodge My usual approach is to always start with lighter than normal washes and build up slowly, that way I tend to avoid a lot of disasters, another trick I use is to test colours on scrape paper first, I can then test the glaze over the colours on the scrape paper to see if they will work, you could roughly sketch the foreground colours on a separate piece of paper then test the glazes over that before you apply then to your paper, also have you seen Maria Kellner's colour previewers, they look just the job, I have put a link on the comment I made to Maria here in the comments,
+smoothie77 Hi again sellelodge, here's the link..www.marylkaart.com
+smoothie77 what a brilliant idea... thank you for showing me this :)
I think it is a beautiful painting. I actually like both versions. I think you are too hard on yourself. Thank you for sharing.
+Victoria Tucker Thanks Victoria, its a pleasure to share these demos with you all even if there are a few mistakes here and there, thanks for the support and the nice comment.
... and do you stretch your paper before doing a line and wash?
Could you do Ely Cathedral? I graduated there, it would be a very nice piece.
It would certainly make a nice painting, a lot of work involved in that scene, it's something I will consider for a future demo, thanks for the suggestion Tyler, much appreciated
Can I ask please... Do you work flat or on a raised board? Thanks so much
So you did the original drawing on watercolor paper first? Right! Or Mixed Media paper?
Watercolour paper
Brilliat video . Thank you ! Microphone is much better on this .
Very inspiring Sir, I have collectet many photos of old Ceylon as it was hundred years ago, landscapes with mountains, rivers and elephants, woul it be possible to create a drawing and painting video of such landscapes ?I could send some photos to you via email
Hello smoothie77 , wonderful work, incredible, beautiful watercolor. since i know you, i have change my way of drawing and painting. Thanks a lot ....:-) for me, you"re my " best "artist . Many thanks again
Hello smoothie77 , wonderful work, incredible, beautiful watercolor. since i know you, i have change my way of drawing and painting. Thanks a lot ....:-) for me, you"re my " best "artist . Many thanks again
Hello smoothie77 , wonderful work, incredible, beautiful watercolor. since i know you, i have change my way of drawing and painting. Thanks a lot ....:-) for me, you"re my " best "artist . Many thanks again
Hello smoothie77 , wonderful work, incredible, beautiful watercolor. since i know you, i have change my way of drawing and painting. Thanks a lot ....:-) for me, you"re my " best "artist . Many thanks again
+serge massa Thank you for all your comments serge, I'm glad my videos have helped you, also thank you for you kind words, happy painting!