/tutorials/how-to-paint-a-street-scene-in-watercolour
How to Paint a Complex Street Scene in Watercolour Discover how to simplify perspective, light and shadow to create confident sketches and expressive paintings. One of the biggest challenges facing every artist is [...]
Atrani on the Amalfi Coast. A black and white painting tutorial
Atrani is on the Amalfi coast in southwest Italy. On our tour through Italy this summer I hoped to be able to visit Atrani as it was the location for the Netflix film 'Ripley' Based [...]
Painting live – in a French Vineyard.
After painting the view of our village, we set off the following week into the surrounding countryside and this 'Live in Lockdown' shows a local mazet set up on a rocky outcrop. At the time [...]
How to Paint..The village of Pouzolles – en plein air.
Spring in the air and, after several Live in Lockdown tutorials on our Facebook page, we decided to venture out of doors. This is a scene looking down the road as you arrive in our village [...]
How to Paint…The old bridge on the road to St. Gervais sur Mare.
Come and paint this picturesque scene by following my step by step guide. A couple of weeks ago I rode my motorcycle up into the mountains of the Haute Languedoc Park, about 30 minutes from [...]
How to Paint..an Iris – A watercolour painting tutorial and Video
With the whole of France now in 'lockdown', I find myself with a lot of studio time ahead. Painting en plein air is now off the agenda so I've decided to supplement our Painting in [...]
Artist’s Photo – a step by step watercolour tutorial
SAA Artist's photo - You paint it. January 2020. A step by step watercolour tutorial of this shady scene I was perusing the SAA website after Christmas and I came across their 'Artist's photo - [...]
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
'It was the night before Christmas..' A digitally painted Christmas card tutorial based on a scene set in our village. This was the brief I gave myself - to produce a digitally painted Christmas card.. [...]
Autumn in Paris: a step by step watercolour tutorial
'Autumn in Paris'. An atmospheric oil painting by Russian artist, Yuri M. Bondarenko is the subject for this step by step watercolour tutorial. I don't normally encourage students to paint from a painting as you [...]
The Italian Lakes – A Watercolour Tutorial.
Ah, those beautiful Italian Lakes - Como, Garda, Lugano Maggiore and Iseo - to name but a few. It's a really picturesque area and there are scenes crying out to be painted literally around [...]
Le Pont Vieux, Beziers – a watercolour painting tutorial.
I've seen this view of Beziers many times on postcards and always thought it would make a fine painting subject. When we finally found exactly where the view was from, we climbed to a higher [...]
Vines in the snow. A study in Paynes grey.
Follow this step-by-step free painting tutorial that Simon did of a rare snowy day in the South of France. 'In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan Earth stood hard as iron, water like a [...]
Painting in France goes painting in Spain
Fishing boats on the Costa Brava - Calella de Palafrugell, to be exact. A small seaside village nestling into the beautiful stretch of coastline just over the Spanish border. A great place for a [...]
Room with a view: Cadaqués, Spain
Cadaqués: A watercolour tutorial. A pretty village set on the coast of the Costa Brava in Spain. Salvador Dali often visited Cadaqués as a young man and later set up a home in Port Lligat, [...]
Bouzigues. A watercolour tutorial
This picturesque village is set on the shores of the Étang de Thau, a large lagoon with openings to the Mediterranean at Marseillan, an ancient Roman port and Sete known as the 'Venice of [...]
The Rudiments of Perspective. Part 2. Two point.
2 point perspective. Loosely explained from a French cafe.. So, you've sat yourself down in a shady square, ordered 'un cafe, s'il vous plait..' and taken out your sketch book - and you realise [...]
The Rudiments of Perspective: Part 1. One point. Do you need more?
Perspective drawing. A huge topic. Probably best explained with a series of drawings. A student confessed to me the other day that whenever she went out sketching, perspective drawing was always a problem. She [...]
Villeneuvette. A painting tutorial.
Step by step Watercolour tutorial of the village of Villeneuvette. This will be one of our en plein air locations this summer for our Painting Holidays in France. It looks so different in [...]
Millie. Our English Springer Spaniel – watercolour portrait.
Ah, the joys of dog ownership....Millie, our Springer Spaniel is our constant companion whether galloping around the vineyards or lounging in an old armchair in the studio. She's 3 years old and so long overdue [...]
Venetian gondolas – watercolour (and gouache) tutorial
Gondolas. It could only be Venice. Here's a tutorial I've put together based on this wonderful photograph courtesy of Google Images. It's slightly enhanced colour wise but I like it for it's graphic composition. [...]
Canal du Midi – watercolour tutorial
This tutorial is based on a scene at the village of Ventenac-en-Minervois on the Canal du Midi which was constructed between 1666 to 1681. Click through to find the full step by step tutorial showing [...]
Road to Neffies – watercolour tutorial
The road between Roujan and Neffies, two nearby villages, is typical of many in this region – lined with plane trees. Planted in the early 19th century on the orders of Napoleon to provide shade [...]
Pyrenees – watercolour tutorial
The Pyrenees mark the border between France and Spain about 90 minutes from here. This tutorial is based on a series of sketches I did just this side of the French border. I tried to [...]
Kefalonia – watercolour tutorial
Kefalonia – a beautiful Greek island in the Ionian Sea where Captain Corelli’s Mandolin was filmed…and where I proposed to my wife, Monica. This tutorial is worked up from sketches made in situ and a [...]
Margon – watercolour tutorial
Margon is a small village just 2 kilometres from Pouzolles. This tutorial is set with a view across the Autumn tinted vines and line of plane trees to the Chateau which dates back to the [...]