How NOT to paint watercolour - Hellingly by Jenny Johnstone

Fooled me Jenny... Ineptitude ..where? Wish i was this inept.

i dont know what inept means anyway :-p im guessing you mean you think you are rubbish at painting or something, which i think is totally wrong, this is a fabulous painting! this shows how talented you really are i think :-)

Jenny methinks you are being too hard on yourself! This is really well done, love the wet reflections in the road

Hi Jenny, just love the crisp clear colours, drawing skills and application. Love the trees and the reflections. Only comment, I feel is it could possibly do with more shadow and depth, this painting reminds me of the style by an artist called Ken Burton, look at his web site and let me know what you thick. Pete.

I think this is a very stylish painting - eye catching and attractive. Don't beat yourself up Jenny - there is nothing wrong with this!

i am wondering how you made the road look wet? i do not know much technique in painting, not even basics :-p

This is the first time that i have seen your gallery and if this is inept i want some inept in my painting, its ok i already have it! Your wet road is just wonderful i view the painting for a good while to make sure that i had seen all of your bits why did you paint the garden lamp green but it works so well, your sky is wonderful. I could go on but enough said Great stuff.

You should not hide your light under a bushel. The drawing and the colouring are just wonderful. That corner of the road would probably not look as good in a photograph.

Thanks Sylvia, Rebecca, Hazel, Peter, Julie, Jon and Pat - you are all being too kind, you really are - I am not fishing for compliments here. Yes, I had fun with the reflections and negative painting the white fence and the sky ain't bad (for me that is a good sky, I am not good at skies) and that is about all, the rest is shocking. Doesn't matter how much I practice with watercolour the colour/strength shift from wet to dry always catches me out. I carefully drop in more water + a little yellow for foliage in the sun and darker/bluer pigment for foliage in the shade but it all dries pale and flat. So when it is dry I go back into some areas with darker colour and it all dries too dark and with nasty hard edges. In real life the church is old and mellow & looks an organic part of the scene, which it doesn't in my painting. Jon - the lamp is a municipal lamp-post in the churchyard. Peter - I havent seen Ken Burton's work but will try to find him.

Rebecca, the road only looks wet because of the reflections, the light, bright colours and the dark tones just dropped into a light blue/grey wash. The road markings I wasn't going to bother with but the road wouldn't lie down without them, I lifted those out.

Noting inept in this! It's all been said.

Thank you Gudrun. Peter Nelson - I found a website for Ken Burton, Lincolnshire, the images are all very small but as far as I can make out he is a very accomplished painter, NOTHING like mine. Granted he isn't loose and modern, his work is very detailed - but his colours and tones are very well balanced.

Jenny! This is anything BUT inept! It's beautifully painted and in a crisp, clean watercolour style all your own....Don't knock yourself! (We all do it, sadly)

You must be joking! This is lovely, I cannot fault it at all. If this is one of your bad works then your good works must be marvellous :)

A beautiful sky, Jenny, and the road reflections are so good. The light is very authentic, and the whole painting really gives off that feeling of a sudden sharp shower having just passed - I can almost smell the earth and the greenery! It's an illustrative style which is really different and interesting - I'm curious about how you have done the tree foliage edges.

P.S. Just noticed... Mill Lane... my husband is going to want to know where this is (he's a mill fiend).

Thank you Ruth and Sarah, this is one of my better watercolours - that is the trouble, I have done much worse !

Thank you Caroline, the foliage edges, building lines etc are penwork. It is Mill Lane in Hellingly, the village adjoining the north of Hailsham. There is a water mill in the village

Jenny this is so good, I love your colours and the wet ground is so effective. A gold star from me ;o))

Thank you Carole

Jenny, I wish I were this bad at watercolours!! It's a beautifully balanced painting....I like it!

:-) i think it is very clever Jenny to achieve the wet effect without using a gel or something which i have never used before. You are talented :-)

Thank you Rebecca, no I don't use gels or anything like that