Church in Malta by Wenda Ayshford

actually the upload is brighter than the real thing. its alot duller than this.

I have a drawing in my gallery drawn a bit further out on the marina. I think that's really loose. What i do is half close my eyes to concentrate on the highlights and shadows and eliminate the unimportant details. The savage that is in me does not allow me to follow rules about what to mix, I just mix what I have until it looks like what is in front of me. But most probably it would include burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, perhaps some red perhaps something else ..... who knows? But in Malta it's the quality and strength of sunlight, and the high contrast is what rules

One thing you could try, is to have two pots of water. one to wash your brushes and one to mix paint. This used to be a golden rule but doesn't seem to be taught much now. As for greens just pactice on odd scaps of paper.

thanks guys! all advice is welcomed. I REALLY want to crack watercolouring!

If you want your colours to look vibrant and clear, then don't over mix colours in your pallette. Making a homogenised mix of pigments can often result in muddy colours. Try putting your component colours in your pallette and then giving them a quick swish so that you can still see the separate colours. Use the pigment in that form and you get lovely variation in shade and tone when you apply it to the paper. Alternatively, choose your colours and apply them to the paper and let them mix on the paper - and don't interfere with them again - most important. Cerulean blue and cad yellow make a lovely fresh green, viridian and raw sienna make a darker green and umltramarine and viridian make a rich very dark green. I also use olive green straight from the tube - you don't always have to mix greens - use ready made colours. I know that this is horribly frowned upon, but I try to ignore such conventions. I think your painting does have a loose look, but perhaps choosing what to leave out may make it look looser. You don't have to tell the viewer everything - even if you only paint some details of a building the viewer will visually fill in the rest of the building themselves. Make your windows a bit less regular and vary the shade and tone of them to add interest. Avoid monotony like the plague. Your water is beautifully done and you should be proud of that. I think if you had another bash at this scene, you may well achieve what you had in your mind. I am not an experienced artist or anything, so my advice may not be the best, but I just thought I would pass on what I have learned in case it helps.

You may also add gum arabic to watercolour to achieve more vibrancy.

will definately try not over mixing the colours! another problem i seem to have is trying to match the colours to closely to those in the photograph, instead of creating something else. i keep dooing it and need to stop it!!!! very helpful advice, thank you x

Wenda, that is a pitfall we all fall into. I think you have to try and think about how you 'feel' about a building or object and that sometimes changes the colour you use. I know that sounds a bit happy clappy but I have found that if you search for that feeling, often you end up using more inventive colours. Painting loosely and not being too representational is definitely a challenge and not an easy way to paint at all - too many difficult decisions. However, if it is the way you are drawn to paint, then mastering this style is so rewarding. Good luck with the journey.