How to's, Tips & advice

The Art of Watercolour with Charles Evans

Charles Evans uses a model from his book "The Art of Watercolour" to showcase some of his techniques to paint a landscape with an overcast sky.

As for all his watercolour paintings, Charles uses 4 brushes by Aquafine (1.5 inch flat, 3/4 inch flat, 8 round and 4 rigger) and sketches a simple drawing. 

For the overcast sky, use a lot of water and with your 1.5-inch flat use some yellow ochre for the bottom part, then some burnt sienna above and finally ultramarine blue with a hint of burnt sienna for the top of the sky. Use that mix all the way through the sky. Remember that watercolour dries lighter. The clouds are achieved with your washed brush; wash your brush between clouds. 

For the foreground, apply first some yellow ochre and a mix of hookers green and burnt sienna. Try not to use hookers green on its own as it is not natural. Only when the sky is dry, paint the distant hills. 

To obtain sepia mix raw umber with ultramarine blue. Remember to move around as the paint is drying. Also, make your own black by mixing ultramarine blue and burnt sienna; it is more natural and will blend better in your painting.

Towards the end of the video, Charles gives us a good tip on how to paint a drystone wall.

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About the artist

Charles Evans is a British artist born in Yorkshire. During an early career in catering, he discovered a love of painting and was commissioned by the National Coal Board to paint pictures for their boardrooms.