Watercolour painting Archives - Page 2 of 3

“When the working day is done”

A painting for the Cossack Art Awards 2024 “When the working day is done” Cruise and Diamond Pilbara Working Dogs. This is my watercolour entry for the 2024 Cossack Art Awards. I usually paint the native flora and fauna, but decided this year to do what I do best, domestic animals, and so I went looking for an image, I found one on the “Pilbara Working Dogs” Facebook page and was drawn to this image, as its colours were great to reproduce with my own interpretation. I asked for, and obtained, permission to paint this image and found the dogs names were Diamond and Cruise. I loved the simplicity of the image along with the classic red dirt of the West Australian outback. The sketch was drawn using a grid of 4cm square, so made to fit a large frame, I wasn’t sure if I should use white or black framing at this point. I put in as much detail as I can then very carefully rub out the grid. the background is in my classic style, using all the beautiful pindan colours of the outback. Australian Red gold (Art spectrum), Quinacridone Sienna (Daniel Smith,) and Dioxazine Purple (Windsor and Newton,) Lemon Yellow (Art Spectrum,) and Cadmium Yellow (Art Spectrum.) painted in large brush strokes then splattered with the paints to blend, and finally water to produce the lighter areas in the colour blocks. Making a start on Diamond and Cruise I loved the image as it has a definite warm and cool side, so I started with my blues and purples for the cool side first, Phthalo Blue (Art Spectrum), Dioxazine Purple (Windsor and Newton), Indigo ( Art Spectrum), are the main colours used, then as I moved to the warmer side I used Quinacridone Purple (Daniel Smith) with my Quinacridone Sienna and Australian red gold to make a warmer brown tone, the lighter areas had a touch of the yellows in too. I block in the areas first with quite bold strokes allowing the paint to bleed and soften, gradually building up a couple of layers until there is definite soft structure to the dog, this is done using wet on wet, but not soaked paper. that I can follow with my next layers. The lighter areas are just more dilute layers of colour. Once the first dog is blocked in I work on the second dog, same colours, same technique, leaving the eyes until last on the first dog… I always do the eyes last, it’s just a personal preference. Finishing Touches In this close up (Click the image to see an enlarged image) you can see the brush strokes and the different colours used, Some of the Quinacridone Purple is mixed with a little white gouache, and in some of the cooler light areas I have used a Light Cobalt (Windsor and Newton), and had to put in the Bengal Rose gouache (Windsor and Newton) these can be lightened with a little white, the Quinacridone Purple with the Light Cobalt make a nice blue that will cover and blend the colours underneath, as the Light Cobalt is opaque when only slightly diluted. I use a fine Liner brush (or Rigger) number 1 or 2. In the warmer areas I use the liner brush with the yellows, the Red gold, and the Quinacridone Sienna, to blend. The eyes are completed last, I paint a layer of the Iris in the Australian Red Gold, then lift a little for the highlight area, repeat another layer and then make a deeper brown, (by adding purple to my Red Gold) to paint the shading in the Iris. The Pupil is painted with almost neat indigo, leaving a small area for the highlight, which I paint with a mix of Phthalo Blue and purple mixed, then lift a bit off the blue/purple mix to leave a glassy eye look. A dot of white gouache, and an outline of indigo and the eye is complete. TIP: Mixing the Australian Red Gold, or the Quinacridone Sienna with the Dioxazine Purple, (or the Quinacridone Purple) make beautiful browns, more purple – the deeper the brown. With both dogs completed I used my background colours mixed with a tiny bit of white Gouache to make details on the ground and to stop the dogs from “Floating” in the painting, adding directional strokes helps. There is a little bit of Daniel Smith Phthalo Yellow Green in there too. Click the image to see and enlarged image. Final touch is a splash, quite literally, of Gold Alcohol Ink. I did use my draughtsman pen too, just to add some directional hair strokes. Wish me luck!

Paint your pet Workshop March 2024

Day One Paint your Pet workshop for march 2024 was another successful weekend, with 4 students all creating wonderful pieces of artwork. My studio is a great space for workshop’s. A maximum of 8 people can sit in a quiet room with great light, the smaller group size means there is more time to spend with each student. The first step is drawing the image, I prefer to use a grid system for my student teaching as it creates a well proportioned image. It is easy to use and can be used to enlarge or reduce the image sizes, plus work out the best placement for the final image. This workshop was a Rainbow workshop, using my signature bright coloured backgrounds. This is how the first stage of painting looks at the end of day 1. Day two With the backgrounds dry and completed we now work on the subjects. I demonstrate various smaller images to show how to paint White, Brown and Black subjects, this helps to explain how my colour theory of warm and cool colours can be used, also the mixing of colours. The students final work always amazes me, they step out of their comfort zone and experiment with colours they wouldn’t normally dream of. Each finished piece has their individual style, I find now, most of my students are returning for other workshops, As you can see each piece is wonderful! the final stages are adding the “Whitework” using a white gouache, and some penwork, some prefer no penwork , I prefer the pen as I am more of an illustrator in style, and I like my images to stand out a bit more. I use a Rotoring draughtsman pen for all my pen work. My Demonstration piece This is “Mr Buttons”, A commissioned portrait that I used to demonstrate my Black animal subjects. As you can see there is no black but a mix of blues, greens, magentas and purples. I use purple under a coat of Indigo for my “Blackest” parts. Happy faces! Show and tell , not everyone likes to be in photos, but I am always so proud of the work the students produce. These workshops are relaxed, social events with a huge amount of learning, the fact that my students come back for more means I must be doing something right! Look out for my workshops, they are advertised on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/YvonnesArtwork The next one is a day workshop for the basics of watercolours, suitable for beginners or those already painting, and for people interested in wishing to take up watercolour painting but don’t know where to start. It will cover paper choices, paints, brushes, stretching paper, drawing, mixing colours using my warm and cool palette. Date: April 13th 2024 Please contact me for more information.

Daisy, watercolours by Yvonne Chapman Brooks

Greyhound love

For the love of a greyhound Its no secret that I love Greyhounds. It started 11 years ago when I fostered my very first greyhound, Daisy. It wasn’t going to be a long foster as this little girl completely stole my heart. She was tiny, small in stature but very thin at just 19kg, she had been in the regional prison rehabilitation programme where inmates took responsibility of a dog, she did well, and found a forever home….except it wasn’t, it was short lived, one day while her “Dad” was at work, Her “mum” took her back to gap and said she “couldn’t be doing with her” and left. Daisy was in a terrible condition, extremely thin and withdrawn. GAP took her back and found her a foster home, but she was reactive to cats, so they looked for another, that’s where I come in. A new beginning Daisy was just 3 years old, she was extremely thin, withdrawn and very quiet. I took her to the vet the day after I fostered her, as her teeth were so rotten you couldn’t get near her for appalling halitosis. I doubt she had ever had a decent thing to chew on or ever been to the vet for a dental, it was awful, her gums were so infected and ulcerated that she could hardly eat, the vet started her on steroids and long term antibiotics before we could even contemplate a dental. I rang GAP, I said what do you do about Daisy’s teeth, she’s in awful pain, they said, “Nothing until she is adopted” My response….. “She’s adopted, Im taking her, Now, what are you going to do about her teeth!” they agreed to pay for her medication and dental work, but it should never had got to this point. Fast forward and Daisy stayed with me, she is adorable, she was very quiet, obviously some trauma there, as I would find he standing in the middle of the room just like a statue for hours, eventually she would move and sleep. it took nearly 2 years of affection, good food and lots of love to finally find her true personality, then she began to be a dog, a loved pet and to live a pampered life. Greyhounds in my art I was very taken with the greyhound, a dog whom I had never really considered before as a pet, but I am so glad I went past the Greyhound’s as Pets (GAP) stand at our local agricultural fair, and talked about fostering. They were elegant, quiet, sleek, athletic and smart. I was hooked, this little girl had me wrapped around her tiny paw, and I began to look at her as my muse. I painted her in so many different ways and gradually the colourful images that I paint today. she opened my eyes to a whole new world of dog lovers, almost like joining a cult, the greyhound world of rescue is HUGE and they welcomed us and my art with open arms. I started painting for various rescues, the first main one was “Saving Wilma” on Facebook, a rescued Greyhound who was rescued from a horrific life around the same time as I rescued Daisy, these are some of her portraits below. “Wilma” Acrylic on canvas, “Goodnight Sweetheart” and “Rainbow Bridge, it’s a beautiful place.” painted after she died. I painted portraits for fund raising and it went from there. I began to get asked for commissioned pieces and most of them were Greyhounds. Too many to count Over the last 11 years I have been privileged to be able to paint so many wonderful hounds, every one of them gorgeous and loved. I have used mainly watercolours, but some in acrylics too. I love painting them, they are my favourite, but then every painting I do is a loving tribute to a much loved soul. Daisy is nearly 14 years old, a miracle considering her heart suffered greatly as a result of her poor dental health, She has one tooth remaining, and she is on heart medication, lots of heart medication, and is so far managing to love life, albeit at a much slower pace. She has out-lived Otis, my other Greyhound who died in September, and when her time comes I probably won’t have a greyhound again for a while, as we make the most of Shadow, our Mastiff cross. But I will always be a greyhound Mum, a lover of this amazing breed of hound, who’s love is for ever etched in my heart. Please look at my art and enjoy every portrait ever painted, as well as on my Facebook page… there are many …. sooo many, each one a pleasure to do, If you are interested in getting your pet painted please reach out and contact me.

It’s Nearly Christmas again!

Time to buy your Christmas cards Its time to think about the festive season again, I’m sure it comes around quicker every year. This year I have produced a cat image for all our cat lovers out there, this one has found an interesting twinkly new toy to play with. As for all my dog lovers out there, here is one handsome dog tempting you under the mistletoe. “Go on… you know you want to” and “A new toy!” are available now at $3 each. I usually sell in packs of 6 but can split them to individual cards to make up the pack. Prices are in Australian dollars and postage is extra. Please message me if you wish to order either via my website, follow the “Book a commission” at the bottom of this page, or via my Facebook page Yvonne’s Artwork I wish to thank all my followers of my Facebook page and my website as your support is so appreciated. I have just won a major prize at the Harvey Art Prize for my treescape, “A Quiet Place” for the “Works on paper” category, This was a fantastic win for me, and I felt honoured to be awarded a prize for this particular painting. It is one of my favourite images that had been hanging on my wall. Other items available I still have a few of previous my years Christmas cards available, if you would like to still buy those while stocks last, same prices as the others @ $3 each. This one is “What would YOU like for Christmas” showing a gorgeous Greyhound with Santa. It is a particularly adorable image of gentle hands holding the face of a greyhound, exchanging a moment of tenderness. I also have some of these designs left too. “A Galgo Christmas dreams” showing two rescued Galgo’s snuggled up for the night and dreaming of a sleigh being pulled by Galgo’s. These dogs were a friends dogs, both rescued Spanish Galgo’s in their usual evening repose. I loved painting this image, its no secret that Greyhounds and Sight hound are a favourite subject of mine. Greetings cards I do have a range of greetings cards left blank for your own message, available at the Cellar door at Vineyard 28 in Yarloop WA. These three images are just some of the greetings cards on sale, left blank for your own message, available at the cellar door at Vineyard 28 The first image is “One last look” which won peoples choice at the 2023 Harvey art Prize . The second is “Pygmy Possum on Gum flowers,” and “In coming!” a red tailed Black Cockatoo. photograph reference by Ren Theelen. They are also available as fridge magnets. why not book to go and see my framed artwork on display at the cellar door and try some beautiful boutique wines.

One Last Look

One Last Look, a watercolour portrait One Last Look was a painting I recently finished after having a slight doubt in my artistic abilities. For a while now I have painted pictures that I thought would appeal to the public with a selling point in mind. Each art prize I entered had been largely focused on what would sell rather than what would win a prize. Earlier this year I entered an art prize in a nearby town, which was surrounded by hype and grandeur, and we had to submit our art work. On the entry form it stated that if not chosen our work could be nominated to go into an Extension exhibition. I wasn’t particularly interested in entering this exhibition but a friend talked me into it, so I entered two paintings, both which were my usual style of the bright rainbow colouring, featuring emus. My friend then informed me that around the local circles this exhibition was being touted at the reject exhibition, which we though was rather comical. My work didn’t make the original exhibition but was allowed to enter the “Extension” aka Reject exhibition. Ok, that didn’t bother me too much, I am under no illusion that my work is better than anyone else’s, but I believe my work is of a high standard and I am good at what I do. I have been painting pet portraits for nearly 20 years now. All was well until the opening, A few careless words threw me into doubt about my work and I had a real crisis of confidence… the mayor opening stated “This exhibition is for those who didn’t make the cut” I was actually a little insulted by her words, and when I looked at other artists around me it seemed I wasn’t alone! My friend nearly choked on her finger food! There were several really good pieces by well known artists around the exhibition circuit, and quite a few what I would categorise as student/novice works, so it was a well-rounded exhibition. I am aware that art is sometimes seen as “Elitist” and seems to be getting more and more so, especially in the exhibitions and art prizes these days. Gone are the days of just entering and displaying, now some ask for artist statements and CVS! I decided to enter an art prize that I have entered, and sold at, on previous occasions, in Dalwallinu in Western Australia. So I painted “One Last Look” as a statement of This is me, this is what I do, I don’t mind if you don’t want to buy it, but it is ME… and a very good version of ME. My Therapist. A watercolour study My second entry into the Dalwallinu Art prize is “My Therapist” a watercolour study of my motorbike. It is a 2016 Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe and is my pride and joy, I have painted this in acrylics on canvas but didn’t want to have to display that at the art prize, as items displayed often have to be for sale, so I painted a smaller version that shows what I am capable of doing. I enjoy the challenge of painting chrome work. The detail in the spokes and engine leaves me with double vision, but the challenge was to prove I could do it and do it well enough to be judged on its merit. In future I will be painting what I want to paint for these art prizes, something that reflects on who I am as an artist. https://www.dalwallinuartsfestival.com/

Paint your Pet Workshop May 2023

“Paint your pet in Watercolour,” held in May 2023, was once again a very successful workshop. A beautiful weekend was forecast so the stretching paper demo was able to dry quickly. I usually have about 4 workshops per year, since the completion of my home studio, I can hold these for about 6 people. The workshops are split into two days, the first day is a demonstration of the drawing techniques required. I teach enlarging from a photograph using a simple acetate grid. This is such a handy technique to master as you can not only enlarge but reduce in size too. The simple formula works for simple enlargement of A4 to A3, or even up to the side of a house if necessary! I demonstrated a couple of images, a black greyhound and a black Red Tailed Cockatoo, the main aim of these workshops is to show how warm and cool colours can be used to create the portraits. Warm colours depict the highlights and cool colours depict the shadows. I chose to demonstrate a bright Rainbow background, and a more natural tonal effect. The colours I use never change, Lemon Yellow, Australian Red Gold, Bengal Rose (Gouache), Phthalo blue, Bamboo Green (Holbein brand is the nicest blue green I have found as it is bright and beautifully transparent), Indigo and Dioxazine Purple. Most of these colours can be found in either the Cotman tube ranges (which I recommend for beginners as they are lovely, clear colours, but a cheaper version than the artist quality brands), or the Windsor & Newton range, the other brand I like to use is Art Spectrum, I use tubes of paint verses the pans, as the technique requires large coverage of areas in a short time frame. The final touch is a small amount of titanium white gouache, brilliant for the dots in eyes or stray white hairs, unlike the Chinese White watercolour, which I find is more of a milky glaze than a bright white. Day 1 Once the outline is drawn with as much detail as possible, we move on to the background. The warm colour area depicts the light source. It is important not to mix certain colours such as the green and Bengal rose as they go very muddy, not a nice combination, therefore care and thought are needed when placing colours together. I tell the students to think about what colour mixes to what, to get the next colour, for example yellow to red (in this case the Bengal Rose) gives you the oranges. Day 2 Day two is the fun bit, the actual painting of the subject. The students all did such a great job of their backgrounds, and its not as easy as it looks! There are several different ways of painting with watercolours, the main two are wet on wet and wet on dry, the background is the wet on wet, but other things affect the process, such as the weather, too hot and it dries way too quickly, to humid or damp and the water takes too long to dry leading to muddy blending. The splashes of paint, that help to blend the colours, are added in several layers as the paint dries. I teach several effects at this stage, if you want to know more….. book into a workshop! How awesome are these! All the examples of finished work are amazing, they should be very proud of their work. . Even though there is a common theme, everyone’s piece is so different. If the student doesn’t want a really bright image, the colours can be toned down or used in other ways and yet still look “Normal” to the eye. It’s amazing how the eye and brain evaluate the images. You almost don’t notice the bright green or pink that are subtly used in the subject on first glance. Sadly one of the students couldn’t complete her second day, so I finished her painting off for her, she had made such a tremendous start it seemed unfair that she go home with only half a dog, and it was another example for me to demonstrate. I use my images reverted into monochrome as examples to show how the colours really look as tones. This is why the brain usually accepts them as a “Black dog” instead of a “blue and yellow dog”. I know which of the paints I use have similar tonal values when dry, so I can swap out the Phthalo blue with green, or the magenta with purple. By the end of the weekend there has been some amazing art created, each one unique, and everyone seems to take away something different from the experience, whether it be a new skill, or a new understanding of colour. I just hope that they all take away a memory of a fun weekend, trying something new, if they change their colour palette that’s Great! If they realise what colours can/can’t be mixed that’s great too. I hope they go away with new ideas and a fun take on a technique. It’s all about learning and enjoying the experience…. having a dabble in a safe space. There’s no right and wrong with art, just a different perception.

Paint your pet workshop

“Paint your pet” workshop Teaching art is my something I love to do, combine this with teaching you how to paint using my signature style and this makes for a great workshop. Once again I am holding a Paint your pet Workshop. In the past these have proved to be very popular, and the results are amazing. From people with artistic knowledge and experience to the beginners, everyone leaves with a stunning pet portrait. I have taught at several workshops now and each one has been an amazing experience. I have been fortunate to meet some wonderful artists and beginners , and been lucky enough to help them on their art journey. A great learning opportunity At one of my workshops you will learn a few valuable tools to enable you to paint from a photograph. Pet portraits are fun as you already have great knowledge about your chosen subject, and that helps with the fine detail. DAY ONE Step one: Learn how to stretch watercolour paper. This is so the paper dries flat when you apply large amounts of water. The paper is soaked so the paint will run and blend during the process of painting the background. Without stretching the paper it will dry buckled, this doesn’t come out either, making framing almost impossible. You can create a fantastic piece of art that is ruined by buckled paper. Enlarging a drawing from a photograph Step two: You will learn is how to use a grid to enlarge a photograph. This is a fantastic way of enlarging or reducing an image, you can pick out fine detail, shading, shapes and know the proportions and the placement is correct. Essential for a good pet portrait! Here two students, one a total beginner, are enlarging their photographs. This was from a workshop in the Porongorups, WA Step Three: Learn about warm and cool colours and how to paint “wet on wet” to achieve my signature backgrounds. I give you a material list of paints to buy and brushes that will be used in this workshop, that way everyone is using the same colours as I use, a great way of making a start to your art supply collection. I use tubes of watercolour paint as they go further and spread easily during the wet on wet process. Once the portrait is drawn the background is completed. That concludes day one of the workshop. DAY TWO Step four: The next day students learn how to paint the portrait, what colours to use to achieve my signature rainbow styling, and tips and hints to achieve a great portrait. Step five: Pen work. I use pen work on top of my portraits to add extra depth and texture. I use a draftsman Rotoring ink pen but a artline fine marker works just as well. Finally the white gouache, the end touch, the dot in the eye or highlight that finishes the portrait. Not one student has left any of my workshops so far without a fantastic painting. I am thrilled that some have attended several of my workshops, and all students agree they have learnt a lot of valuable information during the workshop. I like to think that I can help them to gain confidence and most of all enjoy the process. The workshops are full on, busy, and most of all FUN! Want to book a workshop? My workshops are advertised on my Facebook Art page, the next on is the 18th and 19th of March, 2023, where I have 3 places still available. The cost is $250pp. You can contact me about doing a workshop, either by using the contact form on this website, or through my Facebook page. I work in my studio at my home in Pinjarra, Western Australia, and can take 6 comfortably in a class. Otherwise if you can rustle up some like minded friends, (no more than 10) I could possibly come to your venue, within Western Australia. (travel cost apply to workshops in states outside the southwest WA) https://www.facebook.com/YvonnesArtwork/

It’s Christmas!

Let us celebrate with a card or two! It’s that time of year again and once again I have designs for my colourful Greyhound watercolour Christmas cards. It is no secret that I adore greyhounds, they are the most adorable creatures, so loving and lazy, the biggest couch potatoes you ever wish to meet, “Gain a Grey, lose a couch!” Well, I have two rescued Greys, Daisy, and Otis, both were my foster fails and now both are 12+ years old and enjoying a very lazy old age. Over the years I have made my images available for a couple of Greyhound rescue organisations, for them to fundraise. I support GAWA (Greyhound Adoptions WA) and BGA (Busselton Greyhound awareness.) In the past have designed a card of “Granny pants” for “Galgo’s Del Sol” in Spain. In fact, it all started with cards for the Galgo rescue in Spain several years ago, just a generic Galgo, and then I began to design cards for myself. I have also made calendars in the past featuring some of my commissions for the year which have proved popular. My Christmas card muse is often Daisy or Otis, but I have used others in the past, Maya and Zezan were a friend’s dogs from Holand, they made a beautiful Galgo dreaming card, when I saw the image and with my friend’s permission, I could not resist using it as my card for 2021. This year I have two images. The rescue fundraising card is featuring Otis, the photo was taken on holiday earlier in the year, he does not like his photo being taken and always looks like he has been told off for something, so I painted this image with a destroyed gift or two, I thought the image was perfect for “Dear Santa….define “Good” I did add a couple of PNG images (the baubles and ribbon) to my original painting to give them a little bit more depth. Otis however is not destructive in any way at all. He is an absolute gem. For the painting that I will use as my own cards this year, I chose a much simpler image, shown at the top of this blog, that of Santa giving a gentle embrace to a greyhound, a look of love, trust, and hope. I love the simplicity of it. “What would YOU like for Christmas?” I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Christmas, and a happy and prosperous 2023. Paintings shown are:- What would You like for Christmas? Galgo Dreaming My Christmas hat Granny Pants GDS Dear Santa….define “Good” Christmas wish list Christmas lights This is for you I found mine!

Watercolour Rainbow landscape almost completed watercolour layering

Landscape layering

MAKING A LANDSCAPE I love doing watercolour landscapes using the bright rainbow colouring, using the warm (light) and cool (Shadows) colours. I start very basically with a rough idea of where I want the light, being transparent Yellow is easy to hide with other colours, so this is my first layer, with splashes of water I create the soft mottling look that also helps to add depth to the finished piece. Here I have used Art Spectrum Lemon yellow with a hint of Windsor and newton Cobalt blue Light. Step 2 When the first layer is dry I start to add details that will also add depth, I am starting to deepen my colours, but still keeping the warm colour tones. Here the distant branches are starting to take shape using the pale yellow greens, then adding the deeper cooler blue greens you can see how the image starts to move towards the viewer. Here I use Holbein Bamboo green and Daniel smith Spring green, plus a deeper yellow for the branches. Step 3 Now my third layer begins to bring the foreground closer using the cooler colours. Simple straight lines form tree trunks. Some painted in the Australian red gold to provide a mid-ground, then the blues and purples for foreground. A spattering of leaves, careful not to completely block out the background, re painted in a mix of the cool colours, I have used Art Spectrum Phthalo Blue, Windsor and Newton Dioxazine Purple and Windsor and Newton Bengal rose Gouache. Step 4 Some extra branches have been added in the cool colours, and using wet on wet the ground has been added, keeping the light in the centre and deepening the edges to create a pathway, water has been splashed on the paint as it dries to create my signature mottling. Finishing I decided that the painting looked too empty at the top and wanted to create more of a forest walk feel, so I added more leaves and deeper branches to the centre, some splashes of paint and some liquid acrylic iridised paint to add a little bit of shine, then detail in the pathway using a liner brush and a bit of white for the highlights. I have used cool colours, mainly greens to bring the “Light” forward, and a deep blue green for the shadowing. Some of the pink works as a warm tone when mixed with the orange, yet still acts as shadow due to the intensity of the colour compared to the distant paler more diluted colours.

Yvonne’s Artwork

Blog