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Edited from Original post 251114
I painted with a tutor for many years as a serious-hobby watercolourist while I continued to work in my corporate career. The great thing was, I would turn up to art class and she would have the subject all prepared for us: real-life objects, photographs, magazines, warm-up materials and ideas. We would have a big discussion about the subject and view it from several perspectives - she did a tonne of research and put many hours of thought into every session - how grateful I am!! Although this was a fantastic resource at the time, this reliance became a burden I was not aware of. I found I could make time to paint but when I actually got to my studio time, I HAD NOTHING TO PAINT! I was so reliant on someone else providing my subject that I didn’t know what to do to sort myself out. I hadn’t given time to subject selection so I would be completely stumped!! Now I know why artists spend time drawing and painting their own hands and feet – because they’re there and they’re handy!! This ‘problem‘ hit me again later when I studied with another tutor who had a completely different style. I was on my own having to bring my own subject matter. I had no-one to rely on but me … this was how ‘writer’s block‘ came about, I had nothing to paint but I did have my painting gear right in front of me, lol!! HOMEWORK:
The more I look for subjects the sooner they appear. The more I paint the more ideas I get. have fun!! cheers Amanda www.amandabrett.net
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 Edited from original post 140119
I've been listening to lots of podcasts from artists who love painting en plein air like I do - the interesting thing is, I come from the school of painting what should be there but most of the artists I've been listening to seem very focussed on determining the exact shade of colour (temp and hue) and the exact value of each shape and finding the right scene/subject. I find that to be totally tiresome and tedious, at best, a form of procrastination. When I discover a scene/subject to paint, I can guarantee you I will feel the need, rightly or wrongly, to shift some things around (lamp posts are never in the right place), and change colours and values to suit my idea. I have 2 thoughts about this, firstly, I am NEVER going to find the perfect scene so I might as well get down and dirty right now. Secondly, I am an artist, it's my job to make whatever it is beautiful and meaningful and tell my story through paint. Imagine how many hours I would lose just by simply wandering around looking for the right scene/subject? Most often I have 2-3 hours to paint on location, I better make it snappy. Don't get me wrong I deliberately go to places that I know will please me (crusty, rusty and horrible are the key words here) and I do like it when someone chooses for me and gives me a challenge - its all too easy to fall into the trap of painting the same things over and over. Back to WHAT SHOULD BE THERE. So what should be there? well that's up to you to develop your skills of observation and your sense of good taste and design and what you love. While in Raglan NZ recently, I went to paint the orange dinghy - how disappointing ... i could barely tell it was orange ... back in the day, it positively glowed and reflected into the bay, not only that, the fab building behind it doesn't exist!! My biggest problem is I believe my own press ... I really remember the house being an architectural wonder but I think i painted it that way many years ago and the painting is stuck in my memory!! So I decided to paint the old Dairy Factory behind the nasty building, it's obscured from every vantage point so I'm going to have to make it up, there will be ladders and brooms and mops and buckets, maybe a bloke walking by with a fishing rod. What i really need to consider is how important is the Dairy Factory and if i decide it's very important then i will have to decide what elements I will need to help me communicate "Dairy Factory" without getting naff or kitsch!! The secret message today is, use the scene/subject/photo as your inspiration, not something to be copied faithfully, just because it's there doesn't make it right for a work of art, if they brought back bell bottoms would you wear them? Give your artistic license a whirl!! ciao i miei belli amici!! Amanda Live classes start Feb 8 2022, Auckland New Zealand JOIN UP HERE  Organised Chaos, en plein air Lucca 2019 NFS FROM ORIGINAL POST 4/9/2017
The cool thing about Watercolour is that it is mostly not too difficult to fix. I know, I know, everyone says how it is the most difficult medium but truthfully, everything new is difficult and the myth sayers I've met are the ones who can't paint (watercolour) and have given up. The main issue most beginners in watercolour painting have is determining what the problem actually is!! Sometimes there actually isn't a problem but we've got to that dreadful middle stage and don't know what to do next. If you definitely have an issue to solve, read on McDuff!! If you decide the composition or design is a problem, redraw a value study of the corrected composition on spare paper and re-work the improved version into the painting. Yes - that's right paint over it, you might need more paint! Could you draw/paint it better? Practice drawing the shape you require on spare paper, then practice painting the shape/colours etc on some spare watercolour paper. Wet the offending area, sponge out problem shape/area carefully and re-draw and paint. A shape is not quite right - I've solved this problem in my paintings in 6 or 7 different ways. Here's a couple you can try (1) wedge a dark tone next to the problem area correcting the shape, (2) stencil lift to correct the shape or (3) soften an offending edge with a damp sponge. What watercolour problems cannot be fixed? The most difficult actual watercolour problem I have found is too much opaque pigment mixed too much on the palette and then stirred up too much on the paper - too dead! Sometimes a stencil-lifted highlight will work or you could try adding more detail to another part of the painting to draw attention away from the offending area or carefully glaze a transparent complementary colour over the problem area to knock it back. Always try to push yourself to finish every painting whether you've decided it will be a 'good' painting or not. The truth is, you might not be able to fix a work you've deemed irretrievable but the effort of trying will teach you more about watercolour/painting/process than starting yet another painting that you'll struggle to complete. Further, if you've already deemed the painting a failure, you really can't make it any worse - keep at it!! check out my Paintbox Tips for more watercolour help!! happy painting!! Amanda Classes starting Feb 8 2022 JOIN IN HERE Student Feedback Gallery  Edited from original post April 2018 in Lucca Italy Ciao a tutti!! I'm back in Lucca, my home away from home, preparing for my watercolour painting holiday workshops. This morning I set out to surprise my dear Lucchese friends and while we chat over coffee I became overwhelmed with a huge wave of "I must paint right now!". Not quite organised for plein air painting, a quick value sketch on site will help me understand and remember shapes and values, what I see and prepare me to paint in my studio. My non-so-secret strategy works for any subject, any style and is relevant to design principles from any school of thought. I've mapped out some processes to help you get started on your own plein air sketches. Once I select my subject, I use a soft pencil with a seriously sharp point (I sharpen my pencil several times during my sketching process), I sketch a light "frame" - the size of a credit card - remember this is a value sketch to understand the darks, lights and shapes, you can create a masterpiece sketch later, this small study is purely for the purpose of getting to paint quickly - my key thoughts are:
Sketching AND painting!! Next I lightly mark in a grid of thirds vertically and horizontally, each intersection is an optimal focal area. I'm thinking 5 big shapes with values assigned - no detail at this point - so, for my subject today, my 5 big shapes are:
I used my pencil to measure angles - always have a new pencil on hand, it's hard to measure angles with a stubby!! Now that we have 5 (6) big shapes, first rule of thumb is to forgive yourself for blunders you are about to make, say it out loud "this is the way I want it!!" :) tomorrow you'll do another version and it will be different again because you'll be a different person tomorrow with a different view and a greater skill-set. 2nd rule is to think BIG, Medium, small - in other words VARIETY is the spice of life! 3rd rule is to make INTERESTING shapes - no squares nor circles, odd shapes are best and no shape the same size next to each other, this is more interesting for you as an artist and also for your viewers and collectors - always something new to look at and wonder "why did she do that?" There's a lot to think about and we've barely got started!! mamma mia!! While we're here lets block in a light value tone around white areas just to get our heads in the game. Build up your sketch by giving each shape a darker tone from the shape next to it, it's a good idea to have shapes overlapping so use your eraser to steal back lights/shapes where you need to. Consider leaving "WRONG" marks, don't erase them, they add character - PLUS, I don't know about you, if I erase a wrong mark I can almost guarantee I will make the same wrong mark again!! I think that's why I got to the point of not erasing and I have come to enjoy the marks that make a sketch full of character and life. While I'm sketching I'm positioning darks against lights and lights against darks, especially in the focal area, then I can think about possible detail shapes ... 5 for a small sketch, 7 is stretching it for this size - thinking silhouette shapes only!! To satisfy my itchy fingers I often make a list of goodies to add to my painting later. In this case its pot plants, tables and chairs and people, copper downpipes, chimneys, electrical wiring, pigeons, bicycles, signage etc, etc. I hope you enjoy sketching value studies, with practice you will get better and quicker. I'd love to hear how you get on!! cari amici!! xx
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