Artiste Botanique
Some watercolourists seem to find it hard to make the difference between neutral colours (especially browns) and muddy mixes. There is a huge variety of browns that are clean, transparent and without a hint of mud in them, not even the detoxifying cleansing spa kind. Unlike primary and secondary colours that are found on the… Continue reading How to avoid muddy colours
If like me you do a lot of erasing before you can be happy with a drawing, then drawing straight on watercolour paper is not really an option. Because botanical painting is cut to white, any trace of erasing, smudging, or marking on the paper will stand out and completely ruin the feeling of freshness… Continue reading How to transfer a drawing
This is a question that I am asked a lot: is it better to use tubes or pans to build your watercolour palette? As usual, the answer is never quite straightforward and it really depends on how you use your watercolours the most. Do you paint large or small? Do you travel a lot, especially… Continue reading Watercolour pans vs. tubes
This question comes from Stella, who was at my West Dean course in September: What exactly is the difference between transparent and opaque paints and how does it affect my paintings? The answer is that transparent paints let the light through to the underlying paper while the opaque paints reflect the light, effectively blocking it… Continue reading Transparent vs opaque colours
This question comes from Bing Aling on my YouTube channel and is about erasing, an all important part of drawing: Which is the best rubber to use? I have several rubbers for different purposes, but the one thing they have in common is that none of them are made of rubber. A rubber rubber can… Continue reading Which is the best eraser?
Sandrine Maugy 