I took part in an en plein air (outdoor) watercolour improvers course held at Cambridge Botanic Gardens. The workshop was led by award-winning tutor John Wiltshire.

After a brief introduction and a short talk about the paints, John led us into the gardens. He demonstrated how to begin a composition by (i) sketching in pencil, and (ii) blocking in major areas of colour and tone with a light watercolour wash to eliminate the white paper. After lunch, John demonstrated how to introduce darker tones and introduce shadows.

The upper image shows a watercolour painting of three trees overshadowing a dark area, with bright greenery seen through the gaps between the trunks.

The lower image shows a photograph of my standing easel and painting setup in front of the trees that I was working on. The paints used were:

1. Permanent Rose, Windsor & Newton Artists’

2. Lemon Yellow, Schmincke Horadam Aquarell

3. Cerulean Blue Hue, Schmincke Horadam Aquarell

4. Raw Sienna, Windsor & Newton Artists’

5. Indian Red, Daler Rowney Artists’