My Portrait Of Ewe is based upon an exercise in Jean Haines’ Atmospheric Watercolours book. I have to admit that I’ve skipped a few exercises in the book just to get to the sheep a bit quicker… ! I will go back and do the ones I left out….
Jean’s rendition of a sheep is so colourful and vibrant. I loved painting this. This was my third attempt, each one getting slightly better. This was fun to paint and it’s very good practice for me. It was painted on Arches Cold Pressed paper and measures 9″ x 6″.
Since buying and reading this book (I’ve actually read the book 3 times!) my watercolour painting has improved in leaps and bounds. It’s been a real eye opener for me. It’s taught me that I have to let go of all the things that were restraining me, holding me back. Let go of the fears too…
I can honestly say that I’m in a much better place with my watercolour painting now than before I studied this book. It has changed the way I think about and paint with watercolour forever. I can never go back…
I still consider myself to be, not a beginner anymore, but still in the early stages of my watercolour journey. I’ve only been seriously painting with watercolour for about one year. I have a long way to go yet. And I need to practice, practice, practice and practice some more!
So if, like me, you’re learning to paint with watercolours too, keep going and never give up on your dream. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy – it’s going to take a lot of determination and hard work. But we CAN do it…. !
happy to hear about your moment of liberation. Strive on.
Thank you Anthony – yes, I’m going to keep going, there’s lots of exciting watercolour journey’s ahead… !
I love him–wouldn’t mind spinning his wool.
LOL – thank you Sandy! She is quite a plump woolly sheep… !
This is a beautiful painting. I love it.
Thank you Laura… !
This is very nice work, Evelyn! I have tried it too but not successfully! I trued to work from my own photo and I want to go step by step through Jean’s exercise. You’ve done VERY well!
Thank you Carolynn – I’ve wanted to try painting the sheep for a while now. Unfortunately I don’t have any sheep photos of my own to follow – I may have to rectify that…. ! I will try the exercise again, but perhaps try painting more than one sheep…. !
This is stunning! I’ve never seen a dramatic sheep before!
Thank you Ali – it’s a Jean Haines style sheep! All credit to her for inspiring me to paint this…
Wonderful watercolour of ewe, and encouraging me to get going with my own work again. Thank you!
Thank you Andy – if I manage to encourage just one person to get their brushes out and start painting again, I consider it a job well done… !
Atmosphere is what watercolors are all about, so it makes sense to emphasize that, i think. I’m glad you’re having fun with it!
Oh Lynn, I’m having so much fun with watercolours. I wish I’d started painting years ago… !
Nice!
Beautiful painting, Evelyn!
I love Jean’s books as well. Watercolor is so much fun! 😊❤️
Thank you Patty Anne – I loved painting this. Jean’s books are huge inspiration. She celebrates everything I love about watercolour…
Oooohhhh Evelyn!!!!!!you ROCKED it! I’ve gotta dig out that book again and play!
Thank you Jodi – I’ve wanted to paint this for while now. Do get the book out again Jodi – it ‘s hugely inspirational… !
I’ve been wanting that book for a while now…. I was so surprised to read that you have only been working in watercolor for about a year. I would have guessed muuuuuuucccchhh longer. I’ve only been working in watercolor about 11 years now and still feel like a novice
Thank you Cheryl – I highly recommend this book. Yes, I’ve only had about a years experience with watercolour but very eager to learn & improve… !
Oh how beautiful this is!!
Thank you Anni – it was lovely to paint and watch it develop…
WOWZA!! Love your colorful sheep!! I need to check out this book… I find watercolor to be a little frustrating or maybe I just need to splash it around some more! Always enjoy seeing your color experiments, Evelyn! 😃
Thank you Jill – I think watercolour is quite a challenging medium to learn and work with. But I can highly recommend the book if you feel like giving watercolour a go…
So beautifully done, Evelyn!
Thank you Lisa… !
This is just stunning, Evelyn! The colours are amazing, and how they run into each other. There’s something explosive and exciting about it, and also it shows great freedom in how you are now painting! My goodness it’s good. Looking back over your recent posts (sorry not to have visited lately) you’ve shared some fabulous pictures. Thank you for such a lovely comment about my completed mini-album and I’m so glad you like it! Also thank you for your good wishes for my operation on Wednesday.
Shoshi x
Thank you Shoshi for the lovely compliments – I loved painting this so much!
Evelyn, this is superb. I can understand why you wanted to fast-track!!!
Thank you Margaret – a year ago I would never have believed that I could get so excited about painting a sheep… !
Can you hear me laughing?
I ordered the book from Booktopia this afternoon ….. and shall bear in mind not to expect fantastic results until I have tackled each creation three times at least.
I hope you enjoy the book as much as me and find it just as inspiring. It’s not just the exercises in the book that are great, it’s the sound advice in between the exercises that really got me thinking differently about watercolour, made me realize where I’d been going wrong…
“Letting go of the fear”—is the hard part.
You’re right Patricia, it is the hardest thing but so necessary to do, I’ve realized.
A beautiful vibrant sheep, I love the textures you’ve created in the watercolour x
Thank you Sunnyfae – this was lovely to paint and see develop on the paper…