Hi James, most interesting thank you. This seems much different to the you tube instructions I have watched on other channels where at the dark values consistency it is described as cream, double cream and butter and they contain little water and no bead. I do like a good bead though. I’ll have a go at your method tonight with Neutral Tint and a mixed dark. Thank you

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Sam, Glad you found it interesting. It’s a really difficult thing to try and get over! For me the dark paint does get a tiny bit thicker in the mix but nothing like cream or butter consistency. I really like my colours to flow and to me that means a watery consistency. Have fun with your experiments! Best wishes, James

Terrific lesson, James. Very helpful. This should help me get more consistent results. I like your approach of putting a selection of colors out into the mixing areas as a start, and working from those til more pigment is needed. I have often added too much pigment, then more water, and so on in a vicious circle. Also appreciate seeing your setup of water containers and tea towel and how you use them. I also enjoy flicking when outside. Best wishes, Bob

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Bob, Glad you enjoyed the little tutorial. I do enjoy placing the colours in little patches on the watercolour palette. I feel I can subtly add more controlled additions to my mix. I haven’t seen anyone else do that but to me it makes sense. Watercolour is about lots of little ideas, adding up to make it easier. My grandmother who was from Stirling had a wonderful phrase, being Scottish, “many a Mickle makes a muckle “ which pretty much sums it up! Thanks for watching. Best wishes, James

Many thanks for fulfilling my request. Great tutorial!

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Sam, My pleasure. It’s a very interesting question and the real message is to realise that what you’re trying to do in the painting dictates how much water you need which is constantly changing. The more you practice the more it becomes second nature Best wishes, James

Thank you so much James. I really needed this at the moment. I hope I can try out some of this coming weekend.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Wim, My pleasure, it’s great that you’re going to give it a go, and I look forward to hearing how it went! Best wishes, James

Love your videos James. Keep up the good work !!

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Stu, Glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully lots more videos to come in the spring! Thanks for watching. Best wishes, James

Loved this video. It’s very useful for beginners. Thank you for making it 😊.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

I’m glad that it’s been helpful to you😊

Thank you James, very well explained 😊

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Susan, My pleasure. The main message really is that there is no set amount of water to use. It very much depends on what you’re trying to achieve. Thanks for watching Best wishes, James

Glad you mentioned the use of the towel, its a pretty essential component for control.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

The towel is a really good thing to have, and as you say, add a lot to the control of Watercolour. I don’t use one outside, flicking it is so much quicker. Best wishes, James

Excellent!

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Carolina, Glad you enjoyed it. I hope you have time to give The value watches a go It’s an interesting challenge, but a good learning experience , Best wishes, James

🤙good stuff James

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Zip, Glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you manage to give the value swatches a go. Best wishes, James

Thank you James. It's hard to master the water to pigment ratio. Your explanation helped a lot.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Lou, My pleasure. I hope it gives you a basic understanding of the process. Practice is the way to make it almost instinctive. Happy painting. Best wishes, James

Thanks. Good information.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Joanne, That’s great, I hope you manage to give it a go. It is an interesting tannage to try and get the values going in order. Best wishes, James

This is very helpful - thankyou- I will be doing these exercises today. Cant wait to see if I 'get it'.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Susan, You’re welcome. I’m looking forward to hearing how your experimentation goes. Best wishes, James

@susanyoung6632

3 ай бұрын

@@JamesPotterAboutArt it went really well - Thankyou for asking - i did pages and pages of practice and - by George I think Ive got it. I included pages of sky washes so I now feel a lot more confident. Thankyou so much!

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

@@susanyoung6632 That’s really great! Confidence is such an important part of painting Watercolour. James

Thanks great info

@JamesPotterAboutArt

2 ай бұрын

Hi Julia, Glad it was helpful. I hope your painting is going well. Best wishes, James

Thank you James. Off to the water and paint…and paper. No flicking at the dog!

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Noel, My pleasure. I look forward to hearing how it went. Your dog must be very relieved to know he won’t be flicked at😅

@noelnicholls3622

3 ай бұрын

@@JamesPotterAboutArt I did take a photo and I can’t find how to send it to you. Not techno enough.here…here…

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

@@noelnicholls3622 Hi Noel, You can send the photo here jamespotterimages@gmail.com Looking forward to seeing you !

Thank you so much for another very helpful video. I think one of my other issues is getting the dried watercolor in my palette to be sufficiently wet again to make for easier mixing. I think I need to let things soak for a bit longer once reactivated with the spray water. Continuing to enjoy the learning journey and your videos are a big part of my small successes. :-)

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Johanna, Glad you enjoyed the video again and thank you for your kind words. It’s very rewarding to know that in a small way I am helping people. Not painting enough is quite a problem when the colours go a bit hard. I think probably the best thing to do is at least two days before you paint is to spray the colours with Water. Lots of people have this trouble, you’re certainly not the only one! Enjoy your painting. Best wishes, James

Hi James, I'm sure everyone agreed with me on this, the way you use the blues, is just awesome, fantastic. Can you expand on that? Man, if someone accused me to use blues like you, it will be an honor. I just love it! Thanks!

@JamesPotterAboutArt

2 ай бұрын

Hi Felix, Glad you liked the video . I think blue is an amazing colour, it expresses so much. It tells me when I look at it that this is a shadow which is so helpful. I hope you enjoy experimenting with it. Thanks for your kind words. Best wishes, James

Thank you for the leason. I wish i could share a photo I biunced between more blue and more brown rather than an increasing gradient of the mix... a Challenge to be sure. Im playing with all the colors I mixed before watching your mixing videos to clean up my pallettes!! Again many thanks to you for the lesson

@JamesPotterAboutArt

Ай бұрын

Hi Ann, I’m really pleased that you’re giving it a go. It’s well worth practising, as mixing values is one of the most important parts of watercolour painting. Keep going. Best wishes, James

water = tone ! brilliant

@JamesPotterAboutArt

2 ай бұрын

Hi Wendy, Glad you’ve picked something up from the video! Best wishes, James

Hello-lovely videos, friend! I’m grateful to have found your channel🙏🏻. Quick question please? The palette you’re using in the videos along with where you purchased your palette, please? Thank you, and I pray you’ll have a beautiful day!!

@JamesPotterAboutArt

Ай бұрын

Hi, I’m glad you found me! It’s a lovely Palette, the style of it is called a binning Monroe. Mine is made by the little brass box company in England. I did a video review on it, which might interest you, I think it was about seven or eight months ago. It’s an expensive palette , but for me well worth it. Best wishes, James

Hi James, I enjoyed watching your latest video. I wanted to comment straight away before trying my own swatch test. Just so I can give you instant feedback. The water question is like how long is a piece of string? I get the water variable has so many factors, I understand your message and will try and keep that at the front of my mind along with all your previous videos from day one with the apple! I am slowly compiling what style and what subjects I want to paint. One question, i realize now I need a new palette, Can you recommend one for a reasonable price for a beginner. I appreciate yours is the best out there but understandably at a high price. I believe the palette is so important. Thank you for taking time during your busy week to share your knowledge with everyone. Steve Ps sorry about the long message. Good luck with your exhibition.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Steve, Glad you’re going to give the swatches a go! I used to use a Holbein Palette, which was great. It’s a Japanese company, but unfortunately I think they’ve stopped making them and a cheaper version is now available on Amazon. I think it’s still listed as Holbein but I don’t think it’s the same company. Some of my students have used them and they seem okay. they’re not expensive which is good. One of the big problems with my Palette is that even if you wanted one and prepared to pay the price, you have to wait a year for it to be made! Let me know what palette you buy in the end. Best wishes, James

@stephenfoster1818

3 ай бұрын

Hi James, thanks for your message, hope your exhibition went well? To be honest I am struggling to find a suitable palette on Amazon you mentioned doesn't seem to have much mixing space, maybe it's me . Steve

I like how you keep saying that it is the painting that dictated the amount of water. We (I) certainly need to get a feel for that in order to be proficient at painting.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

I think that’s the real message of the video, that what you’re trying to do is the most important, and then that lets you work out how much water you need.

@awatercolourist

3 ай бұрын

@@JamesPotterAboutArt Indeed!

Nicely explained James, thank you. Is you exhibition next week. We are on holiday staying in Aberfoyle next week and we are in Edinburgh on Tuesday and Glasgow on Wednesday if your exhibition is in the area.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Jim, Glad you enjoyed the video. It’s quite a complicated thing for me to get over and explain how much water you need. The paintings are heading off to the Aberfeldy Gallery, 9 Kenmore Street. Aberfeldy, Starting on Monday 11th March. It’s not a one man exhibition. They’ll have four watercolours and two oils of mine to view. I hope you manage to get there, but it may be a little bit out your way. Have a great trip in Scotland. Best wishes, James

@jimsmith3653

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for your reply. A shame the exhibition isn’t in Edinburgh as we are on a coach tour, I don’t have to drive😊. I look forward to seeing your paintings on KZread and your website.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hopefully one day you’ll get to see one of my exhibitions

Hi James, this one got me thinking, as a very amature painter what usually happens, to me at anyrate, is I end up with paintings generally with limited tone, and I'd guess you would see that a lot in amatured paintings. For me the problem is simply that I don't paint enough so my paints dry out hence they are difficult to activate also the colours can also look dead they don't have the vibrancy of colours mixed from moist paint as I see with professional artists. Also this leads me to over mix the paint which is a thing you say should be avoided. Thing is I know what my main issue is, dried out paint. I have tried putting a moist pad in my pallet when not in use and seal pallet in a resealable plastic bag, but this seemsto encourage fungus type growth on some paints also some dry out quicker than others especially cerulean blue. Not tried the putting the pallet in a sealed bag in the fridge yet as one you tube artist suggested, I think my domestic authority would not be to happy, so anyone got any ideas to keep paints moist over a prolonged period??? Lasly I hope all goes well with the exbibition, might it be a possibility to see some of you paintings framed and hung at the exhitiion, sorry I've gone on for a bit.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Martyn, Dried out paints is an interesting problem, I have experienced it as I do paint in oil and leave the watercolours for awhile. Like you, I tried the bag idea, but then it went mouldy, so that wasn’t good. I think a good plan would be to buy a small spray bottle and perhaps spray them every couple of days or at least the day before you start painting, to give them a chance to soften. Let me know if that works. Best wishes, James

@ArmbrusterCompany

3 ай бұрын

Another youtube video suggested that you store your palette in the refrigerator and it works without getting mold! lightly mist your pans of paint, add a folded piece of damp paper towel, close your palette and refrigerate. Success

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

@@ArmbrusterCompany That sounds like the perfect solution🎉

So let me get this straight: when you are at home you flick your brush on the rug, but when you are outside you flick it on your wife? You have a VERY patient wife 😂. My regards to her.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

It always makes me laugh 😂

@awatercolourist

3 ай бұрын

@@JamesPotterAboutArt 😂😂

Hello James, good subject. If you allow me to provide a feedback: the subject here is rater about the paint/water ratio than « quantity of water », to achieve your value/tone study. This raises a new question: how to avoid loosing color intensity in light values ? With you method and the pigments you are using, light swatches are washed-out. Maybe you can present other approaches that avoid loosing color intensity in lights. Bye.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Alan, Glad you enjoyed the video. It’s always good to get feedback. An interesting part of Watercolour is that there are so many little things that in the end make a big difference. I’m more of a value painter than anything else, and I think it’s impossible to avoid colours becoming weak when you paint the lighter colours, it doesn’t worry me that the colours become a little washed out when they’re light as I think it’s impossible for them not to be washed out. The real intense colour comes in the midtones, which is probably where the painting lives and dies. Thanks for your interesting observation. Best wishes, James

@elmacoturko

3 ай бұрын

@@JamesPotterAboutArt I read in a book that if you warm up your lights, it won't look washed out. Warm up a little bit yet try to keep your shape cool if you need a cool shape.

@elmacoturko

3 ай бұрын

I read in a book that if you warm up your lights, it won't look washed out. Warm up a little bit yet try to keep your shape cool if you need a cool shape.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

2 ай бұрын

@@elmacoturko Hi Felix, Thanks for that . I’ll give it some thought and I’m sure I will use that idea. Best wishes, James

W/C dries lighter on the paper I nearly always get it wrong but thanks James for tuitional

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi Robert, My pleasure. Hopefully that’s helped in one of the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. Best wishes, James

Amount of water was my biggest strugle when I started my watercolor journy.All my paintings,looked like I was using acrylic paint and only some of them,looked like gouache.but none looked trensparent like watercolor should look!

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

It does sound like you haven’t used enough water in your mixes. Have a go at using excessive amount of water and see how it looks as long as you can have a wet mix and a dark mix at the same time. Enjoy your experience. Let me know how it goes. Best wishes, James

@greekveteran2715

3 ай бұрын

Exactly! I was also using Van Gohgs, which are more on the opaque side. They worked better with more and more water I added! I was also afraid at first, to wet the paper and use wet on wet.I'm still learning. Every single painting I do, has a big difference, getting better and better with every try! I got some Rafael natural brushes, which also helped! (803 no4 and 8408 No6/No2 and a Da Vinci Maestro 35 no6) I got these, after almost one year of experience,trying to learn Thanks for the support. Keep up the good work! @@JamesPotterAboutArt

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

That’s great! Are use Winsor and Newton artists quality tube paints which are really great. It’s amazing how the quality of your tools can affect the outcome of your painting It’s very exciting to see improvement! Keep going. Best wishes, James

This is interesting, because as a non-painter (who wants to try and all a us gets it “wrong”) I would make the darkest and go in with more and more water, rather than this way around.

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi, Glad you enjoyed the video. I think it’s always best to take as accurate colour from the Palette to the paper as you can. Adding water to the paper can make things a bit tricky. I think it’s easier to add pigment to make it darker than the other way round. Thanks for watching. Best wishes, James

So really you're just winging it because you're not sure until you see it on the paper 😂 We all need to realise that the water content = the amount of white paper showing through, which isn't the same as addding white to an opaque medium. Using the white of the paper to create light is unique to watercolour and allowing the paper to show through is what gives watercolour such a special quality of light. So the answer to how much pigment vs water is how much white paper do you want to see 🧡🙏🩵

@JamesPotterAboutArt

3 ай бұрын

Hi, That’s the really interesting part of Watercolour, using the paper. Most of the time we don’t use white, so careful mixing is so important. I do my best to mix it accurately as I can on the Palette and then if I have to, I adjust it on the paper. Another really important observation I have with Watercolour painting is that you’re never really in complete control and there’s always risk and a feeling that there’s an emergency happening. It all adds to the fun🎉 Thanks for your interesting comment. Best wishes, James