watercolour mix

White Lilies

March 31, 2020 by Helen Parry

Materials for my white lilies painting

Painted on Saunders Waterford hot press 300gsm traditional white paper.

Winsor and Newton Kolinsky series 7 sable brushes nos. 0, 00 and 000.

Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolours.

White lilies

Most people are struggling to work out what day it is at the moment, however, Easter is now only just around the corner. Inspired by this time of year, I have decided to paint some wonderful white lilies. These flowers are an important symbol in Christianity and are said to reflect purity. The white lily is also known as the Madonna lily and these are truly gorgeous flowers. Although, it’s often the case that the flower heads get squashed together as buds open. To avoid this, I produced my latest watercolour painting from various photographs that I have taken of groups of white lilies.

The greens

To begin with, I mixed the various hues of green that I was going to need. This started with a pale green wash which was created by gently mixing my blue and yellow paint together.

From here, I mixed together a stronger and warmer hue of green. This was created for the anther stems of the white lilies. My final green hue was a much stronger colour but with an additional blue tone to add into the long, strong, stems of the flower.

No white paint

As I do not use white watercolour paint or masking fluid in my pure watercolour technique, I had to create the petals of the flowers through the use of shadows. This involved delicately and methodically painting in shadows around each of the petals. To create these shadows, as I do not use a pre-mixed black paint, I created a pale blue-black tone from my three watercolours (red, blue and yellow).

Finally, I mixed two palettes for the yellow/orange anthers of the white lilies.

White lilies watercolour painting - Helen Parry Art

The first strokes

To begin the botanical painting, I started with a pale green outline to the buds and stems of the white lilies and I used the pale blue/black mix to outline the petals. By doing this, it helps me identify the different shapes in the painting.

From these initial strokes, I moved on to paint the yellow tones of the anther tips within each of the flowers. To produce the strong and powerful yellow, I added about four layers of watercolour wash here.

Next, I used the pale green mix to paint the first layers on the anther stems. Again, this involved building up the layers of colour. As a layer of watercolour wash dried, I added another to create a darker green hue. Each stroke of paint was carefully added alongside the anther stem to create shadow and definition.

Once I had built up some shape and definition to the anthers, I went back to the yellow/orange watercolour wash. I applied this to the painting to add some further shape and definition to the anthers. To create the delicate fallen pollen on the petals, I added a little yellow paint to my wash to create a lighter tone and gently added the detail in.

White lilies work in progress - Helen Parry Art

Building layers and shadows

Once these layers had dried, I began carefully painting shadows onto the stamens, anthers and pollen using the light blue/black mix.

To create the subtle layers in the strong and stunning petals of the white lilies, I added a soft, pale-yellow wash. I only added this wash in specific areas of the petals to add some warmth to the painting without detracting from the vibrant white flower.

Building further shadows within the painting involved adding the blue/black watercolour mix. This was steadily added to the central ridges of the petals and slowly worked outwards.

To create the visible and defined shadows, I painted several layers of black watercolour mix onto the petals. Each time making the centre of the flowers darker. There are also subtle green washes in the centre of the flowers too, which help form a natural and delicate look. As I work, I constantly step back to assess the dark shadows as I paint. It is important to find the balance between shape and form of the petals and the light and dark shadows.

White flowers in watercolour - Helen Parry Art

This white lilies painting took many sittings to create. Patience was vital in that I had to wait for each layer to dry, before I could add another watercolour layer. It’s also important to take time over adding in each layer, if the previous is not thoroughly dry, adding more can lift paint and make a mess which is often not salvageable.

White lilies painted in watercolour - Helen Parry Art

The black watercolour paint

Another issue that needs to be avoided is the separation in my black wash. The different mixes try to split in the painting palette, on my brush and the watercolour paper too! It is important to stay vigilant and give the mix a quick stir together regularly. This occurs as I create my own black wash in my pure watercolour technique, if using pre-bought mixes, this shouldn’t occur though.

White flowers painted in watercolour - Helen Parry Art

Finishing off

When finishing my white lilies watercolour painting, I add in the three buds. These are created using the green mixes, starting with the lightest, through to the darkest. One of the buds is still tightly closed, one is just about to peek out and the third is beginning to flaunt its stunning white petals.

Once the green layers are built up on the stems, I finally paint the shadows of the buds.

It’s at this point that I step away from my botanical watercolour painting. I will leave it overnight, then take another look. Finally I will add any details I feel are missed or need more layers of paint.

Pure Watercolour Technique – Mixing Watercolours

February 23, 2020 by Helen Parry

My pure watercolour technique involves producing each of my watercolour paintings using just three watercolour pigments; red, yellow and blue. From these three primary colours, I mix all the different tones and shades that you can see in my finished paintings.

Watercolour Mixes as swatches- Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

Why do I mix my colours?

With such a variety of different watercolours available to buy pre-mixed, I am often asked why I produce all of my own different colours. Instinctively, I know how to create the specific colours I want contained within my paintings and to be honest, this process has always worked well for me, even as a young child! When mixing watercolour paints, I have more control over my paintings. By mixing my own colours, rather than buying off the shelf, I can produce the exact shades I want to bring together.

The paints

My ‘go to’ brand for watercolour paints are Winsor and Newton Artist watercolour pigments and I use them in tube form. By using the tubes, this allows me to create a thicker body of paint. To start with I use three trusty ceramic egg cups for the three paints! This makes the paint more easily accessible for me to mix from. I then use ceramic palettes for mixing paints and developing the colours. These are just the right size to hold in my hand for when I stand and paint at the easel.

Watercolours being mixed in egg cups - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

The Winsor and Newton watercolour pigments I use also have an excellent lightfastness and a strong pigment content, so the colours will not easily fade. This is important to me as my paintings can take 100-150 hours to create, I want to know that each will last a long time.

Mixing watercolours

To mix my colours, I rely on my instincts. For example, I generally know how much blue or yellow paint I need to add, to create a particular shade of green. This also comes with years of practice too!

Here in this sheet, you can see I have created 54 different colours from just mixing combinations of the red, yellow and blue. There are many more colours and variations of colours that can be produced; however, these are just a selection. I worked quickly through this colour chart and didn’t think through the colours produced, but I just worked instinctively.

Tone and hue

The tone of a colour means the lightness or darkness of a colour.

The hue of a colour means the actual colour i.e lemon yellow or gold yellow.

By using only three colours of paint, I have a greater influence over the tone of a painting. There are times when I want to create a contrasting tone, such as when I’m painting autumn colours, where I want to emphasise the vibrant rusty reds and burnt oranges. To achieve a tonal contrast means applying a strong, darker colour next to a light, vibrant colour. You can see this effect in my Wrekin in Autumn watercolour painting.

The importance of water

When I create colours, the amount of water I apply to the paint affects the tone I achieve. The basic rule is, the less water the stronger the colour. However, this is sometimes a difficult balancing act, as I need water to create my mixed colours, whereas it would be a more simplistic process if I were to paint with pre-mixed watercolour pigments.

Further to this, not only does the amount of water affect the tone achieved, but so does the amount of watercolour layers I apply to the paper. The more layers I add, the stronger the colour I achieve. You can see the chart where I show the colour before and after more water is added to affect the tone.

Mixing Watercolours and Tones - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

Using mixed watercolour paints

Pigments that are mixed can be harder to keep bound together in the palette, so they need to be regularly re-mixed before applying the paint to the paper. A mixed pigment for example is when you use a yellow and blue paint to create a green mix, rather than using a ready-made green paint. Additionally, when I mix the paint, I will re-mix variations of mixed paints, to create another hue. All the various green hues in my painting Towards the Light were created from my three colours.

Using a mixed black paint

Black Watercolour Mix - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

The greatest challenge when mixing all of my colours from just red, yellow and blue, is creating a black paint. Therefore, whenever I need black paint I need to make as much black paint as I will need for the painting. Otherwise my black mix might not be the same hue, each time I create it.

A mixed black paint can be very hard to bind together. It can start to separate as you apply it to the paper. Therefore, I have to make sure each layer of black paint is perfectly dry before adding another layer. You can see the separating that may occur in the photograph above.

In my painting Sunset through the Trees I had to apply many layers (approximately 40!) of my own mixed black paint. Each time I brushed a layer on, the colours tried to separate. I had to make the mix flow, so I could apply it smoothly to the paper and yet use as little water as possible, so it was less likely to separate. I also had to paint around the leaves, as I don’t use masking fluid. It was not an easy painting to complete but I think, worth it!

The Snowdrop

February 11, 2020 by Helen Parry

Snowdrop Watercolour Painting in an Oak Frame - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

Snowdrops (Galanthus) are small delicate, white flowers that are best well known for the representation of the winter turning into spring. These hardy little plants are often a wonderful sight at this time of year with blankets of them often covering the floor of woodlands across the UK. You may even be lucky enough to spot some in your own garden too. I adore these fragile flowers and have been feeling inspired to use them as my latest watercolour painting subject. Fortunately, I am very lucky to have pockets of snowdrops dotted around my garden, close by to my studio. I didn’t have to travel far to get started! Find out how I painted my watercolour snowdrops in more detail.

My Materials

Saunders Waterford Hot Press 140lbs watercolour paper.

Winsor and Newton Kolinsky Series 7 sable watercolour brushes in sizes 0,00 and 000.

The Initial Sketch

To begin with, I headed down to the garden to create an initial pencil sketch. Snowdrops can have many linear leaves, so taking this into consideration, I simplified the layout of the flower in my outline sketch.

Watercolour Mixes

My watercolour snowdrop painting has been created using just three colours: red, yellow and blue and mixed into different tones. These three colours were mixed to create three watercolour mixes; yellow/green mix, a darker green mix and finally a blue/black wash.

Snowdrop Watercolour Painting Work in Progress - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

The Initial Outline

To paint the strong and linear leaves of the flower, I created an outline of the stems and each individual leaf. The outline was made using the Winsor and Newton paintbrush, size 0. An initial outline then assists in developing and building the watercolour pigment to create the finished painting.

Continuing on from here, I use the yellow/green mix for the tops of the flowers (the ovary). I also use the pigment mix to add in the delicate stems, as they have a slightly yellow tone, particularly when compared to the dark green of the leaves.

Snowdrop Watercolour Painting in progress - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

The Leaves

Each individual leaf of the snowdrop has a prominent vein running through the middle. I carefully highlighted each vein in each leaf by painting around this area with the dark green watercolour mix. Allowing the vein to show as a highlight.

Snowdrop Watercolour Painting in progress - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

The White Flower

To paint the most spectacular part of these flowers, I do not use any white watercolour paint. Using my blue/black mix of watercolour paint, I cautiously paint the outlines of the snowdrop petals. Following on from the outline, I added in the shadows to each petal. This continued with building up layers of paint. Next, I continued with the tiny, upside down hearts which form the inner petals. These were created with the Winsor and Newton size 00 brush. Dipping back into my blue/black pigment, I started to really develop the definition within the shape of the stems and the darker shadows contained within the petals.

To Finish

Finally, I picked up my size 000 watercolour brush to add in some of the final but crucial details including more detailing around the veins of the leaves. I also added in the detailing contained within the upper stem (the spathe).

Watercolour Painting of snowdrops - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

If you would like to purchase a giclée print of my snowdrop watercolour painting, please visit my online shop.

Sarcococca – watercolour sketch #68

February 27, 2018 by Helen Parry

Sarcococca watercolour (Sweet Box)

Sarcococca is a glossy evergreen shrub. It has interesting creamy white, pink flowers, strong waxy, shiny leaves and best of all a gorgeous sweet scent. The air is filled with the scent, no need to get up close. I thought it was quite an interesting shrub and makes a change from the usual evergreen box hedging you see. Therefore I had to paint it as part of the Watercolour Sketch Series.

Sarcococca watercolour sketch by Helen Parry — Sarcococca watercolour by Helen Parry

Painting Sarcococca

I created three palette mixes for the Sarcococca, a yellow, a pink and a pale yellow green mix. I used the bigger brush to paint the first yellow washes across the underside and main vein of the leaves. Then I made the yellow mix weaker (barely any pigment) and used the mix to paint the flower petals. This gave the petals a creamy colouring.

Next I used the yellow green mix to paint the underside of the leaves. I had observed the leaves appear more yellow in tone on the underside. I added a few layers of the yellow green watercolour mix.

Then I made the green mix a darker green. I used a weak mix of the darker green to paint the initial washes on the leaves. Once the first layers had dried I painted a stronger mix of the dark green on the leaves, leaving areas to act as highlights on the shiny leaves.

Finally I used the smaller brush with the pink mix to paint the tips and the bases of the petals. I then made the pink and stronger mix, almost red in hue and painted this colour on the base of the petals.

Last of all I used the dark green to paint a line of definition on the veins of the leaves, highlighting their glossiness.

Winter Jasmine – watercolour sketch #66

January 26, 2018 by Helen Parry

Winter Jasmine – watercolour (Jasminum nudiflorum)

Winter Jasmine is a very reliable plant. Every year it grows up the sandstone wall of the garden store. It doesn’t need any encouragement, it just carries on growing and flowering, regardless of the cold weather. It is a gorgeous bit of bright yellow colour, through the winter months. There is one thing though, unlike other Jasmines, it lacks a scent.

Winter Jasmine watercolour sketch by Helen Parry — Winter Jasmine watercolour by Helen Parry

Painting Winter Jasmine

I used one paintbrush to paint the Winter Jasmine. First I applied a pale yellow wash to the yellow star flowers. I also painted the emerging buds with the yellow wash. While the wash dried I painted the first green wash of the stems. I used a pale yellow/ green mix. I had noticed the tiny green leaves around the buds seemed more yellow in tone than the stems.

I painted another layer of yellow wash on the Winter Jasmine petals. Next I used a pink watercolour mix to paint areas of the buds. I observed the yellow buds start out pink and green and eventually the pink becomes more a yellow bud.

Then I added a stronger yellow wash to areas of the petals and to the central part of the flower. This gave the petals definition and shape. Next I painted the stems with the yellow/ green mix. Then I made the green watercolour mix into a blue/ green hue. I applied this blue/ green tone to the stems.

Finally I used the blue/ green mix to paint a stronger line on the edge of the stems. Then last of all I used a black mix, to mix into the yellow palette, to create a darker tone of yellow. I used this darker wash to paint the edges of the yellow star shaped petals.

Winter Flame – watercolour sketch #64

December 23, 2017 by Helen Parry

Winter Flame sparks of colour through winter (Cornus Sanguinea)

Winter Flame could be any bush through the summer months, but come Autumn and the stems turn yellow, rising to a deep vibrant orange and the tips are red. Flame is an apt name for this bush. You can’t miss it through Winter, it really stands out against the snow. Everyone sees them and then wonders where they go in Spring and Summer. They have tiny white flowers early Summer and then a black berry.

I saw the Winter Flame in a local park and the three long stems together really caught my eye. I felt I had to paint all three together for the watercolour sketch series.

Painting vibrant watercolours

To begin with, I mixed four watercolour palettes, a yellow, a pink, an orange and a grey. First I created a strong yellow watercolour mix and painted brushstrokes of yellow sweeping up and away from the stems. I let the first layers dry, then re-applied. This process was repeated till I had deep yellow brushstrokes of paint.

Again I repeated this process with the orange watercolour mix, going over some of the yellow brushstrokes. I built layers of watercolour to get a rich vibrant tone of colour. Once the orange layers of wash had dried I applied the pink watercolour wash in brushstrokes to the ends of the yellow and orange brushstrokes. The pink layers over the orange wash gave a red hue effect. Repeatedly adding layers of watercolour wash, builds colour and creates a vibrant Winter Flame.

Next I painted the grey mix in short brushstrokes across the stems. I let the layers dry before adding more short brushstrokes. I also left areas unpainted, to create texture in the stems. Then I used the yellow mix to paint the yellowed moss on the stems. I created a green mix from the yellow to overlay the yellow moss.

Finally I created a pale brown mix from the yellow watercolour mix and used this to paint short brushstrokes to represent the dried grass surrounding the stems. This helped to ground the Winter Flame.