Breathe Life into Your Portraits with Soft, Flowing Watercolour!

Portraits can feel intimidating, but they don’t have to be. In this class, I’ll guide you through a soft and expressive approach to watercolour portraiture that focuses on emotion, mood, edge variety and the natural flow of the paint, rather than perfection.

We’ll break the process down into clear, manageable steps so you can confidently paint a luminous, lifelike portrait. Using techniques like wet-on-wet blending, soft glazing, and gentle lifting, we’ll build skin tones, add subtle shadows, and paint expressive facial features with a light, natural touch.

Whether you’re new to portrait painting or looking to loosen up your technique, this class is designed to help you explore watercolour’s beauty while keeping things relaxed and intuitive.

In this class, you’ll learn how to:

Build luminous skin tones with gentle, transparent layering
Paint natural-looking eyes and features without overworking
Use soft edges and loose brushwork to capture emotion and flow
Control water and pigment to strike the right balance between realism and looseness

For our project, we’ll paint a vibrant, expressive portrait together, step by step. You’ll learn how to simplify the process and lean into watercolour’s expressive nature to capture a sense of lightness, character, and life.

This class is about expression, not perfection. You’ll come away with a painting that feels alive, fluid, and uniquely yours.

Grab your brushes and join me on this creative journey. Let’s paint portraits that truly come to life!

Thank you so much for your interest in this class!

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Try this class to explore your creativity...

I’ve been painting for many years now, taken part in many exhibitions around the world and won awards from well respected organisations. As well as having my work feature in art magazines. After having success selling my originals and 1000s of prints around the world, I decided to start traveling with my brushes and paintings. My style is modern and attempts to grasp the essence of what I’m painting whilst allowing freedom and expression to come through. I simplify complicated subjects into easier shapes that encourages playfulness.

You'll Learn:

What materials and equipment to need to painting along
Basic technique to complete your first painting
How to avoid common mistakes
Choosing the right colours for your painting
How to blend colours and create textures for different effects
Making corrections and improvements
Finishing touches that make a big difference

When enrolled, I’ll include my complete ‘Watercolour Mixing Charts’. These are a huge aid for beginners and experts alike. They show what every colour on the palette looks like when mixed with each other. Indispensable when it comes to choosing which colour to mix.

Don’t forget to follow me on Skillshare. Click the “follow” button and you’ll be the first to know as soon as I launch a new course or have a big announcement to share with my students.

Additional Resources:

Here are the art supplies I recommend
Follow me on Instagram
Check out my website

Music by Audionautix.com

Will Elliston

Award-Winning Watercolour Artist

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