Why take this class: In this class, you’ll paint a fabulous moonlit white heron using a limited palette of cool blues, neutrals, and soft earth tones. The focus is on creating atmosphere, light, and contrast through watercolour techniques rather than tight detail.

You’ll learn how to build a luminous night sky, preserve and define white shapes, and create a sense of calm and stillness through controlled tonal values. The class balances loose, expressive washes with carefully placed details to bring the heron and its surroundings to life.

By the end of the class, you’ll have a finished painting that explores mood, light, and negative space—skills you can apply to many other subjects.

In this class you’ll learn how to:

Paint atmospheric skies using wet-on-wet techniques
Use negative and positive painting to preserve light areas
Create depth and form with tonal values
Suggest water, reflections, and texture with minimal brushwork
Add fine details using white media and lifting techniques

A warm welcome to my class! Watercolour is an enchanting, magical medium, and by the end of this class, you will have the skills needed to create this fabulous Great White Heron nesting in the moonlight. The course is packed with exciting ideas and techniques. I will show you exactly how to paint this stunning scene from start to finish - you’ll get a real glimpse of what goes into my painting as you work alongside of me up-close and personal. I will remove the mystery of watercolour and show you how to discover new ways to unleash your creativity as you join me on this inspirational journey of start-to-finish demonstrations and techniques. As the video unfolds, you will see how colours work together, how to step into impressionism and push colour to capture the mood and essence of your subject. This class will inspire you to use watercolour in a range of different ways. Best of all, you’ll gain a real sense of accomplishment by creating your own beautiful, evocative Heron painting.

Is this class for me? Absolutely, 100% yes! Watercolour basics are very simple to learn - like everything else it just takes practice to master, whilst also allowing the watercolour to ‘do its own thing’ and not trying to overly-control those ‘happy accidents’. All are welcome. If you are a complete beginner, you will learn the simple methods needed to paint with confidence. There are also techniques and ideas for those who already have some experience but want to loosen up a bit, become more expressive, and enhance their watercolour skills. You don't need to know how to draw, as I provide a template of the drawing for you to download and trace - so you can just concentrate on the fun of painting.

What will we explore? This course is packed with:

* Start-to-finish demonstrations so you can see first-hand how to build up the painting every step of the way. I verbally explain the entire process in a friendly and easy-to-understand manner.

* I’m a big believer in ‘learning by 'doing' rather than by lecture, so you will paint right alongside me, up close and personal and learn the skills in a practical way.

* Step-by-step guidance and best practice for a range of creative watercolour techniques - I'll be guiding you gently through the whole thing (eg, paint white shapes using negative painting, simplify a subject, add shadows, wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, blending and softening, adding depth and contrast with tonal values, using masking fluid to preserve white paper, to name but a few!)

* Some of my favourite studio tips and tricks for successful working practices and saving time (eg, use a damp brush or magic sponge to lift colour, layer colour, avoid washed out paintings, use white acrylic paint to enhance a watercolour painting)

What do I need? A selection of watercolour paints (at least one red, blue and yellow): a few watercolour brushes, paper, palette, water sprayer, paper towel, pencil, rubber, water pot - you'll probably already have some of these items in a cupboard somewhere.

Alright, let's do it! Come join me for a fun, creative class! Let's get going. Just follow the video boldly along, and you’ll soon have the knowledge and confidence to produce your very own gorgeous Heron painting that zings with colour and energy.

I can't wait to see what you create!

My Artwork: I’ve been teaching people how to paint with watercolour for many years - you can see more examples of my artwork on my website: http://www.carriemckenzieart.co.uk

Peggy Cole

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