Let's demystify how to mix a range of earth tones using orange in watercolour. From deep browns to earthy reds and yellows. I'll take you through my thought process with the example of mixing with Pyrrole Orange. We'll look at a finished painting and mixing chart using this orange, and how I mixed earth tones with it. Earth pigments are wonderful for convenience, so why learn to mix earth tones without them? It can help you practice colour mixing theory, learn how to make interesting hues, and help increase the range of limited palettes for you to use. Mixing with complementary colours is a staple part of colour theory, yet there are a whole world of mixes available to you by utilising near-complements too.

Art supplies change or get discontinued entirely more frequently than people may realise. Rather than letting discontinuations be all doom and gloom, I want to share with you all the joy and help that an old pigment has given me in my painting practice over the years. Today we’ll be looking at Transparent Pyrrol Orange by Daniel Smith - but the much redder version that was discontinued before 2019 - and the process of a tiger painting.

A peek inside my thought process for creating a watercolour pet portrait of Bella, a sweet elderly dog for International Pet Day.

How do you handle very intensely granulating paints in watercolour? Join me as I walk through how I planned the painting of a lion portrait in watercolour and gouache to account for the heavy granulation of French Ultramarine PB29 by Schmincke.