Painting horses in watercolour

£30

Painting horses in watercolour

Horses tend to feature high on any list of most popular animals. And no wonder. Our relationship with them goes back for many thousands of years. Back then, horses were used mostly for milk and meat, before being used as the powerhouse for agriculture and transport for adventurers through the centuries.

But what if you want to capture a horse in loose and lively watercolour without painting every hair? You want to capture their beauty and strength while breathing life into your painting.

In this course you will complete two warm up exercises to give you the knowledge and skills to tackle the portrait of this lovely 'flea bitten' grey. The final project is a full length step-by-step portrait.

Remember

You have lifetime access
You can start whenever you want
You can repeat each lesson as many times as you wish
Reference photos and clear instructions are included throughout
You are invited to join a friendly Facebook Group to share your work or ask questions: https://www.facebook.com/groups/694706731930461

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Introduction

Horses tend to feature high on any list of most popular animals, usually just behind dogs and cats. And no wonder. Our relationship with them goes back for many thousands of years. Horses were first domesticated in Asia between 3000 and 4000 BC. Back then, horses were used mostly for milk and meat, before being used as the powerhouse for agriculture and transport for adventurers through the centuries.

But how do you capture their beauty, strength and spirit without rendering every hair?

In this course you will learn the techniques and approach to painting horses in loose and lively watercolour. We will work together step by step in a full-length demonstration of this equine portrait.

If you have enjoyed this course and share the work you've done on it, please make sure to tag me on social media (@lizchaderton on Instagram and /lizchadertonartist on Facebook) so I can get to see it too! It would be great if you could say that it is from this course, as that helps spread the word.

If you are not a member already, why not join Watercolour Studio over on Facebook? https://www.facebook.com/groups/694706731930461 And finally, you should not exhibit or display pieces completed on this course without my written permission, to comply with copyright law. I really look forward to seeing what you do.

Horse introduction

Preview

Materials required

Preview

Warm up exercise - silhouette

Through this simple exercise you will learn the importance of painting shapes not things, glazing, background washes, wet in wet, soft and hard edges, tonal variation and probably a bit more too!

Horse silhouette

Materials required

Background example

Silhouette reference

Silhouette exercise

Silhouette duo example

Silhouette purple example

Silhouette alternative colours example

Warm up exercise - moving pigment

If you don't want to paint every strand of mane or every hair of the coat, are there ways of moving the pigment around to do the work for you?

The good news is that yes, there are!

Horse - moving pigment

Materials required

Horses head silhouette reference

Profiles example

Moving paint tools - example sheet

An equine portrait - planning

A few minutes planning your composition, the colours and order of working, will save you a lot of heartache. You might be desperate to paint, but 10 minutes planning is worth its weight in gold!

Planning

Horse reference photo

Eye reference

Thumbnail

Horse alternative reference

An equine portrait - starting with the eye

We start with the eye and work out down the nose to the muzzle.

Portrait - starting with the eye

Materials required

The eye starts to emerge

The rest of the face

An equine portrait - mane and body

Continuing to paint the mane and body, we put some of the pigment moving techniques into practice.

Mane and body

Mane using cling film

Working back into the mane

An equine portrait - background

Capturing the light on the ears, mane and around the nose, by painting negatively ie the background defines the animal's shape.

Portrait background

Painting the background

Painting around the nose

An equine portrait - second layer

Having completed 85% of the painting, this stage requires a light touch and a good deal of thought.

Adjustments in the second layer

Colour sanding on the nose

Working on the mane

An equine portrait - finishing touches

The end is in sight! What do we need to do for the last 5% and when should we say enough is enough?

Finishing up

Close up of sgraffito

The final painting