Whenever I visit Tate Britain I always spend an inordinate amount of time with my face pressed close to Turner’s watercolours, trying to figure out how he did what he did. I was so glad that I picked up How to Paint Like Turner ( US / UK / iBook ) the last time I was there, as it has quickly become one of my favourite watercolour books! The techniques of the master artist are deconstructed by artists who are themselves extremely accomplished; the instructions are clear and well-photographed; and the tutoria
Here is my attempt to recreate Turner’s study of two swans .
I began by laying in a wash of yellow ochre, then a wash of burnt sienna. I then sketched in the swans, trying (but failing) to follow Chaplin’s injunction to keep the linework energetic. I think I should have used a heavier textured paper and a softer and blunter pencil. Finally, I added white gouache in several layers. An interesting side-effect of the initial washes was that if I put too much white in an area and tried to blot it, I often ended up with the yellow ochre showing through. Not ideal for this