The Easy Guide to Painting Water in Watercolour

Stephen Coates was born in Sheffield in 1960. The son of a draughtsman, he was introduced to drawing at a very young age. He excelled in art at school but chose a career in retail, working first in the music industry for 16 years followed by another 16 years running his own catering business. Over a period of 20 years, Stephen learned and specialized in watercolours in his spare time, and gradually developed his own style and unique brand of teaching. In 2011 he became a full-time professional freelance artist, and set up his own studio in Sheffield with the purpose of teaching others watercolour painting. From here he runs courses, workshops and hosts his own amateur art groups. Stephen also demonstrates his skills and shares his expertise at art societies all over England, and exhibits at a variety of national art shows. Stephen has authored three how-to books on painting with watercolours – The Watercolour Enigma (2018), Take Three Colours: Watercolour Lakes & Rivers (2019) and The Easy Guide to Painting Skies in Watercolour (2022). Visit his website www.coatesart.co.uk

Introduction 6

Planning 8

Water and reflections 9

Understanding paint 14

Brushes and brushing techniques 18

Other techniques 23

Watercolour paper 24

Tools and materials 26

Working from photographs 28



WATER 30



Lakes and calm water 32

Project: Reeds in the Shallows 34

Project: Misty Lake 41



Boats on water 50

Project: Serene Moorings 52

Project: Boats at Low Tide 60



Sea and breaking waves 72

Project: Beach at Sunset 77



Sparkling water 84

Project: Stormy Island Beach 88



Waterfalls and cascading water 96

Project: Moorland Falls 101



Water droplets 108

Project: Oak Leaves 109



Index 112