Clairefontaine Watercolour Practise Blocks

Amylee tries the pre-printed watercolour blocks!

Sometimes I talk to creative people with a taste for colours, but they are not that good at drawing. People tell me they do not dare to create anything, because they cannot paint or draw.

Most of the time, I’d say to them that we must see the technique not as an obstacle, but as a muscle strengthening exercise, and by training this regularly we get to change the appearance of his pencil stroke.
I recently found a watercolour Practice Blocks extremely useful for this. A concept inspired by our childhood colouring books. This practice blocks gives the opportunity to paint without drawing skills.

Easy Watercolour  | Learning Pad #2 

Key features:

• Watercolour Learning Pad Etival
• Brand : Clairefontaine
• Edition #2 : available in 2 versions with different prints
• Pad size : A4 (8.3×11.7 in), 300g/m2
• Paper: Acid free, 12 sheets
• Practice Blocks: 6 prints to copy + details, 6 pre-drawn, 1 step by step

Inside | Different Prints to Copy

INSPIRING! You can find on this practice block 6 pictures to paint:

• Flowers
• Mushrooms
• Snowy Cottage
• Marine landscape
• Macarons
• A farm scene

Inside | 1 step-by-step

Clairefontaine pre-printed watercolour practice blocks allow easy experimentation with watercolour techniques. The pre-printed designs help you create a watercolour without affecting your creativity. The choice of colours and effects is up to you!

USEFUL!  A step-by-step that is extremely detailed with images and text and an easy to follow guide for beginners.

Materials

Good to have!

• Watercolour Spotter & Detail Brush and Wash Brush
• HB Graphite Pencil + Kneadable Eraser
• Drawing gum
• Watercolour Paint (pans or tubes)
• Flower-Shaped Plastic Palette
• Water + Paper Towels
• OPTIONAL: Chinese ink (for fine lines and your signature), Kraft Gummed Tape (to prevent warping paper) and Natural Sponge (to create effects)

You can find all these items on GreatArt.co.uk

Choice number 1 | Branch of roses

The first 6 sheets offer different pictures, already drawn (prints to copy and a mini step-by-step indicating colours to use).

If we focus on the pre-drawn paper, we can see a slight printed drawing representing the subject to paint. Two methods are available to the artist:

• Draw over the sketch to better distinguish the forms before painting.
• Start painting straight away using the visible sketch. I chose the second method.

With a printed drawing, you feel quickly confident and can have fun with shapes and colours.

Here we go, my work is finally done! I followed all the explanations on paper (at first) but I quickly chose to draw around to recreate Joël Simon’s Watercolour!

Choice number 2 | Yummy macarons

Thanks to Joël Simon

Before closing, I want to clarify that this practice block is a training paintbook. To illustrate the step-by-step, Clairefontaine highlights the paintings of the watercolourist Joël Simon. Out of respect for his artwork and so it is no confusion, I write on the back of my sheet: his name, title, and mention that it is a copy.
I invite you to discover the vivid watercolours of Joël Simon on his website.
Now you know all about easy watercolour. So now you no longer have an excuse not to go get all your brushes!

All images are © Jo York www.joyorkart.co.uk

Find all Jo’s posts published in GreatArt online Magazine by clicking here!

Discover I Love Art full range available online at www.greatart.co.uk/i-love-art and in-store.

The markers featured in this post:

• Individuals I Love Art Twin Markers
• Colours Sets of 12 I Love Art Twin Markers
• Colours Set of 80 I Love Art Twin Markers
• Grey Shades Set of 12 I Love Art Twin Markers

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