seven-videos, box-set total running time 5hours 2minutes

There are the three principal techniques in watercolours – Line & Wash : Wet on Dry and Wet on Wet.
Each of which can be exploited. Any of which can be combined. All of which can be developed by you to achieve your personal style. For this box-set Paul exploits the Wet on Dry technique in Watercolours to demonstrate a simple land/seascape. This series would suit complete beginners and those seeking to understand the Wet on Dry technique in watercolours.

CHECK OUT the companion box-set 'Painting Topical Techniques for Watercolours with Paul Taggart [Series 1]'.

eight-videos, box-set total running time 1hour 53minutes

You don't need to spend, spend, spend on your painting kit. Let Paul show you what is needed, along with some essential hints and tips that will help you understand the function of your painting equipment and how to make the most of it, plus other essential facts (such as how to successfully stretch paper) and problem solvers. Which is why our watercolour tutorials are based on a core kit of six paints, one palette, a couple of brushes and stretched paper.

six-videos, box-set total running time 6hours

Followers of our tutorials are fascinated to have a greater understanding of traditional techniques and so it is we film a selected number of Masterclasses, focusing on one particular painting at a time. However, to film each and every stroke as I paint would involve a monumental amount of filming and viewing time – which is why in these Masterclasses we focus on one particular section (perhaps one other), so that you can watch that develop from start to finish.

This box-set takes you through my traditional layering technique of working from dark to light; you can watch as Eileen’s camera tracks every brush-stroke, every colour mix, every detail – with close-ups revealing the results of maximising specific techniques such as glazing and tinting. Through my running commentary you will pick up a host of techniques, hints, tips and more as I describe my actions, my thought process, my method, my colour mixes. You will learn about glazing, about tinting, about sgraffito, about tonking.

Nothing is left out, for I do not believe in holding anything back. You are right there with me at my Masterworks easel.

nine-videos, box-set total running time 9hours 17minutes

This series would suit complete beginners and those seeking to understand the Wet on Wet technique in watercolours. Join Paul on this wonderful journey of discovery as he guidse you gently through everything you will need to enjoy this glorious and unique watercolour technique. Learn to exploit it to its fullest and you will soon realise that it opens up a whole new repertoire of techniques that you can use to develop your own individual style in watercolours. Combine it with Line & Wash, or Wet on Dry; or maximise the potential of these three principal watercolour techniques in conjunction with each other – something Paul refers to as the ‘combination technique’.

For this series Paul chose a lake/landscape scene that lends itself to the exploitation of the Wet on Wet technique, well suited to that of working in layers from light to dark.

CHECK OUT the companion box-set 'Painting Topical Techniques for Watercolours with Paul Taggart [Series 2]'

five-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 44minutes

Box-Set No. 2 [Series 1] – helps you learn how to make YELLOW Work for You - how to control your colour mixes, rather than let those pesky mixes control you. No need for all those tubes of different yellows – instead, here’s how to mix an infinite variety of yellows for yourself.  In this box-set Paul shows the basics of mixing a range of yellows, how to identify the colour in your subject, how to adjust colours, how to correct colours and finally two detailed step-by-step studies for you to work-along with, in which yellow is the colour bias of the subject.

A box-set of detailed demonstrations showing how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the YELLOW colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition.

Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.

six-videos, box-set total running time 7hours 32minutes

Box-Set No. 4 [Series 1] – helps you learn how to make BLUE Work for You - how to control your colour mixes, rather than let those pesky mixes control you. No need for all those tubes of different blues – instead, here’s how to mix an infinite variety of blues for yourself.  In this box-set Paul shows the basics of mixing a range of blues, how to identify the colour in your subject, how to adjust colours, how to correct colours and finally two detailed step-by-step studies for you to work-along with, in which blue is the colour bias of the subject.

A box-set of detailed demonstrations showing how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the BLUE colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition.

Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.

six-videos, box-set total running time 6hours 10minutes

Working with Line & Wash need not be about precise linework, nor need it be about detailed linework. In this box-set Paul shows how it can be about working in a manner that allows you to be dynamic, free-flowing and suggestive; using various tools for his linework as introduced in the Painting Equipment Focus video. In the four tutorials, you are guided from the simplest of studies, executed with the lightest of touches, in which sunlight and reflections are the essence of the scene. Then on to another, where changing light conditions affect two views, captured at different times of the day - two structural studies, one a boat, the other a building. Thirdly, a two-part subject, in which a troupe of eight dancers performing for a brief fifteen minutes in an event, form a tableau of moving figures within a montage painting. Not only an object lesson in how to capture multiple full-figure portraits; but also an invaluable lesson in ‘painting’ white. Finally, a strong and bold subject, requiring a strong and bold approach completes this set; a set in which Paul works with different brushes and coloured inks for the linework and exploits several watercolour techniques for the ‘washes’ of colour.

five-videos, box-set total running time 2hours 10minutes

Looking for help with starting off in drawing? Let Paul start you off in the Equipment Focus with an introduction to graphite pencils and sticks. Filmed in real-time, with no editing we take you on the first steps of a journey into this world, following-up with an Equipment Focus on paper wipers for graphite, an essential element for your drawing kit. The accompanying Workshop shows an unusual approach to drawing, using graphite shavings and a kneadable putty erase. Adapted from one of the methods Paul uses for working out the tonal values of a painting, this can be exploited as a stand-alone technique. Have you tried blending mediums for use with graphite? The Equipment Focus and accompanying Workshop may prove thought-provoking and provide you with even more ways to manipulate graphite for different results.

As with all of our tutorials, you are taken through each and every stroke from beginning to end - accompanied by Paul’s running commentary throughout.

ten-videos, box-set total running time 10hours

Paul refers to this method of working in three principal layers as the Combination Technique; the purpose of this being to exploit the individual strengths of the Wet on Wet and Wet on Dry techniques, to produce a rich, clean watercolour, full of light, colour, depth and varying focus. The first layer of wet-on-wet is applied thinly and loosely to block in the lightest lights that appear in our subject; on which we will be building ever-darkening colours. The second layer of wet-on-wet offers us the chance to exploit the rich dark colours which can only be achieved with this exciting technique. The third layer of wet-on-dry is where focus and accents are manipulated to lead the viewer in the direction that you wish their journey through your subject to take. Getting used to handling watercolour paint in this form is really exciting, for it allows you to fully appreciate the power of painting in watercolours.

CHECK OUT the companion box-set 'Painting Topical Techniques for Watercolours with Paul Taggart [Series 3]'.

four-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 47minutes

This box-set of three complete step-by-step workshops is filmed in real-time, so that you can watch every colour mix, every stroke and every technique. Red, White and Yellow Metals are currently available as three stand-alone workshops and we have filmed a dedicated fourth video, an invaluable companion to demonstrate how to achieve each of the three principal metal colours – [1] Copper & Red Metals [2] Silver & White Metals [3] Gold, Brass & Yellow Metals. A fourth video concentrating on how-to achieve the varying colour mixes, completes this comprehensive box-set.

Although demonstrated in acrylics, these detailed workshops, are equally suitable for oils and other opaque media, as the process is identical - for Paul is using the traditional layering technique of working from dark-to-light. 

You will definitely find yourself wanting to work along with Paul as he helps you discover the delight in achieving ninety-five percent of the colours you will ever need from a core palette of six colours.

three-videos, box-set total running time 2hours 37minutes

The second of our ‘Sketching Companions with Paul Taggart’ box-sets -- in which you can watch-along with Paul as he works en plein air (in the field) on two different subjects; for which he uses two quite different, but equally traditional Line & Wash methods. Don’t think of this purely in terms of watercolours, for everything shown here can be exploited for use with other media. For example, the tonal underpainting method used for the figure sketch could be rendered in oils – see this in action in Series 4 of ‘Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils with Paul Taggart’, in which tonal underpainting is overlaid with transparent glazing mixes.

Use the two techniques demonstrated in this box-set as the inspiration to experiment with the media of your choice – be it acrylics, oils, pastels, inks, watercolour pencils, oil pastels etc.

five-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 43minutes

Ever wondered what to paint? How to decide on your composition? How to make your composition unique to you? How to accurately transfer the composition to your painting surface? Ever started in the middle of the blank surface and run out of space, or ended up with too much space to fill? Let Paul guide you through the techniques that he uses to map out his own paintings, through this box-set of five detailed tutorials; which, as ever, are accompanied by his running commentary and a basketful of hints and tips which will make your painting experience all the more enjoyable.

Some of the subjects covered here in drawings are then followed-through into step-by-step painting tutorial box-sets, such as [Series 4] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Watercolours, [Series 4] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Oils and [Series 4] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Pastels.

eight-videos, box-set total running time 7hours 14minutes

Box-Set No. 5 [Series 1] – helps you learn how to make ORANGE Work for You - how to control your colour mixes, rather than let those pesky mixes control you. No need for all those tubes of different oranges – instead, here’s how to mix an infinite variety of oranges for yourself.  In this box-set Paul shows the basics of mixing a range of oranges, how to identify the colour in your subject, how to adjust colours, how to correct colours and finally two detailed step-by-step studies for you to work-along with, in which orange is the colour bias of the subject.

A box-set of detailed demonstrations showing how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the ORANGE colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition.

Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.

five-videos, box-set total running time 5hours 23minutes

Box-Set No. 7 [Series 1] – helps you learn how to make GREEN Work for You - how to control your colour mixes, rather than let those pesky mixes control you. No need for all those tubes of different greens – instead, here’s how to mix an infinite variety of greens for yourself.  In this box-set Paul shows the basics of mixing a range of greens, how to identify the colour in your subject, how to adjust colours, how to correct colours and finally two detailed step-by-step studies for you to work-along with, in which green is the colour bias of the subject.

A box-set of detailed demonstrations showing how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the GREEN colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition.

Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.

four-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 46minutes

In this Alla Prima oil painting workshop Paul focusses on ‘Making GREEN Work for You’ in a landscape. On our first visit to this location we realised that it would make the perfect subject for a start-to-finish oil painting workshop, in which Paul could help make greens work for you in a landscape; which can prove challenging to some artists, both in terms of identifying them and in creating the many varied colour mixes.

Painting out-and-about brings many benefits. It teaches you to study the subject, to look for the variety of colours in every element and, it helps you understand the changing nature of light, as it moves across the landscape. To create light in the landscape you need to work out the hue of any particular colour and how to achieve the colour mix to match that hue, both in sunlight and in shadow - which is what this workshop is all about; guiding you through the process from beginning to end.

six-videos, box-set total running time 6hours 17minutes

When we select subjects for our tutorials, we carefully choose subjects that would best suit the technique that I am demonstrating – so it is with the subjects featured in this composition; which are intended to help you become more confident about including figures in a landscape, understand the value of aerial perspective and deal with the various angles and perspective of subjects such as buildings and a boat.

The Line & Wash Technique was chosen to not only demonstrate the flexibility of this technique, but also its beauty, a result that Paul likens to the effect of a stained-glass window; where the strength of light shining through the coloured/stained glass is reflected in the transparent characteristics and purity of watercolour paint; in which the colour is contained within a descriptive line, which can be applied with a variety of different materials.

Experimenting with different approaches, different materials and different techniques (such as Wet on Wet, Wet on Dry), is key to developing the Line and Wash technique further – you will have much to enjoy in approaching different subjects with different methods.

ten-videos, box-set total running time 3hours 33minutes

To enable you to get to grips with the three principal techniques in watercolours and compare like-with-like – Paul demonstrates the same subject in each of the three videos dedicated to the techniques of Line & Wash, Wet on Dry and Wet on Wet. We have also put together a number of additional techniques that are essential in helping you enjoy the art of painting in watercolours – plus some problem solvers.

four-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 17minutes

If you feel intimidated by the idea of painting buildings, this tutorial will help you overcome that fear; for it will demonstrate that architectural features can be suggestive and do not necessarily require detailed drawing and ‘architectural’ style rendering. Two separate workshops in Watercolours, using Paul’s unique three-layer method of using the Wet on Wet technique for the first two layers; with the third layer bringing the Wet on Dry technique into play for final details, focus and accents. In the first two layers Paul uses fluid colour mixes to establish areas of soft focus, as well as render the dark accents required in deep shadows. Finishing off with the Wet on Dry technique allows him to establish focal points and pick our areas of detail.

For more on the Wet on Wet technique see [Series 2] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Watercolurs – for the Wet on Dry technique, see [Series 1] Learn to Enjoy Painting in Watercolours, plus their respective Topical Techniques.

six-videos, box-set total running time 3hours 8minutes

Box-Set No. 1 [Series 1] - begins with the BASICS of the COLOUR CIRCLE and shows how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition. 

Colour Mixing is just as important, in the process of painting, as brushwork and techniques and is equally enjoyable and rewarding – acquiring the know-how does not need to be complicated, as Paul demonstrates. There are seven box-sets in Series 1 - a comprehensive and detailed series, Paul’s easy-to-follow guide to colour mixing. Ideal for complete beginners and those who already paint, wishing to control their paint mixes and extend their painting repertoire.

Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.

eight-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 34minutes

Wet-on-wet can terrify many; which is so sad, because as you will hear me say time and again, it is the technique that enables you to produce the richest of watercolours in it’s own right; but when combined with Wet-on-Dry it affords you so many more opportunities to excite your watercolour experience.  Moreover, it can also work on the simplest of Line & Wash sketches, right through to the most complex of Line & Wash artworks.

So don’t deny yourself the opportunity of exploring the Wet on Wet Technique in watercolours; embrace it, exploit it and add it to your repertoire of watercolour techniques, which will enable you to even further develop your own unique style. In this box-set, each video covers one particular technique, firstly the basics of the Wet on Wet Technique,followed by a wet-on-wet exercise.

Developing your own style is what painting is all about, exploiting and adapting different techniques - but without the knowledge of how to do this you could so easily become frustrated – which is where the other five Painting Topical Techniques come into play to help you with painting a landscape.

five-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 39minutes

Box-Set No. 3 [Series 1] – helps you learn how to make RED Work for You - how to control your colour mixes, rather than let those pesky mixes control you. No need for all those tubes of different reds – instead, here’s how to mix an infinite variety of reds for yourself.  In this box-set Paul shows the basics of mixing a range of reds, how to identify the colour in your subject, how to adjust colours, how to correct colours and finally two detailed step-by-step studies for you to work-along with, in which red is the colour bias of the subject.

A box-set of detailed demonstrations showing how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the RED colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition.

Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.

four-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 14minutes

Do you want to take those first steps into painting? Nothing could be simpler than scribbling some linework and adding a few washes of colour. Let Paul take you on a journey into the world of ‘sketching’ and ‘painting’ – otherwise known as Line & Wash. Do not think of these as workshops specifically suitable for each of the four principal mediums of oils, acrylics, watercolours and pastels. Instead, use these as a way of getting the feel for these different mediums.

By experimenting in this way you will enjoy your sketching and painting experience all the more.

nineteen-videos, box-set total running time 9hours 46minutes

Do you want to take those first steps into painting portraits and figures? As with all of Paul’s tutorials, the sixteen specific lessons and three Problem Solvers in this pick’n’mix box-set are packed full of helpful hints and tips and illuminating facts that will encourage you on this journey into the world of painting portraits and figures.

Nothing is held back, as Paul takes you right back to the basics on the various Features that make up the human head - for as he explains, to fully enjoy the rewarding experience of painting figures, or portraits, you do need the bare facts; for how else would you know what to do to correct something that is going wrong - or for that matter know when something is going right.

But this set of tutorials is so much more than that, for each video provides detailed instruction on how to paint and draw.

two-videos, box-set total running time 1hour 27minutes

Filmed in real-time, with no editing, this introduction to working with Watercolour Pencils should be seen not only as a tutorial for the medium in its own right; but as the opportunity to understand how useful this medium can be as a reference-gathering tool for working in other media – especially when travelling with baggage restrictions; for they form perfect travelling companions, along with a small watercolour sketchbook.

An Equipment Focus is followed by a detailed Workshop, filmed in real-time, so that you can watch every drawing mark and every brush-stroke, from the first steps in the composition to the final touches. Close-up shots also let you see surface colour mixing, directional strokes, softening edges and so much more.

As with all of our tutorials, you are taken through each and every stroke from beginning to end - accompanied by Paul’s running commentary throughout.

seven-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 6minutes

This box-set will stand you in good stead for all of your watercolour painting – for it not only contains the Basics and Exercise for Paul’s Combination Method it also contains the following additional essential tips and techniques.

Overlaying Colours/Mixes, Influence of Backgrounds, Glazing, Counterchange and Moving Water in Perspective.

No rambling, complicated explanations here. These are comprehensive, step-by-step tutorials filmed in real-time with Paul’s accompanying running commentary to help smooth the way and make your painting experience all the more enjoyable.

Sometimes it is the simplest of tips that will elicit that “oh, so that’s how it’s done” revelations; so it doesn’t necessarily mean that a short video is less of a tutorial – it is more likely that Paul has distilled down what others may convey as an ‘oh-so-complicated’ technique or tip.

ten-videos, box-set total running time 10hours 4minutes

Although produced in oils – this masterclass can be adapted for use with acrylics – for Paul often exploits his traditional techniques for use across other media, as demonstrated in all of his online art tutorials. Another in our occasional series, where we film Paul at work on a section of one of his Masterworks Paintings, as a detailed Masterclass, accompanied by Paul’s running commentary. Light and water are the two elements in our world that excites Paul most as an artist.

Light – for its effect on our surroundings, its ability to deceive the eye and how formes seem to alter with the change in direction of falling light, its creation of the deepest and richest of shadows – a source of continual change in any subject; one that requires the artist in us to observe and analyse what we see before us. Water – for its luminescent and reflective properties, its movement and mysterious depths, its chameleon-like qualities in taking on the colours of its surroundings – a source of constant change in any composition.

Even here in Masterclass, you will see every brush-stroke, the process of colour mixing on Paul’s palette and every technique.

thirty-five-videos, box-set total running time 2days 23hours

The purpose of this box-set of videos is to share with you the traditional oil painting techniques and processes that Paul exploited to produce this unique Masterworks oil painting ‘Starway to Shimmistra’, created specifically for the wraparound jacket for his illustrated book, ‘Webstrand, the Tooth Gatherer’ from ‘Paul Taggart’s Elphen Chronicles’. So do please join us on this journey that takes Paul from the first drawing out of this oil painting, to the final brush-stroke; all of which was filmed in real-time and most of which is shared in this box-set.

‘Starway to Shimmistra’ is one of the twenty Masterworks oil paintings that chronicle the Elphen Folklore of ‘Webstrand, the Tooth Gatherer’, a collection that took over five years to complete.

twelve-videos, box-set total running time 12hours 17minutes

Paul exploits two, quite different, ‘masks’ that will excite and enhance surface colours and surface colour mixing and also enable you to introduce various textural effects. Through this process we hope to encourage you to experiment with these simple ‘tools’ to gain a deeper understanding of the process of working in layers and how to maximise the effects of both these additional tools and the layering process - the two tools being masking fluid and a common household candle.

The subject was chosen to specifically demonstrate the technique of working with resists. Many folk avoid subjects where white elements come into play, as painting ‘white’ can often be seen as a challenge. This is where resists prove invaluable; but more than that, they can also be exploited to introduce ‘visual’ texture to a subject. They also help to protect areas where bright colours are required, such as petals on a flower-Head, sun-dappled grasses, super-white highlights. Underlying colours can also be protected to work against subsequently laid darker mixes.

Two Topical Technique tutorials make up this box-set. The first is there to help you understand the role of masking fluid when layering in watercolours; whilst the second shows how to work with candle wax as a resist.

eight-videos, box-set total running time 7hours 28minutes

Box-Set No. 6 [Series 1] – helps you learn how to make PURPLE Work for You - how to control your colour mixes, rather than let those pesky mixes control you. No need for all those tubes of different purples – instead, here’s how to mix an infinite variety of purples for yourself.  In this box-set Paul shows the basics of mixing a range of purples, how to identify the colour in your subject, how to adjust colours, how to correct colours and finally two detailed step-by-step studies for you to work-along with, in which purple is the colour bias of the subject.

A box-set of detailed demonstrations showing how, with only six colours, you can achieve most of the PURPLE colour mixes that will serve you well in any composition.

Practice the basics learnt in each tutorial and you will find that you are prepared for the next stage.

eight-videos, box-set total running time 7hours 26minutes

The focus and purpose of this Masterclass box-set is to share with you the method for rendering a ‘moving’ figure within a landscape; to share with you my thought-process and the traditional techniques/method that are the basis of my Masterworks oil paintings. Just as we do with all of my online video tutorials, nothing is withheld as you get to watch from start-to-finish, each layer of the process of rendering the figure, working from dark-to-light – accompanied by my running commentary and footage of my colour mixing on the palette. Close-up footage captures those all-important layers; from the thin underpainting through the impasto layer and the rich quality of glazes, not to mention the subtle, yet powerful effects of tints, to the final super-highlights.

Throughout the eight videos, we also feature a reprise of the overall work as I complete each layer; in order that you can follow the development of the surrounding landscape as you watch the figure being brought to life through my colour mixes and brush-strokes.

four-videos, box-set total running time 4hours 22minutes

Featuring Paul’s unique Line, Tone & Glaze method, developed for his Elphen Chronicles illustrations.

Although this particular workshop centres on one of the artworks produced for Paul’s unique collection of Oil Painting Vignettes produced for one of the books in his Elphen Chronicles, the method can be applied to any subject – landscapes, figurative studies, portraits, still-life, botanical artworks – there is no limit.

The process takes as its inspiration the rich, traditional technique of glazing in oils and as with all of our work-along tutorials; this is filmed in real-time, accompanied by my detailed running commentary throughout. You get to see every brush-stroke, every colour and glaze mix in this step-by-step, start-to-finish work-along workshop.

This method would suit anyone wishing to produce oil painting sketches, or more detailed paintings and is one that would also help anyone wishing to make the transition from acrylics to oils.

eight-videos, box-set total running time 6hours 46minutes

The first book in my Elphen Chronicles related the tale of Lacewing and her human companion Artimus Glin. One of the illustrations in that book captured the three Elphen Warriors, Bloodsword, Serpentspear and Thunderaxe – a watercolour painting that attracted the most questions about what process I had used to depict their luminescent, transparent wings.

We are delighted to show you exactly how to achieve the ethereally transparent wings of Webstrand, the Tooth Gatherer, the subject of my second book. Close-up filming will show you exactly how the techniques are applied and behave on the surface. You will see how to mix the colours on your palette, how to exploit your brush-strokes, how to make masking fluid work for you, how to draw out and ink in, how to achieve transparency through controlling your paint mixes and exploiting lift-off and losing edges.

The list of hints, tips and techniques that you will pick up from working-along with me in painting Webstrand, the Tooth Gatherer will prove invaluable and can be applied to any subject.