Paint a loose and lively rendition of a fox’s head against a misty, wet-in-wet background, by Alison Fennell

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

■ Practise a variety of watercolour techniques

■ Build confidence with colour mixing

■ Practise the thirsty-brush technique

On a frosty morning a fox emerged from the frozen bracken to see what was moving around in his misty meadow. His intent expression and confident stance made me want to capture this image. In this tutorial I will discuss how to create mood with gentle suggestions of distant hedges and a misty atmosphere. This will contrast with the sharper features and brighter colours of the fox. I will show how to capture those eyes and ears with accurate techniques.

Before you begin

I chose to use stretched Saunders Waterford 200gsm Hot-pressed watercolour paper. This paper takes subtle washes beautifully, as well as showing off the finer detailed work of the fox’s features.

Try to read the entire demonstration before embarking on this exercise so that you have everything to hand and you have an idea of how things will progress. I would also practise splattering by using a piece of scrap paper and loading a No. 6 Round brush with a pigmented yet runny wash. Hold the brush horizontally by its tail about 8in. above the paper then give it a sharp shake to let paint drops cascade down onto your paper. If this doesn’t work for you, experiment by tapping the brush (whilst in the same position as before) near the ferrule with your finger. This should also result in a spray of droplets. LP