It turned out that I needed reminding of what she had already told me previously.
1. Joseph Zbukvic had defined watercolour consistency ranging from 'cream' to 'tea'. Joseph was tutoring at the Bathurst camp - indeed he is a fab artist but really arrogant. The key is to mix the darks in cream consistency. Application should be immediately followed with a second wet brush to spread it and reduce the hardness of the edge.
2. Never mix colours thoroughly, the beauty is in the varied spectrum.
3. Work quickly while paint is wet, introduce highlights.
4. Link the shapes so that it looks consistent. Let colours mix while wet on paper if possible.
5. Most importantly, do not apply paint using point of brush. Instead load the brush and apply using its side. Looks terribly fiddly otherwise.
6. Confidence is key - confident brushstrokes are more important than being perfect.
7. Lastly mix lots of the right colours in cream consistency as the worst thing that can happen is to run out before you are done. This last point explains why my previous attempts at larger formats flopped - my tiny travelling palette was to blame. I needed a large plate to ensure I did not run out and then had to work over dried paint.
I figured that what I need to do now is to get lots of practise. Using photos I should get my watercolour hours up as otherwise I will forget - resulting in bewilderment (what happened???) and disappointment (should have stuck with acrylics!). When I'm perched at a gorgeous view in Italy, I want to be able to produce some approximation of the beauty.
