Watercolour Tutorials & Instructional Videos
Explore a collection of practical watercolour painting tutorials designed to help you build skill and confidence. These instructional videos guide you through essential techniques, materials, and simple projects, whether you are new to watercolour or looking to refine your craft.
Created by Devon artist Kate Garrett, each video reflects years of hands-on experience and a deep respect for traditional painting methods.
These tutorials are created by Devon artist Kate Garrett, whose hand-painted work can be seen throughout the collections at Baby Name Pictures.
Learn the Foundations of Watercolour
Understand the basics properly from the start — choosing quality paper, selecting reliable brushes, and working with pigments that behave as they should. Good materials and steady technique form the backbone of lasting work.
Step-by-Step Painting Projects
Follow clear demonstrations that show you how to develop washes, layer colour, and bring character into your subjects. Each project is designed to be achievable while strengthening your understanding of watercolour technique.
If you would like to see how these techniques are brought together in finished pieces, explore my bespoke nursery paintings and family portraits.
Materials & Equipment Guidance
Learn what is worth investing in and what can wait. From papers and paints to brushes and palettes, these videos help you choose wisely and paint with confidence.
Although it is tempting to go for a pretty set of paints from Amazon with hundreds of pretty colours, DON'T! You are much better odd going for just a few colours in high quality paints. The same goes for paper and brushes.
Paper:
Good quality THICK paper such as Bockingford 425gsm. 100% cotton is best. A pad is fine, but its best to tear out the sheets. A watercolour sketchbook is great for playing about too.
Brushes:
Sable or fake sable
A mix of sizes - I use round Pro art sablene. You want to go big, so you use lots of water. Save the tiny ones for little details at the end.
A palette:
The flower shaped ceramic ones are nice to use, but plastic is fine too. They get nicer to use the more you use them!
Paint:
Artists or professional quality watercolour. Half pans are good to start with. I use Winsor and Newton. Sometimes it’s better value to buy a set.
Pencil, pens and rubber
Faber castell B work well for me. Any art rubber. and some ink pens. Rotring Tikky 0.3mm are my favourites.
A little spray bottle
I pinched an old cheap empty perfume bottle from my daughter. You also need tissue/loo roll to dab excess water off and scraps of paper to test colours.
The same traditional materials are used in my original watercolour paintings and personalised name pictures.
These are the colours I use! Other's may prefer different ones!
A pinky red-Alizarin crimson - most flowers have this colour in. Mix with yellow ochre for flesh colour.
A bright red- Cadmium red - I only use a tiny bit of this. It’s useful at Christmas !
A bright yellow- a cadmium yellow - daisies and blue tits bellies. Plus mix with sap green for leaf colours
Sap green - the start for all the greens
Blue - French ultramarine - summer sky colour plus mix with others for blues shades
A dark shade - Paynes grey (not black) - to darken colours and great for clouds
Brown - burnt umber- a start for all the browns and to dull the greens
Yellow Ochre- mix with green or brown for loads of shades
Pthallo turquoise- useful for sea!
Purple-Windsor Violet - useful for some flowers but not essential!
Suggestions of what to buy:
Paper - https://www.jacksonsart.com/bockingford-watercolour-papers-white-blocks-not
Brushes - https://www.jacksonsart.com/pro-arte-sablene-brush-wallet-set-of-6-0-2-4-6-8-10-round
Paint - a cheaper range https://www.artsupplies.co.uk/p/winsor-newton-cotman-half-pan-tube-painting-plus-set
Paint - a better range https://www.jacksonsart.com/winsor-newton-professional-watercolour-field-box-set-of-12-half-pans
Pens - https://cultpens.com/products/rotring-tikky-graphic-drawing-pen
Pencils -