In this first session, Tuv begins by soaking the paper with water to paint wet in wet for an extended time. He tones the paper with Schminke’s Raw Umber, so that the white paper will not disturb the impression of the colors and values that are applied. Leaving areas of plain white paper will result in too light values, as all colors appear “dark” compared to white. Here, Tuv takes use of paint from tubes, especially in the beginning, which suits his mantra of treating the watercolor as if it was oil paint.

Brushes used throughout the process:
• Rosemary Short Flat SER 274 (an oil painting brush!)
• Da Vince Maestro Tobolsky Kolinsky

Tuv starts without any preliminary drawing. However – do a test on a different paper first – also to get to know the quality and properties of the paper you choose.

Tuv’s sworn paper is Lana fine grain with 25% cotton, but that is of course a question of both temperament and the type of motif and effect you are going for.

In this portrait Tuv works monochromatically for quite some time, introducing correct colors towards the very end.

Tuv chose Raw Umber because of its affinity with the general colors of the model.
His approach is heavily inspired by the way Odd Nerdrum worked in watercolors in his early 20s. He once described his method to Tuv, saying he would even shower his watercolors to attain a «worn-down» effect.

▶️ Full video (48 minutes): https://www.patreon.com/posts/130619090