Hello everyone,

I know we are going through a very unusual time and many of us are on lockdown, rarely leaving our homes. Those that do are among the many who are working so hard to save lives or to keep life going as we know it. Many wonderful people are working in our hospitals and care homes, key workers are enabling people to travel to work, buy food and supplies - and we mustn’t forget refuse collectors, post workers and delivery drivers. So many we owe so much to. And there are those who are finding this situation very frightening. Some living alone with no family. Little ones who can’t see their grandparents will be confused. We have to help. Even if it’s in a small way. 

Paint a Rainbow 

There has been a wonderful movement of painting rainbows and putting them in windows to cheer passers-by. Working with watercolour is a fantastic way of creating a very subtle magical rainbow and here I’m going to show you step-by-step how. You may like to know that initially this was going to be a video demonstration but my husband who was filming placed the focus on a flagpole that was behind me rather than the actual painting. And we had sound effects from our two young dogs! It was a disaster as a home-made effort and didn’t really go well with the peaceful project I was aiming for so here we are – step-by-step instructions instead which I hope you will love following.

Step one

You will only need three colours. Watercolours! A red yellow and blue, that’s it. Add a piece of paper, a brush and some water and you’re ready to go.

You only need three colours! 

Step two

Pick up some red pigment with your brush and with water apply it to the paper moving it in a slight arch. Remember when you are looking at a rainbow in the distance the red isn’t a very strong colour. It’s quite pale. Also remember watercolour always dries paler anyway so you need to start your painting with a medium amount of pigment. When you’re painting the red section of your rainbow draw on your inner strength to face the day ahead. Remember, there are many people out there who are having to be brave and get on with life regardless of what is going on at the moment.  The red colour is strong, energising, a colour to push all negative energy away. You are strong too. Never forget it!

Forming a red arch 

Step three

Before the red colour dries on your paper you need to pick up some yellow and make an arch underneath the red, allowing the wet yellow paint to flow into it. Where the two colours meet, they will form an orange shade. You may find your yellow is very bossy and tries to take over from the red! You take control. You are the boss in everything you do. Don’t let yellow take over and don’t allow any space for negative thinking. Focus on the beauty in life. Like rainbows, beauty can’t always be seen them but is often there just out of sight. 

Red and Yellow colours merging 

Step four

Next take some of your blue, mixing it with water to load your brush. Then add it underneath the yellow, continuing to form the arch of the rainbow. The watercolour pigments will merge if they are still damp. The blue flooding into the yellow will give you a green shade. Blue is a beautifully calm, healing colour and green can give us energy. Your rainbow should be looking really beautiful by now, but you may wonder where does the violet colour come in?

Adding blue to your rainbow

Step five

To create the violet at the end of your rainbow take a tiny touch of your red shade and with your brush run it along the base of your rainbow while it is still wet. The red shade will run into the still-wet blue colour above and form a violet shade. 

Adding the healing violet to your rainbow

Creating a Full Rainbow 

In the images above I have only shown you a small section of a rainbow. What I’d like you to do is paint the whole rainbow and maybe as you get to one side of the arch make it disappear in the way that this awful crisis is going to eventually. Because, it will be over and there will be far brighter days with lots of magic in them ahead of us. What is really important right now is to keep our spirits bright and cheerful so that we can lift the mood of everyone around us. This is our role, our mission and we can do this. United.

Finished Rainbow 

Finished rainbow

 

When we see a rainbow, no matter how old we are, we stop and admire the stunning magic of nature. Some of us might even believe there is a pot of gold at the end. But of course, the closer you get to rainbows the further away the end seems to be. Like life at the moment some of us may feel we can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel or feel it is coming fast enough.  But there is always sunshine after rain. Life goes on.  A positive approach using this time to create, learn new skills and make the most of every single day is still important. 

I’m asking you to paint a rainbow to support others and place it in your window to show everyone that you care. We are in this together. Let’s fill the world with colour and of course you can paint your rainbow as brightly as you wish! 

Happy Painting! 

You can follow Jean in her new online art school 

www.watercolourinspiration.com or read more in her collection of books including Paint Yourself Calm and Paint Yourself Positive