top of page
Occasional thoughts and comments on watercolour painting and sketching. You can sign in to this page so your comments will have a username, or just comment as 'Guest'. Names do help discussions though... :o)
Search
Those days when you can't paint...
...or it suddenly feels like it. "aka the redeeming power of bold shadows and darks 😆" Sometimes a painting just looks like it's not...
Danny McShane
Apr 22 min read
7 views
0 comments
Taking the website name literally? 😂
Paul Dodd, a fellow painter more tech savvy than I am, sent me this .gif made of elements from some of my recent paintings. I'm more than...
Danny McShane
Feb 21 min read
42 views
2 comments
My Colours
The colours I use in my paintings
Danny McShane
Nov 9, 20245 min read
44 views
4 comments
Simple Lightweight Sun/Rain Shade for Plein Air
Summer had been threatening to appear but seems to have disappeared back behind rainy forecasts for July, but when the sun does shine the...
Danny McShane
Jul 1, 20243 min read
63 views
10 comments
Urban Sketching
Fill a sketchbook and discover your surroundings.
Danny McShane
Jun 9, 20246 min read
76 views
6 comments
Half Rigged Clipper
Painting a sailing Clipper from imagination on a Full Imperial sheet.
Danny McShane
May 30, 20243 min read
28 views
2 comments
Outside In? An Indoor Plein Air Demo.
Stonehaven Art Club invited me to give a talk and demo on plein air watercolour and the puzzle was always going to be how to illustrate...
Danny McShane
Apr 13, 20244 min read
45 views
0 comments
My Instagram was hacked
UPDATE 2: 10 April '24. I've bitten the bullet and started a new Instagram page under the username dannymcshane365 (you can't re-use one...
Danny McShane
Mar 23, 20242 min read
30 views
0 comments
Warm Bare Hands for Painters
As it turns wintery, plein air painting gets a bit harder to dress for and hands start to feel the sharp end of the chill. Not everyone...
Danny McShane
Nov 18, 20233 min read
85 views
5 comments
Why Watercolour?
I'm personally smitten by watercolour to a degree that surprises and delights me every time I paint, so I'm trying to put that into words...
Danny McShane
Oct 26, 20237 min read
114 views
8 comments
Just how realist?
My attention isn't usually held for long by abstract art, but I've been surprised to find I quickly lose interest in hyper-realism as...
Danny McShane
Aug 22, 20233 min read
57 views
6 comments
Outside or In: Why "Plein Air"?
Plein air painting might be an acquired taste, but then it becomes an addiction.
Danny McShane
Aug 22, 20237 min read
133 views
8 comments
You Gotta Pick a Palette or Two... or Three.... or Four...
A watercolour palette is one of those things that can be taken-for-granted simple or fiendishly fascinating to many painters. The...
Danny McShane
Jul 12, 202315 min read
127 views
8 comments
Painting the Boathouse at Fyvie Loch.
Sometimes a plein air painting isn't quite what I wanted when I finish on site and I've no qualms about trying to improve it later. My...
Danny McShane
Jun 21, 20233 min read
26 views
2 comments
Being Watched
Spent a chilly hour at Balnagask, Aberdeen sketching from the Car Park... Looking over Balnagask Golf Course to the 200m tall legs of the...
Danny McShane
Jun 21, 20231 min read
19 views
0 comments
Does Size matter?
As in dimensions, that is, not gelatine size etc (though that's another topic worth a post) :o- e.g. Imperial v 1/4 Imperial... Not...
Danny McShane
Jun 17, 20231 min read
21 views
0 comments
Painting Donmouth
I painted this plein air in a stiff Southerly breeze. Donmouth is where the River Don meets the sea (you'd never have guessed?) on the...
Danny McShane
Jun 16, 20232 min read
61 views
2 comments
Decisions, decisions...
I painted a view of Fittie, Aberdeen yesterday (half imperial, 22x15") and felt it needed something, so once I finished I thought I'd...
Danny McShane
Jun 10, 20232 min read
12 views
0 comments
"One Touch" Watercolour
The Skandi Kvitsøy entering Aberdeen. I find Imperial sized watercolour challenging and revisit it now and again to remind myself why I...
Danny McShane
Jun 10, 20232 min read
21 views
2 comments
My Urban & Field Sketch kit
.The minimum is just the sketchbook and pen, of course, but this is what I currently use for urban sketching or line and wash -it's...
Danny McShane
Jun 8, 20232 min read
31 views
0 comments
bottom of page