Learning Watercolour After a Lifetime in Business : Part 2 Should You Copy the Masters
- Mar 3
- 4 min read
Introduction
You’ve bought the paints, filled sketchbooks with exercises and watched more tutorials than you’d admit – but your paintings still feel flat. What if the missing piece is sitting quietly in a 19th‑century watercolour book on your shelf?
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
This whole post grew out of debates we had in art class about whether it’s useful – or even acceptable – to copy the work of the old masters to learn from their approach and techniques. For my part, I land very firmly on the side of “yes, you should.” Watercolour may be notoriously unforgiving, but the fundamentals can be learned far faster by standing on the shoulders of those who mastered it before us.
So this is where I started. I decided to copy John Middleton's A Shady Lane.
In Part 1 I explained a little about myself, why I became an artist after a busy business career and why I decided to copy, amongst others, A Shady Lane by John Middleton, shown below.
Why Copying the Masters Works
Watercolour’s mystique comes from how unpredictable it can feel when you start. It blooms, back‑runs, dries lighter, and seems to have a mind of its own. That’s precisely why studying artists who have already solved those problems is so valuable. Copying allows you to:
• Reverse‑engineer composition, depth and perspective.
• Observe how a limited palette can still create rich, believable scenes.
• See exactly how light and shade are simplified – and where detail is intentionally left out.
Over the past few years I’ve immersed myself in books and demos by artists past and present, then tried to echo their choices in my own work – not to sell copies, but to train my eye and hand. It would take me almost five years to feel confident enough to display my work, let alone sell it. Of course along the way several of my friends and family took or commissioned paintings from me, but to declare myself a competent artist is another matter. However as we all know art is extremely subjective and yet again it comes down to belief and confidence that someone will enjoy and value what you create. Never has this been more true of the art market. Like every market place that you enter there are rules, gatekeepers and influencers. I think the most important thing I have learnt is to believe in yourself and most importantly be very clear about your objectives.
Why do you paint and what do you want to achieve? Look yourself in the mirror understand your objectives and stick to them and you will be fine. ( Said by the man who never wanted to do anything but paint as a hobby !! Ok you might change those objectives over time, but trust me entrepreneurship never leaves you. :-) )
The Artists Who Shaped My Watercolour Journey
As I built up my library of art books, one painting in particular always stopped me in my tracks: “A Shady Lane” by John Middleton, which I discovered in The Great Age of British Watercolours by Andrew Wilton. Painted around 1847, it’s a masterclass in depth, light and atmosphere, all created with pigments and paper that were nowhere near as forgiving or varied as the materials we have today.
Alongside Middleton, I’ve drawn inspiration and practical lessons from a range of artists:
• Past figures such as Bob Ross, Adrian Hill and Ron Ranson, whose generosity in sharing their processes makes them wonderful companions for beginners.
• Contemporary artists including Oliver Pyle, Geoff Kersey, Terry Harrison,
Hazel Soan, David Bellamy and Thomas W. Schaller, whose books, videos and demonstrations have each nudged my technique forward in some way.
It was Bob Ross who first got me painting again; I quickly outgrew his specific approach, but his enthusiasm and passion are infectious. Oliver Pyle helped set me on the right path, although interestingly, it was the artists in his online community however who ended up being some of my most helpful teachers. It was Pyle and Geoff Kersey's self‑help videos and which remain some of the best resources I point new painters towards. When it comes to teaching pastels and charcoals then Colin Bradley is one of the best but that's for another day.
A Shady Lane: Lessons from John Middleton
Returning to “A Shady Lane”, it’s worth remembering that Middleton was working with 19th‑century materials. Yet he still managed to create a scene with remarkable depth and a beautifully controlled play of light and shade. The path winds around the back of the hillside, disappearing through the shadows and leading your eye into the distant hills in the top right of the composition.
By copying this painting – purely as a study – I learned more than I expected:
• How to use a limited palette to unify a scene.
• How to position light and dark shapes to guide the viewer’s eye.
• How to carve out depth with overlapping shapes, softened edges and graduated tones.
I painted my own “shady lane” in Middleton’s style, not to mimic him forever, but to internalise those lessons so they could filter into my own voice on paper. Was it worth copying him? Absolutely.
So… Should You Copy the Masters?
If you’re learning watercolour, my answer is a wholehearted yes – with two important intentions.
• Copy to understand, not to claim credit. Use studies as private practice, or clearly label them as “after” the original artist.
• Copy to develop your own voice. Once you’ve grasped how your heroes handle composition, light and colour, start bending those lessons to fit your own subjects, memories and stories.
In my case, studying artists like Middleton, Pyle, Kersey and others, and then deliberately copying a few key works, has taken me from hesitant beginner to someone confident enough to share and sell my own paintings. If you’re at the start of your journey, standing in your own spare room or home office, brush in hand and a little unsure of yourself, know this: you’re allowed to learn from the masters. In fact, they might just be the best teachers you’ll ever have.
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