Ranson Rules

A lesson inspired by Ron Ranson

Last week we let colours mingle on paper. This week, we’re learning the old-school way by painting from a book.

Occasionally I’ll be picking a book from my watercolour library, copying a demo or painting from it, and sharing what I learned.

It’s part of how I continue to improve and a reminder that we don’t always need to reinvent the wheel to get better. In the video I’ll talk more about what makes learning from books so effective compared to watching Youtube tutorials (yes, how ironic).

This time, I turned to Ron Ranson’s Painting School, and copied a small scene with just a few simple shapes. No drama, just quiet confidence in brush and composition.

This week I also hosted my first Substack live session, open to everyone. We revisited some recent exercises and I shared my process for copying a small Ranson painting.

The edited replay of that painting is below in the video section. It’s my intent to host a monthly live session.

Exercise

For this week’s exercise we paint a simple tonal study.

I copied a small beach scene from Ranson’s chapter on tonal values. I used 2 flat brushes and ArtGraf Sepia. It’s soluble graphite and a good medium for monochromatic watercolours.

1. Choose a painting from a watercolour book you admire, or copy one of my paintings 🙃

2. Paint it as a small tonal study

3. Focus on the main shapes and values and reverse-engineer the artist’s approach

Ron Ranson Value Study

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Here’s what I painted in the Live session:

Videos of both paintings are available in the Paid Members Section below.

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Why this exercise

• It reveals the elements of good paintings: shape, value, edge, brush economy

• Working small takes the pressure off and helps build muscle memory

• You can treat it as a warm-up, a study, or a quiet practice session

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Set the tone!
Patrick