LMA (Let’s Make Art)’s watercolour subscription box for January 2023 is “All Around the World“. Out of the four projects, I have been to two of the locations, so it is a bit nostalgic to paint them.
By the way, I brought out my Kokeshi, a Japanese hand painted wooden doll from my trip to Japan for the pictures. Above it was a miniature Himeiji castle.
LMA January 2023 Box Contents
This month there were 5 paints + 2 Neocolor II pastels. Because I don’t have these two pastels in my 40 Neocolor II set, I am happy to add them to my collection!
Stretching Paper
The main technique this month is stretching your watercolor paper, which is wetting both sides of the paper when you paint. This helps prevent the paper from warping. I usually tape my paper down, but I went along with the technique anyway.
By the way, I usually paint on Arches cold pressed cotton paper so this technique isn’t necessary, but it helped with the cellulose paper included in the box.
LMA January 2023 Box Project #1: Hawaiian Sunrise
I went to Hawaii a few years ago and have very fond memories, so I was excited to paint this one.
Surprisingly, I stumbled the most with this project. I painted this ten times and only this one came out half decent. The less you overwork the painting, the better it will turn out. Trust me, I had thrown nine sheets in the garbage!
Project #2: Tulip Fields
Coming from very realistic and detailed drawings with coloured pencils, it’s always a pleasure to not have to draw every flower in the field. I do plan to repaint this one on Arches paper.
Project #3: Rainbow Mountain
Sarah Cray was very excited to use the Caran D’ache Neocolor II pastels in the video. She even wanted to make a whole project with just the pastels. In this LMA January 2023 box, you get two of them as a bonus, but since I have a 40-set myself, I decided to paint the Rainbow Mountain with the pastels.
Why don’t I use these more? These water-soluble pastels are fantastic! I don’t think it was quicker to paint with them than using watercolour paints, but I love the texture you can create with these.
Out of the four projects, the Rainbow Mountain painting turned out the best. It was the first time I painted little figures. Since I usually do very detailed realistic portraits, to be able to do loose little figures was a pleasure for me. Moreover, the figures turned out quite cute!
Project #4: Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji, or Fuji-san, as we call it in Japan, is one I most looked forward to painting. Unfortunately, I had oily finger smudges on the paper without knowing, and they showed up on the final painting. As a result, I decided to repaint the whole thing, but on Arches paper and on a smaller scale.
In addition, I removed the dock.
Summary
So there, all four projects this month are done! I don’t usually paint landscape, which is why I wanted to get this box. All four projects were fun to do. I enjoyed each one, though my favourite turned out to be Rainbow Mountain.
Overall, this month’s box has great value and you will not be disappointed with these projects.
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Let's Make Art. The link to purchase is included for your convenience only; I don't make any commission off the sale of any Let's Make Art products.
