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STRESS buster. Basics watercolour painting from a PRO artist (Udemy.com)

Painting in watercolor to relax? Get the BASICS. Learn via PLAY, Get clarity on techniques, gain confidence at once.

Created by: Nicola A Blakemore

Last updated July 2026

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What you will learn

  • Learn how watercolor paints work with the water, then you will get the best from them.
  • A colour wash is the most used technique, learn how from the start.
  • Students will l learn to layer washes to make objects appear three dimensional.
  • Learn how to create highlights and shadows in watercolor paints.
  • Through repetition the student will gain confidence with this medium.
  • Start at the very beginning and understand the basics of color mixing.

How it compares

Against the other 194 rated Udemy courses in Drawing on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.3 out of 5higher than 11% of them
  • Reviews4,151#18 of 195 by number of reviews
  • Length4.8 hourslonger than 50% of them
  • Last updatedJuly 2026more recently than 93% of them

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Course Description

A CONSISTENT WINNER.

NEW Bonus lecture, check out the contents

UPDATED 2025

ALSO, essential assignment, is really helping people understand how the paints work. I'm getting great feedback.


REVIEW:

'I loved the fact that your lessons were truly created with basics in mind! I have been painting on my own, or with some occasional lessons for a few years. I now feel more confident with the fundamentals which I had not been sure of before. thank you' Lorraine Sargent


If you've always wanted to paint with watercolor paints but just do not know where to start. This course is for YOU. Created by a selling artist.

This may be mostly suitable for adults.

Why? Because as adults you collect limiting beliefs about what you can and can't do. Painting might be one of them.

This is a 'learn through play' course and is very basic  You will simply learn how to get the paint from the box via the brush and onto the paper.

You will paint an apple three times but in different ways so that you can escape the draw and 'colour in' method you learnt as a child.

If you want to make a start to paint without feeling intimidated by the paints, the process or the expectations. By simply playing with your paints, coloring simple shapes your understanding will grow as will your confidence.

DO NOT take this course if you need a formal structure and are not prepared to learn through play. I will not talk about the names of colours, colour mixing, composition or drawing. It is just to get you started.

If you have already been painting with watercolors, this course is not for you.

Why choose one of my courses?

  • Because, as a self taught artist I understand how a lot of people feel about their creative work, sometimes anxious, sometimes overwhelmed and often that it's not 'good enough'. I will hold your hand as you overcome these fears as I offer a friendly, relaxed and sensitive teaching style.

    I also have years of experience of teaching people of all levels both in person and via the internet.

    Do one of my courses and you will feel as if I am in the room with you every step of the way.

  • 30,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Enjoy your painting, love Nicola


This is what one student posted in her blog : - 'I was so surprised to find that she (Nicola) started very simply, just playing with water and unmixed colors of paint. Slowly a beautiful patchwork of designs appeared on her page. Where boundaries and boundaries in the art have been blurred, she went to a pen and neatened up. Something else to add to the designs and to add some swirls and triangles to the dried paint. With growing excitement I realized that this project was well within my comfort zone. ' 

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Instructor Details

Nicola A Blakemore

  Why choose one of my courses?   

    Because, as a self-taught and selling artist I understand how a lot of people feel about their creative work, sometimes anxious, sometimes overwhelmed and often that it's not 'good enough'. 

  Well I will hold your hand as you overcome these fears as I offer a friendly, relaxed and sensitive teaching style. 

    Do one of my courses and you will feel as if I am in the room with you every step of the way. 

    Here's a bit about me. 

    I originally trained as a graphic artist, and then followed a different career path working in the national media, travel and public relations in both London and Paris. 

     Cutting a long story very short I am now living in the south of France, near the Spanish border. I teach people how to paint with watercolours in classes and when they come on holidays.

            As you can see I also teach via the internet and have my own online painting school called Painting with Nicola. If you want to know more about that, message me for details.

KEEP safe and Keep painting. Love Nicola


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Reviews

4.3

4,151 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Elizabeth Ault on 3/4/2026

Way too slow and lacks progress at an engaging rate

By Yana Darandik on 12/24/2025

The course was a waste of time and money for me. The instructor has no coherent plan and just improvises as she goes. She doesn't seem to know why she does smth and therefore doesn't know what the outcome will be. It looks very unprofessional and can't teach anything since the outcome is always unpredictable. Seems like the instructor didn't even try out her paintings prior to filming them.

By Ann McDowell on 12/24/2020

I came back to add some more to this review because I continue to rewatch the videos and learn and practice. This course is just amazing. I wish I could give it 6 out of 5 stars. I am brand new to water color and really to art of any kind. I never thought I would paint anything that looked realistic and in the first weeks, I painted an apple that LOOKED LIKE AN APPLE. I love this course and am so grateful for the instructor's approach. I repeat often while painting, "it doesn't matter," because it doesn't. I am having such a great time with water color and painting in a way I didn't anticipate was possible.

By Nellene Jooste on 11/8/2020

I love her explanations

By Maria Pinto on 11/1/2020

Hello Nicola
I am Maria, from Portugal.
I saw one of your Courses, and loved it!!!!
You are very nice, explain every detail very well, and are funny in your classes, what make us more comfortable. Even, when you speak, about your cat. I felt, at home.
I dont know anything about watercolor, and would love to know!
So, I will try!!!!
But would like to send after some work, for you to give your opinion.
Thanks very much, Nicola
Maria

By Lacey Turley on 10/24/2020

She's so calming...such a zen experience:).

By Nahid Ajami on 10/21/2020

I am sorry it looked more like advertizing about Nickole

By Leigh Morton on 10/15/2020

Good for people who aren't so confident starting out. I feel that some of the ordering of the course isn't quite right in some areas. For example, in section 10 there are a number of things that would have been useful to know about earlier on when painting the fruit. In any case, this course got me working with a watercolour set that I'd had laying around for a long while and hadn't touched at all, so thank you for that!

By Adala Ghrayeb-sahoury on 10/14/2020

i loved this course; i have learned how to paint in water color in a very special way with a nice teacher. thank you very much (shukran) thank you in arabic language.
adala ghrayeb- sahoury - nazareth- israel

By Vidhi on 10/13/2020

Not so impressive

By Kimberly Lew on 10/11/2020

This course is helping me better understand how much water to pick up, how to push color and blend.

By Sheryl Sung on 10/10/2020

The detailed but simple explanations and repeating of key information really works with my learning style.

Showing 12 of 310 reviews

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Overall Score : 86 / 100