This new 6-week course with Catriona H Darroch primarily explores the joy of painting with watercolours and is suitable for anyone (beginner or seasoned painter) wishing to find out more about painting with watercolour paints, giving you guidance, encouragement and the freedom to explore.
6 WEEKS THURSDAYS – 21ST FEBRUARY – 28TH MARCH – 11AM – 1PM
COSTS: £42 for full 6 weeks paid up front.
Maximum number of participants will be 12 with the minimum being 7.
MATERIALS: Please bring your own materials. If you have no access to the internet to order online, The Observer Shop in Dunoon has a limited range of equipment. Millers in Glasgow will have everything you need as will Cass Arts also in Glasgow. Online stores I use are Great Art https://www.greatart.co.uk/ and Jackson Art. https://www.jacksonsart.com
1. Good quality watercolour paper cold pressed, no less than 140LBS. Winsor Newton produce a good range of surfaces and weights, pretty robust and great for holding colour as do Arches and Fabriano papers. If you order paper online from Jackson Art or Great Art, they also do their own range of papers as well as Winsor Newton and Arches and many others.
2. Scraps of watercolour paper for testing.
3. Watercolour brushes various sizes one being a mop for washes, synthetics are fine. Also a medium small bristle brush.
4. Paints. A range of good quality watercolour paints i.e not poster paints, acrylics or gouache.
Windsor Newton do a good student range which is reasonably priced and an Artist range a bit more expensive. Rowney and Holbein are also very good, If you want a limited palette choose a mix of warm and cool colours. My favourites paints are Winsor & Newton tubes.
5. Palette this can be anything white or transparent with sections to allow you to make puddles of colour. The supermarket will have yoghurt trays and the like which are fine.
6. Note book It’s good to make notes as you go along, it’s easy to forget how you got a particular effect.
7. Sketch book with your sketches or if you do not have any sketches just bring a sketch book
8. Water pots (2) glass, plastic whatever you have.
9. Kitchen towel
10. A Work board – ply board is best, hardboards will buckle
11. Ideally- stretched paper i.e completely submerged in water for 10 mins, drained thoroughly
and secured to a board with brown paper tape, can demonstrate. Failing that bring pegs or pins to hold your paper in place.
12. An open mind and plenty of patience
TOPICS covered over the 6 weeks
DOS AND DONTS: working within the uses of both paints and brushes
KNOWING YOUR COLOURS: testing transparent and opaque colours, interaction between different colours, staining colours, non staining colours, granulating colours etc.
COMPOSITION: Looking at what makes a good composition in your painting, taking time to consider your focal point before you start
COLOUR BALANCE: Tonal & colour values and balance within your work
PERSPECTIVE: Exploring perspective in landscape
LIGHT AND SHADE: Exploring the value of light and shade
SPECIAL EFFECTS: Working on various ways to utilize palette knives/ clingfilm/ scraping out/ lifting colours/ sponge work etc.
WET ON WET: Exploring the freedom of wet on wet
DRY BRUSH: When and how to include dry brush in your work.
REFLECTIONS: the rules of reflections
HORIZONS: the rules of horizons
STILL LIFE: how to tackle a still life
ABSTRACTION: how to create an abstract.
KNOW WHEN TO STOP: how not to work your painting to death
HOW TO WORK FROM A PHOTOGRAPH: how to use a photograph to your advantage without being a slave to the image
We can tackle many other issues as and when they arise. We may not get around to covering all the above topics, much will depend on what stage you are at and how much “home” work (practice) you manage to do between sessions.
SUGGESTED COLOURS FOR A LIMITED PALETTE:
New Gamboge – Raw Sienna – Sepia – Antwerp blue – French Ultramarine – Winsor Blue – Cadmium Orange – Aureolin Yellow – Indigo
If you have any question either before or during the course, please feel free to give me a call or email me
Catriona H Darroch
Tel: 01369 840 527
Email: Darroch_catriona@yahoo.co.uk
