Last Monday morning, the participants in my 2016 sketching and watercolour painting workshop on Grand Manan Island gathered at our studio in North Head. We had all met each other the evening before at the Marathon Inn, where we enjoyed our delicious Welcome Dinner.
I kicked off our week with a discussion/demonstration and my theme was skies and water. It’s a broad subject! I presented a few relevant techniques and emphasized some basic principles and processes. In addition to that, I gave a lesson on drawing basics to the new students. Perspective and the use of a measuring stick were the main topics. The students dispersed to paint and draw in the village of North Head. Over the course of the day, I visited the artists and offered feedback.
At the end of the day, we re-grouped at our studio for our first critique. Our week was off to a great start!
Monday Critique a
Monday Critique b
We met at our studio again on Tuesday morning. I did something a little bit different and showed a selection of watercolours and drawings from the late Saint John artist Jack Humphrey. Here are two of his works from Grand Manan Island courtesy of the National Gallery of Canada. I’ve always enjoyed the simplification and spontaneity of his work.
Village, Grand Manan by Jack Humphrey
Village, Grand Manan by Jack Humphrey
Our venue was Woodward’s Cove. It’s quite a unique spot as the harbour completely drains of water at low tide and fills right up again at high tide. It was another sunny day so many of our painters sought out shade and some had even brought their own.
Here’s the harbour at low tide.
About six hours later, the harbour had filled up again. Shortly after, we returned to our studio to look at the day’s work. Thanks for following and stay tuned. There’s lots more to come from beautiful Grand Manan Island.
Tuesday Critique a
Tuesday Critique b
Tags: Barry Coombs, Canada, en plein air art holidays, en plein air art vacations, en plein air art workshops, en plein air watercolour workshops, Grand Manan Island, Jack Humphrey, marathon inn, National Gallery of Canada, New Brunswick, North Head, watercolor, watercolour demonstration, Woodward's Cove
Barry Coombs Art Workshops 
01/08/2016 at 10:07 pm |
Great work. And your skies are magnificent!
11/08/2016 at 1:08 pm |
Thank you, Carol.