I’m back from sunny Mexico to some less than welcoming spring weather. All the more reason to set up a bright and cheerful still-life for the Saturday and Tuesday watercolour students. I had the still-lifes of Paul Cézanne in mind.
Cézanne developed his gorgeous, luminous watercolours with brushstrokes of pure colour over a pencil drawing. I didn’t mimic his process exactly with my demonstration but we discussed it as I painted. I never insist that the students emulate my demo but I did ask them to give it a try, even as a study for an hour or so. Saturday is a six hour class so there’s time to experiment and explore.
Most gave it a shot and a few spent the day pursuing the approach. Not everyone liked it but they’re always willing to consider new ideas.
Sustained Saturday Critique
The Tuesday students worked from the same still-life. It’s a three hour class and, at the beginning, I sensed some interest in the fabrics and folds. My demonstration, as a result, was a simplified study of a section of fabric and they found it helpful.
They don’t have a full day but they really work hard and they’re quite good at selecting and composing. Basically, they selected and zoomed in on an area of the still-life that attracted their eye. Not taking on too much gave them a better chance to resolve their work in the time available.
Don’t forget to click on a critique image to view a larger version!
Tuesday Critique
Tags: Arts on Adrian, Barry Coombs, Canada, Ontario, still-life painting, Studio Classes, Toronto, Toronto studio watercolour classes, Toronto watercolour classes, watercolor demonstration, watercolour demonstration
Barry Coombs Art Workshops 
17/04/2019 at 11:41 pm |
You must have done a good demonstration of the fabric because your students did a terrific job, on the whole still life and the fabric in particular!
21/04/2019 at 11:38 am |
I kept it simple but that’s usually the best approach. Thanks!