Winter Wednesday Watercolour Class at DVSA!

I was back at Dundas Valley School of Art on Wednesday for the first evening class of a series of four. The group was a very balanced mix of ‘regular’ students and new (to me) ones. All have some experience in the watercolour medium but not all had done a lot of, or any, prior observational still-life painting. Everyone was keen, however, and I’m looking forward to the next three classes.

Finding and preserving the key light may be the most critical element of observational and representational work. It’s always challenging in a studio lit with numerous fluorescent tubes. I always place a lamp with a strong bulb over the still-life and that’s the light source we try to heed. The fluorescent lights confuse the issue but, alas, we need them to see what we’re doing. At the start of the class, and once in a while throughout, I’ll turn off the overhead tubes for a few minutes. This helps everyone see the important light much better and always enhances the still-life.

My demonstration focused on finding the light and also on creating interest in the shadowy areas of the objects. I like to emphasize the positive but the right side of the sheet shows a few examples of ‘how not to draw’. I’d already presented my more positive drawing approach briefly in the mortar and pestle study on the left.

There are a lot of objects in my still-lifes but I never recommend that the students paint them all. I suggest that they choose an area of the collection and do a thumbnail compositional study before enlarging it on their watercolour sheet. With several students new to this experience, I also suggested that they forget about composing and painting a group of objects but create a sheet of individual studies. Some chose this route and I think that the focus on practice over product will make the class a more successful learning experience for them.

I enjoyed the evening and the enthusiasm of the group. Stay tuned for their efforts over the next three Wednesday evenings. As one of my DVSA colleagues says, “practice makes progress”!

Wednesday Critique

 

Advertisement

Spring Tuesday and Saturday Watercolour Classes

We had a very cheerful still-life at the Arts on Adrian studio last week. I just got back from teaching in Mexico a while ago and I guess I miss it already. Last Tuesday, I discussed some basics with my demonstration as well as a few thoughts about handling the fabric backdrop.

Let’s have a look at what the students did in the Tuesday afternoon and evening classes.

Tuesday Afternoon Critique

Tuesday Evening Critique

Do you ever wonder what the Arts on Adrian studio looks like? It’s spacious and well-lit. Every student works at their own table with lots of room. Here’s a peek at some of the Saturday students at work.

And here’s a well-organized work table. As long as the artist doesn’t dip her brush in her tea!

The Saturday demonstration isn’t an exact duplicate of Tuesday. We look at the one from Tuesday and I add some new thoughts.

Watercolour demonstration sheet by Barry Coombs

There was a lot of good energy in the studio on Saturday, as well. Enjoy their work!

Sustained Saturday Critique

Spring Tuesday and Saturday Watercolour Classes – Baked Goods!

Yummy! I should have warned the students to not come hungry for the classes last Tuesday and Saturday. These baked goods weren’t just mouth-watering but a lot of fun to paint, as well.

Before I demonstrated, we had a look at the work of Wayne Thiebaud, the American artist who is well-known for his paintings of pastries and other everyday food items and objects.

I wanted to stress colour and simplification with my demonstrations on both days. I also discussed the white objects in the still-life and offered some thoughts on dealing with them.

Tuesday Demonstration

Saturday Demonstration

I had to keep a close eye on our tempting still-life. One of the students even rolled a pencil off a table, crawled under and approached the cupcakes! Fortunately, the goods survived until the end of the classes and the students enjoyed painting them as much as they would have enjoyed devouring them……maybe, not.

Tuesday Afternoon Critique

Tuesday Evening Critique

Saturday Critique

Winter Saturday and Tuesday Watercolour Classes – Brass!

Here are two views of our still-life from the Saturday and Tuesday watercolour classes at Arts on Adrian in Toronto.

Saturday class is an all day affair and I suggested that the students take the time to do a small warmup painting. I used a flat angled brush for my demonstration and worked very quickly. As I painted, I discussed various aspects of the still-life. Fast and messy, this painting is not an end in itself but part of a process. A warmup painting can help the student identify potential problems and challenges before tackling a sustained piece.

Several of the students followed my lead before settling into a more sustained painting.

Sustained Saturday Critique

Tuesday classes are three hours in duration. I decided to discuss the drapery behind the objects. My demonstrations simplify the folds as much as possible.

That’s it for Winter term at Arts on Adrian. I’ll be posting my Spring calendar soon!

Tuesday Afternoon Critique

Tuesday Evening Critique

 

Winter Saturday and Tuesday Watercolour Classes – Rust and Dust!

These old cans and containers have a lot of character and are always a popular subject with the watercolour students. On Saturday, I focused my demonstration primarily on colour and texture.

A Sustained Saturday class is six hours long and it allows the students lots of time to complete thumbnail sketches and small studies before starting a more ambitious piece. This extra effort always pays off!

Sustained Saturday Critique

Tuesday was quite a challenge and I’m not talking about the watercolour painting! Our region experienced an ice storm. I followed the weather report every half hour and decided to run the classes. Amazingly, eleven determined students showed up for the afternoon class. Unfortunately, conditions worsened but four undaunted (maybe crazy) artists turned up for the evening session.

I concentrated on simplification and colour with my demonstration. The small study on the right was done in the evening. I’ve drawn attention to the foregound object by eliminating all paper white in the background with a cool grey wash. When that wash dried, I added shadow shapes of the other objects in a single value. Suggestion versus depiction.

A potentially disastrous day turned into a success!

Tuesday Afternoon Critique

Tuesday Evening Critique

Saturday and Tuesday Watercolour Classes – More Colour!

The last time we convened at the Arts on Adrian studio, the students were faced with a still-life comprised solely of cardboard objects. The entire setup was, basically, light brown. We changed that. After a discussion about colour theory, each student adopted a colour system (complementary or analagous are two examples) that appealed to them and converted the still-life into a very colourful watercolour painting.

This time, I set up a still-life of just about every colour I could find in my trove of objects. It’s colourful but that doesn’t mean that the colours are working well together. The new challenge for the students was to pick an area of the still-life and adjust the colours in order to make a more effective statement.

I looked at a small corner of the arrangement and made a simplified thumbnail sketch. You can see that I made some key changes. I wanted to draw the eye to the bowl on the plate and to create a bit of depth to the space in the painting.

I had asked the students to plan all of their colours at the outset with a thumbnail sketch, as I had. Why not? Why wait until the painting is near completion before deciding what colour to employ in the remaining unpainted areas (almost always the background)?

The students enjoyed our colour challenge. We spend a lot of time in watercolour class discussing drawing, composition and technique. We discuss colour, as well, but I think our intensive two-class mini-workshop really struck a chord.

Sustained Saturday Critique

Tuesday Afternoon Critique

Tuesday Evening Critique

Pen and Watercolour at DVSA – Drawing People!

I was back at the Dundas Valley School of Art yesterday for a day of pen and ink drawing. We combined the pen with watercolour and our theme was ‘drawing people’. I rarely use photographs when I teach but they’re perfect for this lesson. I brought in the photo reference for the students.

We started the day with a discussion about proportions of the figure and head. That proved to be very helpful with the two exercises that we completed. Our first drawing was of a little boy and I demonstrated in three steps. The first step was the pencil drawing. Following that, we got out the pens. The final step was the watercolour although, once the watercolour was dry it was possible to go back in with the pen, if desired.

 

We varied the process with our second drawing. Pencil first. Watercolour second. Pen third. Be careful with that pen! You can’t erase it. I might have been too enthusiastic and unintentionally gave this poor woman a bit of a moustache. Oh well, it’s Movember, after all.

 

As always, some of the students were faster workers than others. We didn’t have time for a third drawing but, near the end of the class, I gave one more demonstration. I started with pencil and then applied a ‘sepia’ wash mixed from Cobalt Blue and Burnt Sienna. I did the pen work once the wash had dried.

 

We wrapped up the day with a look at the student work. They did very well and should be equipped with a sound process for their own projects. Have a look at their work and, if you’re in the area, join me this winter at DVSA for eight weeks of Pen and Ink Studio on Thursday afternoons.

Drawing People Critique

 

Saturday and Tuesday Watercolour Classes – The Colour Challenge!

Colour challenge? I’d say! I set up this monochromatic still-life for the watercolour classes this week. Eyebrows were definitely raised as the students entered the Arts on Adrian studio. No colour in the still-life and no demonstration either but I was prepared with a presentation about colour systems.

Image courtesy of internet

We discussed some basic colour theory; primaries, secondaries, complementaries and cool/warm colours. Following that, we looked at split complementaries, triads and analogous systems. I also talked about greys and their role in painting.

The students were asked to decide upon a colour system to use in their painting. Most created a thumbnail sketch in their sketchbooks and either added colour to it or used colour swatches on the side to sort out their palettes. It was certainly a challenge but they rose to the occasion. We had a lot of fun and the lesson will be applied to all future work.

Sustained Saturday Critique

Tuesday Afternoon Critique

Tuesday Evening Critique

Fall Tuesday Watercolour Class – More Gourds!

***Sometime yesterday, this blog received it’s 175,000th view. Thank you all for following, commenting and liking!

I couldn’t deny the Tuesday watercolour students an opportunity to paint the gourds and the straw bale. The Saturday class had enjoyed it and created some very nice work. On Saturday, I had painted a fairly rapid watercolour sketch as my demonstration and I did the same for the Tuesday afternoon and evening groups. As I paint, I discuss various elements of the still-life and the decisions I’m making. Generally, a quick watercolour sketch is more about suggestion than depiction. Simplification, editing and creative licence are all key factors.

On Saturday, I’d also devoted some time to a completely different process; starting with values in grey and glazing on local colour once the grey washes are dry. Some of the less-experienced students found this to be a very useful way to develop their understanding of value and light and shadow. Yesterday, I worked with some of them one on one. My demo from Saturday (below) should give you an idea of the approach.

Several of the students embraced the quick sketch idea and some did more than one piece during the class. It was a good challenge. Many of these students have very good skill sets but would like to add more spontaneity to their work overall. Taking a few risks and working fast can be a positive step in that direction!

IMPORTANT NOTE!!! Many long-time followers may remember when it was possible to click on an image here and see a larger version. It was particularly useful with the images of the critiques because we all like to see the works closer up. For some mysterious reason, a while back, this feature ceased to function and I couldn’t figure out how to restore it. Recently, I’ve had some feedback from a WordPress ‘Happiness Engineer’. I think the proposed solution may work. Click on one of the critique images and let me know if you’re able to view the larger version. I hope so!

Tuesday Afternoon Critique

Tuesday Evening Critique

Fall Sustained Saturday Watercolour Class – Gourds and Pumpkins!

Every fall, I like to set up a seasonal still-life for the classes. Saturday was no exception and, for the first time, I included a straw bale as the ‘platform’. I was very keen to see what the group would do with the straw.

My demonstration was done in two parts. First of all, I did a small watercolour sketch and invited all of the students to watch. I used flat angled brushes and worked very quickly. Many of the experienced students have very good skill sets but would like to introduce more spontaneity and risk-taking into their work. As I painted, I tried to give them a few ideas to consider.

Secondly, I invited the newer students to watch as I switched gears to a very traditional approach to watercolour painting. With the grey studies, I painted the values first and later glazed the local colour over the grey. This approach can really help those who are working on ‘soft-edge’ skill development as well as their understanding of light and shadow and value.

Some of the more experienced students enjoy this process, as well. Rather than show you the final step of my studies in grey, I’d like to present the work of one of those students. Have a look at the watercolour below by Jane D. Now, take a look at the work from the critique and see if you can find the finished work.

While you’re at it, check out the watercolour on the extreme right in the second row. George H. was certainly not intimidated by the straw!

Study in greys
by Jane D.

Sustained Saturday Critique