This beginner’s watercolour course will introduce the aspiring artist to an exciting medium that is truly like no other. Beginning with an overview and an understanding of the basics of the materials required, the class will learn how to put watercolour paint on paper and discover the magical attributes of colour: the strength of straight unmixed colour, the subtleties of mixed colours, and the power of water and resulting colour washes. A segment on how to use and learn from a colour wheel will help in the understanding of how mixing just a few colours will produce a range of hues reflecting what we see around us.
The use of good composition with pencil drawings will provide a basis to begin your work. Using washes for skies and landscape elements, the various brushes and colours to simulate landscapes, buildings and people will be demonstrated. Subject reference will be provided for the student to learn the various ways to achieve the ‘variety of looks’ of our natural and man-made surroundings.
Weekly notes will be provided covering your lessons and additional subject matter about layering washes, the use of transparent and opaque colours, creating depth, stretching paper, using or not using white, and much more.
Course Objectives
- Learn using a range of basic materials; paints, brushes, supports, paper, blocks, pads, colour palettes, colour ranges and differences, plastic and metal palettes, easels, masking fluid and other useful supplies.
- How a basic colour range on your palette can achieve most colour requirements, with mixing guidelines and the importance of value.
- Using composition skills to create a simple but effective drawing as a guide before you paint.
- Learn sky, landscape and water effects, flowers and various other objects in still life and expressionistic or abstract techniques to develop your skills.