I was recently asked to hold a workshop for Overton Art Group. Jumping in a car and heading to an unknown destination to meet a room full of people you don't know can be a daunting prospect but it is now becoming something I very much enjoy. Sharing my joy for art and in this case working in watercolour with fellow artists whatever their level of experience is a delight and a privilege.
I also had a terrific time looking around the local area and enjoying the sunshine.
The aims of the workshops were to:
- Loosen up
- Experiment with different and unusual techniques
- Have fun and simply enjoy the act of painting without worry or expectations
Watercolour has the reputation of being a hard medium to master but it can be a great joy once you get a feel for it. Often the best approach is to let go and see what the paint does then react to it.
We started off by looking at the textures that can be created by Clingfilm.
There are many different texture techniques that can be used to add an extra zing to your work: here are some examples:
Left top to bottom: ink pored under clingfilm, mingled wash, s'grafitto on a wet wash, sandpaper on dry wash.
Middle top to bottom: clingfilm on mingled wash, watercolour ink and granulation medium, watercolour pencil shavings on a wet wash, salt on a wet wash, bubble wrap.
Right top to bottom: rubbing alcohol on a wet wash, sand on a wet wash, salt on very wet wash.
Last we looked at energy washes and negative painting.
There has been a great atmosphere with the participants full of enthusiasm and excited to try out the new techniques demonstrated. I really would like to say a huge thank you for the invitation and to everyone for making me feel so welcome.
Demo of a young Kestrel in watercolour pencil.
