WORKSHOP
‘Watercolour
Back to Front’
with DAVID CHANDLER
£45 per person
Frome-based artist David Chandler will teach the fascinating topic of 'Negative Painting,' mainly in watercolour, using the important but often overlooked technique of glazing.
David Chandler is a respected local artist and art tutor who inspires others by making art accessible and helping people develop their own style. He focuses on creative flow and technical skills for everyone, from beginners to experienced artists.
In this one-day workshop, David will teach the important but often overlooked skill of layering and glazing watercolour paint. He will show how watercolour’s so-called “wishy-washiness” lets us mix colours in the viewer’s mind rather than on the paper, while preserving the paper’s whiteness, creating artwork that seems to glow from within.
“I’m daubing and washing out, in short,
seeking and striving.
For one must make desperate attempts.
Because there’s something diabolical about
the execution of a watercolour.”
Vincent Van Gogh, in a letter to Theo
Many people see watercolour as just a sketching medium, a quick way to try out ideas before moving on to oils, or something to do while on holiday. Picasso rarely used watercolour, and Hockney once called it ‘wishy-washy’ and ‘suitable only for Sunday painters.’ However, some artists, like Turner in the 19th century and Klee in the 20th, took watercolour seriously from the start. They understood that its delicate and transparent qualities could create beautiful effects not possible with other mediums.
During this one-day workshop, we will explore how watercolour’s softness lets us mix colours in the viewer’s mind instead of on the paper. We’ll also learn how to keep the paper’s whiteness to make our paintings look as if they glow from within.
Timetable
10:00 Introduction
Exercise 1: laying a flat wash
Exercise 2: working with the concept of optical colour-mixing
11:30 Illustrated talk: Turner and Klee
12:30 Exercise 3: working back to front and prep for final painting
13:00 Lunch
13:45 Final painting
15:15 Critique and class discussion
16:00 Close
Materials
Standard set of watercolours in tubes or pans to include both warm and cool reds, blues and yellows, plus one brown
Sable, squirrel or other very soft and springy watercolour brushes; preferably round, sizes 8 and 12
HB/2H pencil
Water pot
mixing palette
masking tape
Rag or paper towel
4 x A3 sheets (or 2 x cut sheets full imperial), good quality watercolour paper (i.e. Bockingford, St.Cuthbert’s Mill, Fabriano, Arches, Two Rivers, 200lb/300 gsm
Drawing board
Plastic or paper to cover your table.
Places are limited, and early booking is advised. Members get priority access to booking until two weeks before the event. After this, any available places will be open for booking, at an increased fee, by non-members.
If you have questions about workshops, contact workshops@fromeartsociety.com