Lucy was our instructor for the Wednesday class and took us through the use of grids when drawing accurately. Anytime you want to draw something that requires accuracy such as a portrait, pet, vehicle, a complex still life, etc. we may wish to use the grid method. It starts with drawing a grid of squares … Read more
When selecting a paper for pen and wash, a smooth hot pressed watercolour paper is best, as rough watercolour paper catches on the pen. Caroline chose to work with India ink, you can also use Quink. She doesn’t recommend hobby craft ink, as it can wash off when your wash is applied, whereas the India … Read more
Caroline brought oil pastels by Sennelier, which are an excellent choice as they are pigment rich and a delight to work with. Cheaper brands such as W. H. Smith are not so good as they are all wax and hardly any pigment. Sugar paper is a good alternative to the preferred pastel paper and is … Read more
Before starting the drawing, Caroline gave a few tips on working in charcoal: Sandpaper the paper for dramatic marks Use good textured paper Think … Where are my darkest shadows going to be? WORK BIG! Blocking in very lightly, Caroline sketched out the group of bottles. Using light strokes to plot … Read more
The best charcoal to use is Windsor and Newton as it has good deep coverage and is just lovely to use. Always break the stick into a smaller piece and then you can use it side on or using a corner. You should use a rough paper with a tooth to give the charcoal something … Read more
Caroline Marsland took the Wednesday Dupont class through how to watercolour paint a patterned fabric on paper. We were not painting the fabric. She started off by lightly drawing the general shape of the fabric lightly with pencil. She then painted in the the colour of the fabric first with all of the shadows that are … Read more
On November 14th instructor Caroline Marsland did a demo on painting using charcoal and watercolour. This was done on 140 pound watercolour paper. This medium is good for moody pictures. There is usually a tinge of charcoal in the watercolour leaving a shaded picture. She used a piece of charcoal but using a charcoal pencil … Read more
When working in watercolour you should always work light to dark. Caroline started by lightly sketching the outlines of the leaves in pencil and then she used masking fluid to map out the main veins. Then it was left to dry. Using a round brush with a point she started by putting a wash of … Read more
When tackling a complex subject like a vase of flowers, it’s a good idea to draw the outline of the entire thing using a dark colour. Start the outline by placing your main flowers ( the ones that are wholly visible ) first and then moving on to the partially visible ones, moving round and … Read more
Caroline used the Pre-Raphaelites to demonstrate very good use of rest areas in paintings. Rest areas are essential to allow the viewer to easily move their eyes around the space. Use of colour is also effective in leading the viewer around the painting. Cool colours will recede and as such will be a good choice … Read more