I recently led a painting course at Earnley Concourse, Chichester. The title of which was 'Paint Your Pet in Watercolour'. Animals are always a popular subject and people want to paint their cats, dogs, parrots, goldfish etc. Trouble is, animals don't make it easy for us, do they? Even a cat, which may sleep all day, will suddenly become animated at the sight of a pencil and paper. We started with some lively contour, or gesture, drawings. Working from photos (It's just not practical to bring along the real thing!) we soon got into it. I find these initiatal sketches help students to loosen up and make them start to observe features and proportions.
By the time we get the paints out, everyone is in the right frame of mind and less hesitant.
I painted the cat, above, during a demonstration. I began with an all-over wash, dropping colours into the appropriate areas. Once dry, I finished off with a few hard-edged, wet-on-dry washes.
Miaow!
Posts
