Ongar Art Society

I visited Ongar Art Society, in Essex last Thursday for a watercolour demonstration. Still life was requested so I took along these few items and set them up on a little stage. I lit the arrangement from above with a lamp.
Painted on a stretched sheet of half imperial Bockingford 200lb NOT watercolour paper.

Painting in Monotone

This little monotone study demo' is also from my course. It's a good exercise to paint something using only one colour. I use Ivory Black for these little studies. It's not part of my regular colour palette but is ideal for tonal sketches.

Demonstration for Teignmouth Art Society

Did a demonstration on Friday night for Teignmouth Art Society. 'Still Life with Glass' was the subject, so I took along a few jars & bottles. One of the members also brought along a few items and, from these, I selected that lovely blue jug. Like many clubs these days, they had their own camera/screen, so the people in the cheap seats can also see what's going on. I did this one in about an hour and forty minutes, from blank sheet to finished painting.

Thanks to Felicity Hughes for the photo of me in mid-demo.

Painting in Monotone

Students attending any of my workshops will be familiar with my thoughts on tonal relationships, and how important I consider them to be in painting. If I had a list of priorities, in making pictures, I would put tonal values just beneath design and just above colour.

I often start my workshops with a few 'loosening up' exercises, and monotone studies are a good way to begin. 

  This small study of a glass bottle was a class demonstration. I wanted students to concentrate on just 3 tones: light/medium/dark, plus white for highlights. This exercise really helps them to stay focused, especially if they don't stray from the idea of just 3 tones.

  Of course, in watercolour, your lightest tone is the white surface of the paper. Being a transparent medium, every wash that is applied makes a darker tone. Less water in the washes, means darker tones.

'Totnes High Street'

A loose impression of this very well-known landmark. Street scenes can be a little overwhelming for artists. All that detail! The answer is to simplify what you see. Ask yourself 'what can I leave out?'. A camera takes in everything but we artists can be selective. The windows on the bridge were quite important but with a feature like that, it's tempting to get a ruler and start drawing very straight lines. That would lead to a very stilted and boring copy, though. I sketched in their outlines 'freehand' and used my large mop brush to loosely paint the panes. The 'broken' brushstrokes give the impression of reflections in the glass. I also implied a few figures underneath to add some life and scale.