This course will encourage you to approach watercolours in an alternative way, accepting the beauty of the medium when it is outside of your control. Expect big brush strokes, splashes and for not every piece to be a success, and bring along an open mind. You will be starting the course with gestural, abstract mark-making in wet media and then you will use dry materials to refine and develop the pieces as the course progresses.

From initial mark-making explorations, you will be asked to take an intuitive approach to painting, considering how you can find imagery in abstract starting points and allowing the paint to guide you in compositional decisions. You will be looking for natural forms and landscape-like imagery within these initial explorations, and creating landscape paintings from the most successful ones.

Throughout the course, you will develop an understanding of washes, wet-on-wet techniques and how to encourage and use back runs to your advantage to create blooms and expressive outcomes full of movement. You will also learn how to combine drawing materials within your watercolour paintings.

By the end of the course, you will have completed a series of landscape paintings to take away with you. You will also have developed your confidence and skills in exploring and experimenting with media.

Arrival Day - this is the first date listed above

Courses start early evening. Residential students to arrive from 4pm, non-residential students to arrive by 6.45pm.

6.45pm: Welcome, followed by dinner (included).

8 - 9pm: First teaching session, attendance is essential.

Daily timetable

Classes 9.15 - 5pm, lunch is included.

From 6.30pm: Dinner (included for residential students).

Evening working - students may have access to workshops until 9pm, but only with their tutor's permission and provided any health and safety guidelines are observed.

Last day

Classes 9.15am - 3pm, lunch is included.

Residential students are to vacate their rooms by 10am please.

(This timetable is for courses of more than one day in length. The tutor may make slight variations)

Included

• On this course, the college will supply some of the materials, including watercolour board, acetate for stencilling and magic eraser sponges.

What students need to bring

• Any painting equipment you usually use, as well as the following items from the list below:
• Apron
• Permanent fine liner pen (Stabilo Write-4-all fine are good)
• Watercolours (tube) – artist’s quality preferably, suggested basic colours:
• Titanium White (large), Lemon Yellow, Indian Yellow, Vermillion, Alizarin Crimson, French Ultramarine, Cobalt Blue. Extra additional colours: Naples Yellow, Paynes Grey, Burnt Sienna
• Brushes in a variety of sizes from 000 to 7; also some large flat brushes for washes - ideally 50mm or wider
• A4 watercolour sketchbook for experiments
• Drawing equipment – pencil, plastic rubber, putty rubber, sharpener, watercolour pencils and coloured pencil crayons (not water soluble)
• Metal ruler, craft knife, scissors, water spray bottle
• We will be working from memory and from the marks on the page to create landscape paintings, but feel free to bring along any landscape source photos that may help to inspire your outcomes.

Available to buy

• Available from shop:
• A good variety of art and craft materials, including:
• Permanent fine liner pens
• Watercolours (tube) – artist’s quality in a variety of colours, including Titanium White, Lemon Yellow, Indian Yellow, Vermillion, Alizarin Crimson, French Ultramarine, Cobalt Blue. Extra additional colours: Naples Yellow, Paynes Grey, Burnt Sienna
• Brushes in a variety of sizes from 000 to 7; also some large flat brushes for washes - 50mm and wider
• A4 watercolour sketchbooks
• Drawing equipment – pencils, plastic rubbers, putty rubbers, sharpenesr, watercolour pencils and coloured pencil crayons (not water soluble)
• Water spray bottles, craft knives, scissors and metal rulers

Additional information

Please wear appropriate clothing/aprons for the workshop or studio, this includes stout covered footwear (no sandals or open toes). Possible equipment restrictions in tutor absence.