Watercolour Painting I:
Basic Techniques and Fundamentals

 

Instructor: Elaine Muth
Tuesdays 5:30-8:30pm
10 weeks: April 14 to June 16
Location: In-person Williams Building room 255
$395 (supplies not included)
Prerequisite: None

Explore the challenging and exciting medium of watercolour to enhance your personal art practice. Learn paint application techniques for expressive results obtainable only in watercolour. 

Syllabus

  • Materials and studio practice.Paint procedure: planning, preparation and demonstration
  • Underpainting. Round and flat brush effects. Good shapes without drawing.
  • Direct painting and colour mixing. Washes; layered glazes; flat washes; wet-in-wet; graded.
  • Colour plans- many hues from select pairs. Tonal values. Saturated colour.
  • Composition: rule of three for better subject placement and position. Overlap. Colour perspective.
  • Neutrals and deepest darks: mixing and applying. Retain white paper highlights without masking.
  • Contrast: chiaroscuro, notan; gripping darks; accents.
  • Texture and roughness: broken wash; stipple; dry brush; line-and-wash.
  • Editing: ways to reduce, remove and lighten colour.
  • Points for self-evaluation. Assess style and mood of work. Presentation and matting.

Supplies

Paints:
  • Watercolour pans (singles or sets) including two metallics
OR
  • Watercolour tubes:
    • Cadmium Yellow Light
    • Yellow Ochre
    • Burnt Sienna
    • Cadmium Red
    • Alizarin Crimson
    • French Ultramarine Blue
    • Prussian Blue
    • 2 metallic paints of your choice
    • Ivory Black (optional)

AND

  • Caran D'Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle Water-soluble Wax Pastels (set of 10 or more)

Brushes:

  • Round watercolour (pointed) brush, size 6 or 8
  • Thin pointed brush or rigger
  • Flat brush, 1/2" size

Paper:

  • Watercolour paper: 2-5 full sheets (22" x 30") 100% cotton, 140 lb cold press
  • Watercolour pad 8"x10" minimum size

Extras:

  • Water container
  • Spray bottle
  • Sponge
  • Soft rags
  • Utility knife (box cutter)
  • Ruler
  • Heavy cardboard (1 sheet)
  • 1" wide masking tape
  • Watercolour pencil
  • 5-10 images from cards or magazines
  • Poems and quotes


For a brief list of frequently used suppliers, please see Where can I purchase supplies? on our FAQ page.