Teaching Watercolour Basics

I did some more adult teaching this week, I’m running a short course in watercolour basics, covering a range of simple and accessible techniques. The group started with stretching some watercolour paper with paper gumstrip (learnt last week), sectioning it up with masking tape and producing 4 samples of different techniques. This is the demonstrationContinue reading “Teaching Watercolour Basics”

Unplanned Scraping.

I carried on with the nocturne painting by scraping on some pinks with a palette knife. It wasn’t planned, I had some Titanium White, Medium Magenta and Dioxazine Violet left over from another painting and as always, “waste not, want not”. I’m not sure if the colour will make it though to the final pieceContinue reading “Unplanned Scraping.”

Slapping It On …..

I carried on with the still life painting I started a couple of weeks ago. I’m really enjoying this, I’m not being precious about it so I can just slap the paint on without stressing about it, impasto style. If I don’t like what I’ve done, I’ll just paint over it. It’s gradually building upContinue reading “Slapping It On …..”

#StandingStoneSunday.

It’s Standing Stone Sunday on social media again and I’ve chosen a strange little drawing I did of a relatively local monument, Maen Ceti (Arthur’s Stone) at Cefn Bryn on the Gower Peninsula. It’s a huge magnificent megalith in beautiful countryside and it’s easy to get distracted and concentrate on the surroundings when I’m drawingContinue reading “#StandingStoneSunday.”

Carrying on with the little still-life painting, I filled in the colours roughly on the bottles and took the background through a mixed pink to dioxazine purple. Once the drawing is in place, this painting seems a bit like colouring-in. I normally stress over making art, but this is very relaxing. I started the paintingContinue reading

Teaching, Drawing, Painting.

Last week I taught an introductory adult education session at GS Artists, one of Swansea’s finest. I borrowed a selection of decoupaged bottles for the still life and set them on a plinth in the middle of the group. I chose these instead of clear bottles so we didn’t have to cope with reflections andContinue reading “Teaching, Drawing, Painting.”

Scraping And Sketching.

I finished scraping a layer of Dioxazine Purple (transparent) over the bulk of my nocturne with a palette knife. When it dried, I started to sketch in some figures with Unbleached Titanium (opaque). I’m using Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paints over a recycled and heavily textured stretched canvas. Still a long way to go ….

Scraping On Another Layer.

I carried on with a little bit more of my current painting, a nocturne with a fiery figure. I laid some Dioxazine Purple (translucent) onto the Cadmium Orange (opaque) ground with a palette knife and a couple of flat brushes, scraping it to let some of the orange show through. I’m using Liquitex Heavy BodyContinue reading “Scraping On Another Layer.”

#StandingStoneSunday

Here’s a favourite standing stone that I painted in the field while I was out and about with Dewi Bowen as he was researching his new book “Hunting The Wild Megalith”. It’s Garreg Coch in Carmarthenshire and it’s been protected for many years by a barbed wire fence. We’ll be at The Workers Gallery onContinue reading “#StandingStoneSunday”

Scraping It On.

I’ve started applying the paint to one of my new paintings. On top of the orange ground, I’ve scraped on a few areas of Titanium White, with a palette knife, which will be the highlights. It’s going to be another nocturne.