Apples - student works

My classes are full of students with mixed experience, which is a lovely way to learn. Beginners start with a few short introductory  exercises to cover the foundations of observing, and trying new materials, then join in with the same subjects as those with more experience. 

Recently the subject was composition using apples, reflective objects and fabric. Here are some lovely examples of student studies. 

 

Above - lovely water colour by Heather. 

Little water colour by Glynis

The next two images show the same artwork at an early then later stage. By Jane. 

Half way stage by Jane - this shows the graphite drawing

Jane's water colour, complete. 

Below - a few photos of the progress of one artwork. It started with a drawing, part of which was shaded in graphite pencil, then painted in water colour. This was done by Rose, who is very new to water colour but clearly is getting the hang of it!

The drawing stage, with graphite shading in one area. 

First layer of washes

The completed study.Lovely job!

Below, the same subject done in oils. 

For info on workshops and weekly classes please email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk 

Autumn term delights

I try to put off collecting leaves for my students to paint because the season lasts quite a few weeks, and there could always be someting more... However, the wonderful Rheus tree outside my window was so magnificent with yellows, greens and oranges  early in Autumn, that I couldn't resist.

Dramatic colour on the front... 

Delicious even on the back! 

The simplicity of the shapes also made it a great subject as we wouldn't have to spend a great deal of time on the drawing aspect, allowing plenty of time to 'draw with our brushes' instead.

Roisin at work

 With water colour, it is important to identify the palest colour first, and lay a wash down as a good base for all other colours to rest on. Effectively, we are painting with stained water, and the darker colours go on last. With these leaves, we used Lemon Yellow as the base colour. you can see this in Roisin's painting (above) and Tony's painting (below).

Tony's lovely study - this was his first ever water colour painting!

Once the initial 'wash' is down, the job of choosing additional layers begins. I restricted the palette to just Lemon Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow, Permanent Sap green and, for much further down the line, Permanent Rose.

Carolyn's study

 Restricting the palette is a wonderful way of beginning to understand the colours you are using, and help you realise that mixing a small number of different colours in a variety of quantities, gives you enormous scope and a wide range of options.

Jim's painting

Ben, who used water soluble coloured pencil, on a branch of Virginia Creeper

 I introduce 'red' late in the process because the red pigments not olny stain the water we paint wih, but they also quickly stain the paper too. This means that it is often impossible to change your mind and remove it. (One of the myths about water colour is that it is 'fixed'. This isn't true - adding more water to your paper and hitting it with kitchen paper will remove any colour if you have changed your mind - apart from the reds. Undertnading this simply means that we use reds with more caution, and always have the kitchen paper handy!)

Liz, a wonderful first painting

Upcoming workshops: Portrait drawing, Oils weekend, Children's half term workshop. For info please email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk

Notes from the Atelier - Julie's drawing and painting manual is available in local book shops and on her website
http://www.juliedouglas.co.uk/julies-book/notes-from-the-atelier

It is also on on Amazon Prime - check out the reviews! https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1527205932?pf_rd_p=9daa0afc-fa5f-4673-9ff4-e926d27e7d1b&pf_rd_r=K3SF2NCDNAQZRAS89749)