Watercolour Course Check sheet

©2007 Joe Cartwright

This list covers items which will be covered in the course I run.

What is watercolour?

The need for practice and continued study

Materials

            Paints – artists’ quality a must

            Paper – artists’ quality a must

            Brushes

            Pallet

            Easels

            Pencils

            Incidentals

Be prepared to waste paper

Studio (space)

Basic washes

            Flat

            Graded

            Variegated

            Glazing

                        Try not to glaze over dark areas or else you will lift the paint.

            Wet on Wet

                        How to control this wash

Lifting out paint

            While wash is still damp

            After wash has dried

Pre-wetting the paper

            Pros and Cons

The importance of time in painting watercolours

How to create mud (so you don’t do it)

            Techniques to help give you time and clean washes

Limit your pallet

Other techniques and tools

Masking

            When to use it

            How to use it

            How to remove it

Splatter

            With paint

            With water

            Brush size is important

            Spray bottle

Sponge

Sharp edges – e.g. credit cards

Candle wax

Different edges

            How to create them

            From Dry brush to soft wet on wet

            What do these edge effects mean i.e. how do they affect your painting?

Creating depth in a painting

            Perspective

            Arial perspective

            Overlapping objects

            Directional lines

            The importance of tone

Tone and abstract shapes

            The importance of tone

            How to see tones

            Think tones first and colours second

            Abstract tonal shapes need to be interesting

Let watercolour help you paint your painting

            Keep an eye out for interesting effects

Painting skies

            Recession

            Perspective elements

            Colours

            Cloud studies

Painting landscapes

            Importance of the under wash

                        Must be tonally correct first go

            Background

            Middle ground

            Foreground

            Sky

            Hills

            Trees

                        Distant

                        Larger, warmer and more detailed as they come closer

                        Shadows

                        Don’t draw in every leaf

            Leave some white areas for sparkle and to turn into things

Painting buildings in landscapes

            Perspective

            Need for accuracy

            Shadows – horizontal darker than vertical

Painting people in the landscape

            Need for correct proportion   

Painting rivers and reflections

Painting trees

Painting flowers

Painting Portraits

Painting animals

Painting beach scenes

Painting boats

Finding your way and style

Read Read Read!

Creating atmosphere in your paintings

Photographing your work

Entering exhibitions

            Why enter?

            Presentation

            Importance for progress

There are not failures

            Every painting will move you forward if you let it

            Handling criticism

            Enjoy the journey