Watercolours Summer Term 2024

with Sophie Newnham

Watercolours are a pleasure to work with, whether adding a wash of colour to a drawing, layering to find new colours and shades or as a way to create delicate textures and form. 

This medium has subtlety, translucency and an element of surprise.  Over the course, we will also be looking at a handful of artists who have found new and interesting ways to use watercolours.

Open to all levels

Summer Term 2024 Course Programme

Inspired by the work of Wendy Jacob

Monday evenings: 24 June; 1, 8, 15 July

Tuesday mornings: 25 June; 2, 9, 16 July

Wendy Jacob Yellow Table with Peach Cloth

Evoking Morandi in her focus on unassuming objects painted with meditative care in soft, harmonious colours, Wendy Jacob’s palette also extends into vibrant hues. Selective flattening animates her compositions, adding to a sense of joyful discovery in the everyday.

Week 1 Mixing the palette, soft tones, subtlety. Painting simplified objects

Week 2 Giving contrast to objects.

Week 3 Playing with colour harmonies, colour opposites.

Week 4 Painting a still-life composition.

Skills covered: From drawing to watercolour painting. Painting with washes vs detailing; Fine-tuning our watercolours with pencils; Adding depth, seeing a range of tones; highlighting.

All necessary materials will be provided for your first session.

Materials provided throughout the course: Pencils- Hs to Bs; rubbers; basic paint, palettes and water holders.

Materials to bring with you: a range of watercolour brushes of various sizes; a block of watercolour paper (min 300gsm); a simple set of watercolour paints and paper towels.

““Sophie took us through all the key skills we needed for drawing and painting from nature and somehow I now have the confidence to just try drawing things around me. Before this I had no idea how to even start. Thank you!”

Undecided? contact us to arrange for an initial taster. If you decide to continue to the end of term, the taster is deducted from the fee for the remaining sessions.

For a taster session, all materials are included. For regular students, we can advise you on obtaining materials at the taster.