Find out how much enjoyment there is to be had from painting in watercolour with artist Alison Greer. Watercolour is the favoured medium of many leisure painters and this workshop will take you step by step through the process of painting a beach scene in watercolour.
Relax and follow Alison’s lead as she shows you all the skills needed – from selecting materials and equipment, to mixing and working with paint and using a variety of techniques to achieve different effects.
Get a feel for painting and develop a composition depicting a beach as you build your skills and confidence.
Click on the title below to find a list of what you’ll need to bring with you. If you would like us to provide paper and paint for the workshop there will be a £5 material charge but can you please let us know so we can ensure we have enough supplies.
What to expect
Time at ArtisOn is designed to take you away from it all. We provide the environment, the time and the guidance you need to create. You can expect a warm welcome, skilled and friendly tutors and the chance to meet like-minded people keen to share ideas. You can even leave us to clear up the mess! There will usually be two workshops going on and we encourage everyone to mingle and be nosey about what the other workshop is up to.
We encourage you to arrive at 9.30am. This will allow time to meet other participants over a cup of tea or coffee and biscuits before beginning workshops at 10am. There will be a mid-morning break for refreshments and a chance to talk over progress with others. Lunch is usually around 12:45 for about 45 mins – you can expect a delicious homemade 2 course lunch. There will be a further afternoon break with tea or coffee and cake. All food and refreshments are included in the price of your workshop.
The finish time given is a target. There are occasions when the session may overrun so do let us know if you need to be away promptly.
We aim for your day to be a real treat. You could always learn a new skill in a shed or a draughty village hall with a curly sandwich, but we want you to have more fun than that! So we make sure we provide a day where you will be looked after, with good food, good company and great inspiration!
What you’ll need to bring with you
You are about to enter the world of watercolour painting. It can involve a lot of gear! If you have them or can get hold of them, the following summarises what you will need. If there is anything you can’t get hold of, don’t panic, we will have some available for the workshop.
The following list is Alison’s list of recommended equipment and paints to bring along:
- Paint - use artist quality paints in tubes – good quality paint may be bit more expensive but it will make a big difference to your painting.
If you have watercolour paints do bring them but the main colours you need for the beach scene are:
Burnt Sienna. French Ultra Marine, Rose Madder, Raw Sienna and Prussian Blue.
- Masking fluid and an old brush with which to apply it.
- Watercolour paper – preferably “Arches” or Saunders Waterford minimum 140lbs weight, NOT surface is best.
Paper below 200lb will need to be pre-stretched to prevent “cockling” when wet. This means submerging in water for 5-10 mins before laying out on a drawing board and fastening with tape to dry. Thicker papers (200-300lb) do not require stretching but are more expensive. We will have some pre-stretched paper available if you are not confident with this process. Please let us know.
A selection of brushes – key brushes that Alison recommends are:
No: 16, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 - Round brushes
Filbert wash brush
½” flat brush
No.2 Rigger brush
If you are short of a few of these brushes, there will be some that you can borrow.
- A paint palette with a lid to hold the fresh paint and mixing palettes for mixing colours. Alison recommends daisy shaped palettes for mixing colours as they are deeper and hold more paint. We have them to borrow if you don't have one.
- 2 x Water pots - 1 for holding clean water and 1 for washing out your brushes. We have plenty of water jars available if you don’t have your own.
- Plastic eraser or putty rubber.
Please give us a call if you have any worries about any of the above.
