What I learned About Watercolour Painting and Pastels at Writers' and Aritsts" Holiday

Self-portrait by Angela Lansbury (a k a Angella).

Art teacher Susan Alison was so full of encouragement and helpful tips that I have been back to her art workshops at Writers' and Artists' Holiday at least twice. I plan to go again so long as they and I and she are all available for the annual holiday.

This year I learned:

Refresh on perspective:
1 HORIZON
Begin with your horizon. You can insert a white wax line which the water colours won't stick to. But it does show up as a white line in your finished picture. So only use this if you like a central white line or have other white in your picture.

2 DIRECTION OF SUNLIGHT
Choose the sun (or light eg from a window). Your shadows under trees, mountains, houses, boats, chimneys, people, are on the opposite side of objects which the sun can't reach where the objects block it.

3 DIMINISHING SIZE IN DISTANCE
Nearby objects are larger. So the nearest trees, framing your scene, are larger.
You can have two or more sizes.

4 REFLECTIONS
Allow space for reflections in water - again taking into account the sun's direction.

5 PLAN & PRACTISE SHAPES FIRST
Sketch out your whole scene first in pencil. Allow space around the picture for your white cardboard frame inside the wooden frame. You can still paint to the edge of the paper. You might move your picture behind the wooden frame and white border card to include the tree on the right but block or mask the tree on the left..
PRACTISE COLOURS
Test on scrap paper to see the intensity of the colour and shape of brushstrokes.

6 WHITE FRAMES ENHANCE
The white cardboard inner frame made of stiff card enhances the colours.

7 LEAVE SPACE FOR FRAMES
Even without a cardboard frame, you will lose approximately a centimeter behind the wooden edge of the frame.

Make sure your signature does not go to the edge of the picture.

Susan suggests that your signature goes on last, before framing, so you can pick the right place.

I like to put my signature on at the beginning so I don't have black tree trunks covering the place where I want to write my name in black.

HIDDEN SIGNATURES
 I also want to incorporate my name subtly, eg in a signpost, or a banner for an event, or inscribed with a heart on a tree trunk, on a litter bin. If you have a sea, your name could be on a boat, foreground signpost, or distant hilltop or even skywriting from a plane or banner towing

8 SIGNATURES TO SIGNAL POSSESSION LIKE NAMETAPES
 I put my name on everything straight away. Otherwise I come back five minutes later, five hours later, a day later, or a year later, and I don't know whether the sketch of  a dog or cat or tree was done by the teacher for me to copy, by me, or fell off the adjacent desk under my chair and was done by somebody else. If my name is diagonally on the right lower corner, I drew it.

9 PAINT PALE DISTANT COLOURS FIRST
Colours are darker nearer. Paler further away. Start with the palest in the distance.

10 DISPLAY
We displayed our pictures, placed around the room on the shelf over the fireplace and on the beading above the lower wall - there's a technical term I cannot remember.
Visitors came in and asked of their husband or friend or a bystander, "Which is yours?" I then had to run from one wall to another. A nuisance and time waster for me. Confusing from them.
One person, (Della - who herself did the course in a previous year and painted an excellent black horse) told me, 'I can recognize your pictures. You have a distinctive style, like handwriting - and reading somebody's words, when you can hear their voice.'

11 What is my style?
1 Bright contrasting colours,usually blue sky, green grass, red somewhere, a frame of trees, teeny stick figures of animals or dogs or people in action, waving or running, or just looking at the scene. Bird against a patch of white sky. Sailing boats with red flags at the top of the sail. People wearing hats obscuring their faces and mean with beards or sunglasses  because I cannot draw teeny faces during a painting course - no time.

2 If you have to explain the picture, or you want to add something, put a succinct place name, person's name, one word or short phrase clue in the title, such as Dream.

Useful Websites
www.writersholiday.net

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, artist, caricaturist. Please share links to your favourite posts.