Online workshop on water

Water is often seen as a difficult subject to paint, but with the right techniques and an understanding of the subject, you will have all the information you need to paint realistic water scenes using oils.

This workshop will provide information on:

•  How to create the best composition for your water painting
• Understanding the benefits of creating value maps and studies and how to use them   effectively
•  Recognizing various types of water surfaces and how the environment affects their appearance 
•  Understanding how reflections appear on and in water and how to paint them realistically
• Technical painting information on supports, materials, colour, values and painting application

Each week is reinforced by a practical exercise, culminating in you creating a final painting based on the information and techniques that you learn during the workshop. A step-by-step demonstration for the final painting and video instruction throughout the course, show detail and technique that will build your technical skills and help you develop an understanding of how to paint this unique, ever changing subject.

More details will be released as they become available.  I'll be creating and filming the painting demos that go with the course and registration will be available on September 1st, with the course going live hopefully by the end of September. 

A newsletter will go out within the next few days, so everything's a flurry of activity.  And just three more days of holiday left!  Where does it all go and why doesn't the rest of time go by so swiftly?

Back in the studio

I'm back from a short break and a little travel time.  Heat, new sights, new places and  new inspiration accompanied me.  Unfortunately the inspiration seemed to take a nosedive when I entered the studio.  Some careful consideration of the direction I want to go in is needed again to get my sea legs under me once more.

As usual when travelling I have very little time to devote to sketching or painting unless the holiday is devoted to that task, so I squeeze it in when I can.  This time, I stole some sketching time while relaxing in a hotel and also on a ferry.  Those times, when not much else can intrude on life tend to be the best times for me to concentrate on sketches.

I sketched these hotel room views in a 6 x 12 multimedia sketchbook with a micron pen.

Being a water baby, I gravitate towards the beach and ocean wherever I go.  In PEI  I wasn't disappointed in terms of sand and warm waters.  The red sand reflecting through the water should make for some interesting paintings.  I was struck by contrasts a lot in this trip.  The bright sun helped with strong shadows, emphasizing colours.

I took a ferry to Grand Manan, a small island off New Brunswick and spent a few hours exploring the nooks and crannies there.  Its a compact community spread over the rocky land, fueled by the lobster fishery and tourism.  There I discovered an abandoned sardine smokehouse 'village'.  There must have been a dozen large smokehouses sitting on the shoreline and with the fog that day, there was an eerie, ghost town feel walking around the silent buildings.

I did a little geneology side trip in Nova Scotia to Fox Point and Hubbard's Cove where relatives on my father's side came from and many are buried there.  There is something satisfying about walking on the same ground as they did.  And I can see why the area was appealing.  This little beach in Fox Point made me want to stay too.

Now its time to get some new work underway, get a newsletter out the door by the end of the week and pay a visit to a new art supply store in town, Urchin before heading back to the day job on Tuesday.  I'd better get moving!