Yesterday, I took a watercolor class with Kathy Delumpa Allegri. It was a beginner's class starting with the very basics of color mixing and brush control.
I also made the decision to start doing watercolors with my non-dominant hand. This wasn't the challenge it would be for some. I'm left-handed, right-eye dominant, which means I've always done some thing right-handed. All those Scribbler Too drawings I've done recently were done with my non-dominant hand.
The reason for all this? I've been playing with watercolor for a couple of years now. I've done a few things I really liked, and most of what I did was okay. But I never felt as though I were using watercolor AS watercolor. I was drawing/painting the same way I did most of my work. And I really want to capture the essence of watercolor.
I wasn't sure where I was going wrong, so I decided to back up, start at the beginning and see if that helps. By switching to my non-dominant hand I remove muscle memory, so both my mind and body are on the same page.
Kathy's class was great. We ran out of time to do a finished painting, spending the morning on mixing colors for the color wheel, and the afternoon working on brush control, which was exactly what I was hoping for. I can't say we covered anything I wasn't aware of, but I picked up some insights on color temperatures, and got some excellent practice with the brush.
As soon as I got home, I painted a picture with the three colors we used in class (Quinacridone Rose, Cobalt Blue, and Aureolin/Azo yellow). The only Cobalt I have is a cheap, student grade, so it didn't spread very well, but it got the job done. I'm hoping I can take some more classes with Kathy. Her spring classes start on March 11.
I also made the decision to start doing watercolors with my non-dominant hand. This wasn't the challenge it would be for some. I'm left-handed, right-eye dominant, which means I've always done some thing right-handed. All those Scribbler Too drawings I've done recently were done with my non-dominant hand.
The reason for all this? I've been playing with watercolor for a couple of years now. I've done a few things I really liked, and most of what I did was okay. But I never felt as though I were using watercolor AS watercolor. I was drawing/painting the same way I did most of my work. And I really want to capture the essence of watercolor.
I wasn't sure where I was going wrong, so I decided to back up, start at the beginning and see if that helps. By switching to my non-dominant hand I remove muscle memory, so both my mind and body are on the same page.
Kathy's class was great. We ran out of time to do a finished painting, spending the morning on mixing colors for the color wheel, and the afternoon working on brush control, which was exactly what I was hoping for. I can't say we covered anything I wasn't aware of, but I picked up some insights on color temperatures, and got some excellent practice with the brush.
As soon as I got home, I painted a picture with the three colors we used in class (Quinacridone Rose, Cobalt Blue, and Aureolin/Azo yellow). The only Cobalt I have is a cheap, student grade, so it didn't spread very well, but it got the job done. I'm hoping I can take some more classes with Kathy. Her spring classes start on March 11.
Great efforts and tremendous artwork.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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