newsletter

WELCOME

Any ideas, suggestions or questions, contact me via the contact page.

Sorry for the long delay since the last newsletter but it has been such a busy year. The summer workshops have now finished and I have a little breathing space before planning 2011. The workshops were all very well attended and the weather was reasonably kind. Ironically, the worst weather of the summer was in Provence where I was tutoring a workshop. On one day more rain fell than in 6 months in Northern Ireland, but  the other days had the usual Provencal sunshine. Some photos of the 2010 workshops are on the Workshops page. This year I was invited to tutor a weekend course for the Burren Painting School in Lisdoonvarna. The good weather and great company helped make this a great success.

DVD

“Trees and the Landscape” covers general landscape subjects with special emphasis on trees through the seasons. The DVD is available on the shop page.  I can post these worldwide and can supply NTSC versions for the USA and Japan.

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

Q: How can I mix accurate colours?

A: I’m afraid that really there is no such thing. The true colour of anything will depend on the time of year, the time of day, the weather and many other factors. It is impossible to copy the true colour of anything but remember that you are painting a picture - not copying reality. A painter must adjust colours to suit the picture. A good example is distant colours that must be rendered more bluish than reality in order to convey the impression of depth. Colours are very

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adaptable but tones or value must be correct. If you are having trouble with colour, try painting for a while with only one colour. Choose one that is naturally dark such as black, sepia or indigo and you will be forced to think tonally.

TIP OF THE MONTH

The most common problem experienced by the painters attending my workshops was that of using insufficient paint and water. Partly, this was due to many people trying to paint with dried up pans or attempting to paint a picture with a tiny quantity of paint. Watercolour is difficult enough without making it harder for yourself. Use plenty of paint and plenty of water and replenish your brush frequently.

You may recall that in the last newsletter at new year I suggested making a painting resolution - paint every day, paint something new etc. and that I resolved to tackle portraiture. Well, truth be told, I haven’t quite got around to it yet - I hope that you have had more resolve. This made me think of how easy it is not to paint. Excuses are everywhere - too busy, too cold, too hot, too tired. Probably the real excuse is that if we don’t paint, we can’t fail, but remember that we can improve only with practice - so no more excuses!!

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“Painting is very easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do” Edgar Degas

TRY IT AT HOME

I am sure you have dozens of holiday photographs that would make great paintings. Try sketching from the photo and painting from your sketch - it helps to simplify the subject and you avoid trying to copy the photograph but best of all is to try painting outdoors - even from your car.

AUGUST 2010

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