This course will provide a fundamental approach to watercolour, for both the beginner and advanced student, with an emphasis on transparency, colour mixing, brushworks, washes and illumination while being true to the John Singer Sargent approach to the medium. Students will work from still-life and landscape and can expect demonstrations followed by ample painting time, and a critique towards the end of each class.
PAINT – A Complete list of Colours *(The colours bolded are the primary colours)
Recommended tube paints:
*One can also choose to begin your watercolour study by using just the primary colours:
Recommended watercolour sets (24) Pan
BRUSHES
(TRY A VARIETY OF SUBSTITUTES IN CHINESE WATERCOLOUR BRUSHES)
PAPER
140 pound smooth/medium/rough
PALETTES
Any plastic or metal palette with ridged reservoirs for mixing, and enough slots for all the colours listed above, with additional room for more colours. Alternatives to store bought palettes include old china or ceramic plates. Some can be found around the sinks in the classroom. Other alternatives include both plastic and styrofoam meat trays.
Recommended Palettes: Robert E. Wood Palette (24 wells, cheapest at Gwartmans), John Pike Palette (20 wells, has air tight lid - can be purchased at Curry's only)
Remember that if you have twenty or so colours, that you need a palette with that many pigment wells to facilitate the use of your colours.
BOARDS
Clean, unpainted or varnished 1/2" plywood. (There are some available in under the sink in the classroom.)
ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES
Books To Study
For anyone truly interested in watercolour, these are the books!
A Wash in Color: Homer, Sargent, and the Great American Watercolour
By Sue Welsh Reed, and Carol Troyen
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in association with Bullfinch Press, Little Brown Company 1993
American Traditions in Watercolor
The Worcester Art Museum Collection
Abbeville Press Publishers New York 1987
Edward Hopper
The Watercolors
Virginia M. Mecklenburg
National Museum of American Art
Smithsonian Institution
W.W. Norton & Company
New York & London 1999
Charles Demuth
By Alvord L. Eiseman
Watson-Guptill Publications New York 1982
The Watercolors of John Singer Sargent
By Carl Little
University of California Press 1998
The Artist’s Handbook of Materials and Techniques 5th Edition
Ralph Mayer
Needless to say, all these books are out of print, but you can purchase them either online or through Acadia Art and Rare Books, 232 Queen Street East, Toronto 416.364.7638
Great Watercolours To Study
John Singer Sargent’s watercolour entitled “Muddy Alligators”
John Singer Sargent’s watercolour entitled “Corfu, Lights and shadows, 1909,
John Singer Sargent’s watercolour entitled “La Blancheria”, 1910
John Singer Sargent’s watercolour sketch entitled “Gourds”
Winslow Homer’s last painting entitled “The diamond Shoal”
John Singer Sargent’s watercolour entitled “Muddy Alligators”
Charles Demuth’s watercolour entitled “Apples and Green Glass”,
Winslow Homer’s watercolour entitled “The Adirondack Guide”
Best watercolour ever! J.M.W. Turner’s Eruption of Mount Vesuvius