About the Workshop
Water colour paint has the allure of light and translucency, but can turn to mud quickly, if you’re not careful. Learn how to avoid mud by developing a range of water colour techniques from washes to glazing and resists, understanding paper and brush choices, colour mixing and the essentials of composition. This introduction to water colour painting will give you the fundamental skills necessary to capture the joy of painting through a series of focused exercises, demonstrations, and projects. No experience necessary, but always helpful
Material List
Water Colour Supply List:
Mixing palette
Board or clip board (to tape your paper to)
Painter’s tape -green or blue
Cotton swabs, paper towels
Graphite pencil -HB or H
Black permanent fine line pen
Brush suggestions: large flat brush 3/4” or 1”, several round brushes from small to large 2, 4, 6, 8, 14
Colours suggestions (water colour pans or tubes, whichever you already have) essentially you will want to have warm & cool colours of the the primaries - red, yellow blue. The following are SUGGESTIONS, but bring what you have or come in the set: alizarin crimson or rose madder, cadmium red light or vermillion, cadmium red deep or permanent red, cadmium yellow light or lemon yellow, cadmium yellow medium or gamboge, Hooker’s green or sap green, phthalo green, ultramarine blue, phthalo blue, yellow ochre, raw umber, burnt Sienna, Paynes grey
OPTIONAL: dioxazine violet, indigo, cerulean blue, Prussian blue, sepia. These are only colour suggestions, and if you have similar colours already, do NOT buy more.
WC paper: 140 lb. cold press paper. A watercolour pad or block is easier and more economic to begin. Fabriano pads available at DeSerres in Halifax are a good paper to start. Pick up a 9”x12” size.
Optional: natural sponge, masking fluid, ruler
Your Instructor
Audrey Nicoll is a NSCAD and UBC Fine Arts graduate. She has taught in the public school system for thirty years starting in Vancouver and recently retiring as the IB Art teacher at Park View Education Centre. Audrey’s studio practice consists of large scale mixed media drawings focused on environmental issues, which she has shown throughout the Maritimes. Her teaching commitment took her away from her studio over the last few years, and she is happy to return to her studio in Chester Basin.
