Well another successful pet portrait workshop completed..
I love doing these workshops, everyone produces such great artwork. It reminds me of why I paint in watercolours this way, and why I teach others my technique and colour theory.
Everyone interprets this lesson differently, and everyone creates wonderful artwork, and it’s a delight to see them go home with wonderful images. Some come to my workshop unsure if they can draw, or having never painted before. In the workshop they are taught the advantages of using a grid to enlarge the chosen photograph, this makes the first part so much easier. It is a simple, yet valuable tool. You can draw any image to any size you want, even reduce it, if you want to. The hardest part is definitely getting their heads around the colours they will be using over the next day and a half.
The background gives the students a chance to experience the colours and how they mix, or in some cases, how you don’t want them to mix.
(Bengal rose and greens don’t make a nice colour, browns and blues will go grey) but used in the right order the colours will blend beautifully.
I demonstrate using a black and white subject if I can, in these portraits the colours can go totally against the grain. For example, black is made of blue, green, pink, purple and indigo. For tan, or brown colourings, I demonstrate with the individuals portrait, using Australian red gold, burnt sienna, pinks and purples and the beautiful quinacridone sienna.
The workshop is held over two days, first is drawing and background, second is painting the subject.
Towards the end of the second day there is a section where I cover eyes and noses, as there is a special way to tackle the eyes to get that reflective, glassy look, and noses can be tackled in a series of layers.
Finally the ink penwork and final whitework, (dots in eyes, highlights on the nose, whiskers etc) all done in the last 10 minutes.
Here are 5 portraits, my demo piece of Shadow and Charlotte is last.
If you would like to be included in one of my workshops, drop me a message. I hold around 4 a year. Space is limited as I only take 6 students at a time.
