Watercolour in Practice

Weekly: Thursdays 2.00pm-4.30pm

Dates:

Eric Ravilious and Emil Nolde – 6 weeks from 16 April 2026 

16, 23, 30, April
7, 14, 21 May

William Tillyer and Rebecca Hind – 6 weeks from 4th June  2026 

4, 11, 18, 25, June
2,9 July

Watercolour in Practice: Eric Ravilious and Emil Nolde (April-May course)

The aim of this course is to develop solid watercolour skills whilst looking at the practice and themes of contemporary as well as traditional artists. The course will look in further detail at 2 artists and encourage students to adopt a creative thinking practice with their own work.

We are looking for this project at the watercolours of Eric Ravilious and Emil Nolde. Ravilious’ approach involves using a barely moist brush and building the strokes up in layers. It offers excellent scope for exploring varied mark-making, composing an image and optical colour-mixing. In contrast to Ravilious carefully planned and rigorously composed method, Nolde’s work involves an instinctive free-flowing wet-in-wet approach using varied consistencies of paint and unconventional compositions.

Who’s this course for?:

Beginners (a little previous knowledge)
Intermediate (some knowledge & experience)
Advanced (proficient with regular practice)

What you’ll explore?:

*Design skills to create a dynamic composition.

*Analysing and experimenting with the drybrush techniques of Eric Ravilious.

*Mixing all colours from a primary palette.

*Understanding light and shade and making a tonal plan for paintings,

*Using wet-in-wet watercolour in different consistencies to create bold gestural painting inspired by Emil Nolde.

*Creating an unusual floral composition with interesting cropping.

Learnings you’ll walk away with?:

*Improved drawing, design and composition skills.

*Good perception of tonal values and ability to use them to make a more dynamic painting. 

*Considered use of drybrush techniques in a painting including hatching, stencilling, masking and mark-making,

*Know how to structure and plan a painting using both drybrush and wet-in-wet techniques.

*Ability to mix desired colours from the primaries and understanding of optical colour mixing.

Materials and supplies required:

Pencils in a range of softnesses e.g. HB, 2B, 4B,  6B 

Putty rubber  

Ruler

Some sheets of A4 or A3 cartridge paper

A4 or A3 pad of good quality cold-pressed watercolour paper (recommend Bockingford) 

Min. of 6 watercolour paints in either tubes or pans: warm and cool version of red, yellow and blue (suggested cadmium red, alizarin crimson, winsor lemon, cadmium yellow, ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, optional extras:  viridian or winsor green blue shade). Usually the Cotman watercolour sketchers pocket set contains most of what you need.

Minimum of 3 watercolour brushes: large flat or round wash brush, round brush size 5–8, fine brush size 2 or 3

Palette

Approx. 4 sheets A4 tracing paper

Scissors

Masking tape 

Household sponge

Toothbrush

Optional: Masking fluid; candle; 3 coloured pencils (red, yellow and blue); stencil brush(es); selection of any other brushes already owned which can include hogshair; fan or old battered brushes; scalpel; small cutting mat. 

What to bring to the first class:

Please bring all of the above to the first class.

What to wear:

Something you don’t mind getting a bit messy or an apron, although this is not usually a particularly messy course. 

Watercolour in Practice: William Tillyer and Rebecca Hind (June-July)

The course will look in further detail at 2 artists and encourage students to adopt a creative thinking practice with their own work. The artists referenced during this course are William Tillyer and Rebecca Hind. Both of these contemporary artists push the boundaries of watercolour, using it in experimental as well as traditional ways. In addition to developing skills of handling various types of watercolour wash, and colour-mixing from the primaries you will also explore abstracting from a representational image and handling wet-wet washes through paint-pouring techniques.

Who’s this course for?:

Those with at least a little watercolour experience
Intermediate (some knowledge & experience)
Advanced (proficient with regular practice)

What you’ll explore?:

*Mixing from a primary palette.

*Abstracting from a representational image.

* Understanding watercolour washes, wet in wet, glazing and gradating.

*Understanding of tonal values and using them to create interest.

*Using Hind and Tillyer’s elemental paintings as inspiration.

* Controlling poured wet-in-wet washes.

* Combining elements of paint-pouring and semi-abstraction to create an  atmospheric painting on the subject of the elements

Learnings you’ll walk away with?:

*Being able to abstract using shapes and analyse the essence of an image.

*Ability to mix desired colours from the primaries, both on the palette and directly on paper when combining paints through pouring.

*Greater control and understanding of how speed, consistency, dampness and gravity act when creating the effects you want.

* Using inspiration from other artists’ approaches to feed and develop your own creative vision.

Materials and supplies required:

Pencils in a range of softnesses e.g. HB, 2B,4B, 6B

Putty rubber

Ruler

Some sheets of A4 or A3 cartridge paper

A4 or A3 pad of good quality cold-pressed watercolour paper (recommend Bockingford).  Min. of 6 watercolour paints:  warm and cool version of red, yellow and blue (suggested cadmium red, alizarin crimson, winsor lemon, cadmium yellow, ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, optional extras:  viridian or winsor green blue shade). Usually the Cotman watercolour sketchers pocket set contains most of what you need.

Minimum of 3 watercolour brushes: large flat or round wash brush, round brush size 5–8, fine brush size 2 or 3, 

Palette

approx 4 sheets A4 tracing paper

Scissors

Masking tape

Household sponge

Toothbrush

4-6 tiny jam jars,

Optional: Masking fluid; candle; stencil brush(es); selection of any other brushes already owned which can include hogshair; fan or old battered brushes; pair of compasses or elliptical templates.

What to bring to the first class:

Please bring tracing paper, masking tape, pencils, eraser, ruler, watercolour paper, paints, palette and brushes to first class. Optionally you can bring a pair of compasses or elliptical templates if you own them.

What to wear:

Something you don’t mind getting a bit messy or an apron. This is particularly recommended from week 3 onwards.