Expressive watercolours

Learn how to experiment with watercolour, respond to your environment in your work, and combine drawing techniques with your painting to refine your outcomes. Start by exploring a personal colour palette and experimental mark-making to create an energy in your artwork, and then add detail using stencils, pencils, paint and pens.

Ability: Intermediate
The minimum time required to watch and respond to the video content and complete the tasks is 9 hours. The tutor also recommends how you can develop your work further so that you can continue to use the skills acquired on this course for future projects.
Access: Six months of online access to all of the course content.

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Introduction to your tutor Louisa Boyd and workshop overview

Getting started

Tools, equipment, materials, and health & safety

Workshops

Exploring colour combinations
Creating a mark-making dictionary using watercolours
Capturing inspiration
Developing large expressive watercolours
Refining your final painting
Conclusion and further information and resources

Course includes:

Access to our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) with course content
A series of instructional videos to work through and repeat at your own pace
Practical tasks to complete
Helpful materials suppliers list
Student online gallery where you can post images of your work for tutors to review and comment on
Support from the college and tutors via email should you need it during the course
Additional notes and ideas

You will need:
Equipment

Water pots
Water spray bottle
Palette
Wide selection of brushes
Series of mark-making tools e.g. chop sticks, palette knife, clay modelling tools, cutlery, kebab sticks etc.
Scissors
Craft knife
Cutting mat
Metal ruler
Rubber
Pencil sharpener
Hairdryer
Hole punch
Compass
Apron

Materials

String
A4 sheet of acetate
Pencil crayons
Water soluble crayons
Fine liner pen - water based and permanent
A5 or A4 sketchbook
A4 and A2 heavy quality 250 gsm watercolour paper or Daler Rowney Langton Prestige watercolour boards
Magic eraser
Artist quality watercolors; tubes ideally - suggested colours: Titanium White, Payne's Grey, Naples Yellow, Burnt Sienna, Carmine, Colbalt Turquoise, Potter's Pink, Davy's Grey, Cobalt Green, Cobalt Blue

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Louisa is an educational professional and a multidisciplinary artist who works with paint, print and sculpture. Louisa has worked as a professional artist for over twenty years, exhibiting both nationally and internationally. Her pieces are included in public and private collections worldwide and she is recognised regularly through prestigious juried exhibitions. Recent exhibition highlights include: Just Like Escher at Escher in the Palace (2023), London Art Fair Encounters (2023), Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (2023, 2019, 2017 and 2014), Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair (2022, 2021, 2019, 2018), New Light Prize Exhibition (2020/2021) and the Flourish Award Exhibition (2020/2021) where she was awarded the Great Art Prize. She was also awarded a scholarship from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust in 2023 for developing her printmaking practice.

Louisa’s work centers around the persistent human desire to belong within the natural world. She considers environment and how we navigate place in her pieces. Her work features celestial symbols, sacred geometry, natural landmarks and map-like imagery to describe a sense of belonging.

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Expressive watercolours

Tutor

Louisa Boyd

Course content

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