It is worthwhile being an Early Bird. See below.
Watermill painting tutor Mark Dober, whose wonderful multi-sheet watercolour is shown above, has sent us this smart little tip to make your paintings even better.
Mark says: “After completing the pencil stage of sketching in your subject, paint in the small areas of brightest colour, for example, where your subject includes a garden, paint in the flowering plants first. Then you paint around these.
“A lovely play of negative and positive shapes can result from this approach, will help bring to your painting a decorative and abstract quality, while all the time you’re painting what you see!â€
In the image above (which is a detail of the large multi-sheet watercolour), Mark first painted the flowers and textures of the foreground vegetation, as well as the trunks of the background trees. Then he painted the broader shapes in the areas in between: “Positive and negative shapes!â€
In general, Mark says: “When I paint, I’m trying to hold three things in mind – structure, tone and colour – and often I am not looking at the objects I’m painting but at the scene as a series of patterns and shapes.â€
Thank you for that Mark. We look forward to seeing you in action en plein air on your week-long course with us next year. (Details and a link below.)
Our new Australian tutor, Mark Dober, loves to make paintings and drawings in the landscape. He says: “The beauty of nature inspires me, but also a sense of its strangeness. My work expresses both belonging and otherness. I seek to convey immediacy and a sense of the experiential in my work, hence the necessity of working on site.â€
As well as a talented artist, Mark is also an experienced teacher. He will demonstrate in watercolour, though you can choose to use (or at least, try) other painting media – gouache, acrylics and oils. He will proceed step by step, increasingly giving individual attention to each artist’s work. One previous student said: “Mark has a wealth of knowledge about plein air painting and shares his knowledge generously. No matter what skill level you have he can give you the confidence and encouragement to put paint to (surface/canvas/paper) in a way which is fresh and exciting.â€
Come and join us, paint in the fresh air and see nature through fresh eyes with Mark. And don’t forget you will be Cool and Green at the Watermill: we have air-conditioning everywhere, all powered by our hidden array of photovoltaic cells which make us self-sufficient in electricity production.
We have a special Early Bird offer: if you book before 31 December 2022, there is a £75 (English pounds) discount on James’s 2023 course.
Mark Dober
1-8 July 2023
Watercolour en plein air
To learn more about Mark and his course at the mill, please visit his 2023 Tutor Profile page.