Presents
Randy Hale
Best of days: Vernazza
Watercolours
There’s something magical about visiting Cinque Terre. The square in Vernazza in the morning is awash in dazzling sunlight. But there can also be a lot of distractions. Understanding how best to edit out minutiae while still capturing the drama becomes paramount. With watercolour, strong negative shapes and painting the shadows defines form. Letting colours mix and mingle on the paper become key ingredients to creating a dramatic image.
Riverfront Cafe in Regensberg
Watercolours
Taking painters into the field in a plein air setting requires working fast (and loose)! But it’s important to teach “how” to see our subject - as well as learning what to leave out. Allowing parts of the painting to be left unstated requires an eye for composition and also engages the viewer’s participation, which generally will make a painting more interesting.
Happy hour
Watercolours
This playful abstraction was a lesson in how to mix rich colours right on the paper. When one lets water do the work of moving the pigment across the paper’s surface, colours mingle and react, create glowing results. Wet puddles of water and paint repel each other to create beautiful textural effects.
Port Clyde Lighthouse (Maine)
Watercolours
I did this demo depicting a coastal Maine location to illustrate the importance of designing a composition that presents unexpected viewpoints.
Understanding placement of the centre-of-interest and then providing a variety of leading devices that guide the viewer’s eye to this ‘landing spot’ is key to how we edit out lesser important information. And then boiling a painting down to three distinct values -‘lightest lights,’ ‘mid-tones,’ and ‘darkest darks’ - creates a dramatic subject.
Course dates
Course Completed
Profile
Watercolours
Randy Hale is an exciting watercolour painter from Colorado in United States. As well as his workshops in the USA, he has taken painting groups all over the world. After a successful business career, he returned to his first love, watercolour painting. (He was taught by James Green, a founder member of the California School of Watercolor.) But his true passion proved to be to be in sharing his knowledge: enjoying the excitement of travel with fellow painters, helping them to create expressive paintings to enrich their experience. One of his students said: “He knows his stuff and he knows how to teach! Best watercolor instructor I have ever had!”
Randy’s painting career
Randy did his undergraduate work in studio design at Principia College in Illinois, USA, and went on to earn a graduate degree in Business from the University of Denver. But it was his immersion in studies at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, where he crafted a solid foundation in design and composition. Art Center propelled him into a long and successful career in design, project management, and sales. Pitching creative concepts provided a strong foundation in working successfully with people.
Since his return to Colorado in 2000, Randy’s involvement with numerous art groups led to his serving on several boards, organizing regional and national shows, jurying art exhibitions and providing entertaining painting demonstration programs throughout the country. But Randy’s true passion has proved to be sharing his knowledge as a teacher and workshop instructor. His Painted Pallet Tours offers students a chance to enjoy the excitement of travel with fellow painters, discovering exotic locations and capturing expressive paintings that enrich their travel experience. His classes and workshops are popular, fill quickly and generate wait-lists with painters eager to join.
You can learn more about Randy and his work at his website at www.halegallery.com
Praise from some of Randy’s previous students
Sincere and caring about how the other in the class are doing and makes sure that everyone get some kind of one on one attention. One of the best instructors I have had. JR
He is very creative not only in his work and art but in how he presents the information to the class. He is an amazing teacher. TK
This class has given me the confidence that i needed to paint whenever I please. I had an absolutely wonderful experience. Thank you so much Randy. RE
Randy demonstrates clearly and effectively. He offers information constantly and shares his knowledge and techniques without hesitation. He’s an excellent artist and instructor and he offers clear and positive help. MHS
