Catherine Beale

Woodland Light in Watercolours

This workshop will help you to light up your watercolours using the woodland around the retreat as your subject. At the heart of the session is Catherine’s loose “gravity painting” watercolour technique, which enable freer painting styles and brighter colours. Learn to contrast loose washes with the deep tones of solid tube paint, sharp ink line and white paper, all to create dramatic woodland landscapes with atmosphere. 

Saturday will begin gently with a chat about Catherine’s paintings and approach to watercolours before heading out with sketch books, pens and cameras to gather ideas and tree motifs for our main painting. Experience the joy and logistical challenges of working outdoors, making a visual record ‘en plain air’, before returning to the studio to plan compositions together. You will also be considering the viewer’s gaze, watch demonstrations on colour choices, tone and ideas to start your paintings. 

On Sunday you will develop your main painting with more demos and one-to-one advice along the way. You will also explore methods to help review your paintings and gain trouble-shooting strategies before the weekend closes with a final look at your wonderful body of work.