Charles Reid Watercolor Workshop. Glynn Arts Association, St. Simons Island, GA March 20-22, 2013
After 4 years of trying to get into a Charles Reid workshop and being on the wait list for this one, I finally managed to get in. And this workshop just happened to be on St. Simons Island, my home! Originally scheduled as a plein air workshop, unseasonably cool and windy weather kept us inside for 2 of the 3 days, but as a result we were able to spend one day studying watercolor portraits. On the other "inside" day we painted from photographs, and the day we were outside was spent painting the lighthouse. Finally getting to meet Charles Reid and study with him was quite a treat; putting into practice his instructions will be quite a challenge!
Our supply list: Escoda Kolinsky Reserva travel brushes, #6, #8, & #10 from Artxpress.com Charles Reid prepared palette of Holbein pigments from Artxpress.com Image at left: Charles Reid contemplating finished painting of horse & carriage.
|
The first day: Painting from photographs
March 20th: drizzling rain and wind; too cold to paint outside. We were each given a photo of the horse and carriage that provides tours of the village. Mr. Reid began his demonstration by sketching the scene as we sketched along with him.
Major points made in drawing demo:
After we finished drawing the image, we painted along with Mr. Reid. Major points made while painting image:
|
Additional reflections from Day 1:
Mr. Reid suggested that we draw our subjects upside down so that we concentrate on drawing shapes rather than a particular subject. This is the same technique that Betty Edwards uses in her book Drawing on the right side of the brain. I rarely saw Mr. Reid wet the paper before painting. He very rarely mixed pigments on his palette; he applied a color to the dray paper and then added another color immediately, allowing the colors to mix on paper. He rarely painted over an area, and if he did, he never painted over it more than once. Consequently his colors were always pure--never muddy. I really need to pay attention to this. |
|
|
|