Winter CLASSES

Watercolour Tricks of The Trade

Saturdays Jan 21, Jan 28 & Feb 4 9:30 AM to Noon

North Island College, Courtenay

Learn how the experts do many wonderful and mysterious techniques in watercolours under the expert tutelage of instructor Marilyn Timms. Using step by step, hands on, easy to follow instructions, you will enjoy every moment. Share her humour, enthusiasm and
knowledge in a friendly, accepting environment.

Watercolours Making Colours Sing

Saturdays Feb 18, Feb 25 & Mar 3 9:30 AM to Noon

North Island College, Courtenay

Colour mixing is one of the great mysteries painters need to unravel when working with watercolours. This session will explore in depth how to create pure, clean colours – no mud any more – using a simple but effective step by step method that expert painter Marilyn Timms has gleaned over her many years of working in this exciting medium. You will come away more confident and better able to get exactly the colour you need.

Watercolours Sheer Loveliness

Saturdays Mar 17, Mar 24 & Mar 31 9:30 AM to Noon

North Island College, Courtenay
All watercolours are transparent, yet some are so transparent as to be considered luminous. In this session, expert artist Marilyn Timms will open up a world of layering, glazing, and thin washes - adding rich depth to your paintings – her demoes and step by step approach will encourage you to explore the vast possibilities that working in sheer layers can provide you.

Session #3

(Above) Using Cadmium Yellow Pale plus Cadmium Red Light, fill square with colour (mixing on the paper) then stretch plastic wrap into wet paint and press gently to help it grab the paint.Remove plastic once rolling it back a little no longer makes a line, the wipe vertical lines using a damp brush. Use paint on the brush to make more lines on top, dragging with brush handle to create branches.


(Above) Using watery Phthaol Blue, paint background shape between yellow/orange forms and soften edges with damp brush.


(Above) Using Burnt Sienna plus Ultramarine Blue, fill the square with colours, then add more in places. Immediately, place torn strips of waxed paper into wet paint (past the top edge, with gaps between strips). Drop more colour between the strips of waxed paper. Let dry until removing strip makes a noise.


(Above) Mixing Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson, Paint the top half of the square (dry paper), the use clear water to wash the rest of the surface.Wait until the shine is gone on the painted part, then pile balls of clear water to create backruns then lift the white centre out with a damp sponge.Let painting dry.


(Above) Make a grey by mixing Cadmium Red Light and Ultramarine Blue.Wet painting with clear water. Paint grey mix at base of white (cloud) formation, then tilt board at a steep angle to force the paint to slide. Drag a wet (with clean water) brush in the direction of the flow to create rain.

(Above) The same general technique can be used to create grass.