October’s watercolour workshop with George Popesco
by Bev Dunstan
The day began with George setting up his camera and projector so that everyone could watch him demonstrating his tips and techniques on how to create cloud structure using watercolour.
George shared his inspiration for cloud painting including some of his favourite books, namely “Constable’s Skies: Paintings & Sketches by John Constable” by Mark Evans, “Turner” by Bockemuhl Michael and “A Cloud a Day” by Gavin Pretor-Pinney and The Cloud Appreciation Society and reminded us to learn from the A-listers!
George began by explaining the different types of watercolour paper and how to prepare it for painting by taping down to a board. He then continued to demonstrate the wet-in-wet technique of coating the watercolour paper in clean water before applying the paint and produced some examples of cloud formations. This was followed by a more controlled application of water to assist in forming the different cloud shapes.
The class took to practicing on small sheets of paper and the best two from each participant were then displayed for all to review.
After lunch, George provided plenty of inspirational photos from his own vast collection for people to use as a guide to create their own Cloudscapes.
Whoever suggested that Watercolour painting was easy was either a professional or a delusionist! Controlling the paint over the water and mastering the saturation of the colour took patience and focus and there was not much banter in the room as we all worked to complete our final pieces.
Time passed very quickly and all too soon 3.30pm arrived and everyone helped in packing away the room, which was gratefully received.
