Fine Arts Classes

Winter/Spring 2012 Classes

Acrylic Painting "The Big Sky" - 4 weeks

All landscape painters encounter a vast variety of skies to interpret; clear sunny days, misty mornings, storm clouds, and brilliant sunsets. This workshop offers tips, tricks and techniques to capture just the look you want to complete the mood. Bring Photo reference to compose a painting with a low horizon line.

Instructor: Linda Trowell
Dates: Wed. Feb 8, 15, 22 & 29
Time: 9:30 - 12:00 noon
Fee: $50 members

Basic Drawing Lessons "Making your Marks" - 4 weeks

Frustrated trying to get buildings, people and pets to look 'right' in your paintings? Every child loves to draw. Somewhere in the past we leave our enthusiasm behind. Learn some simple ways to retrain your adult observational skills and develop expressive drawings from line to shape to form. Perspective can be easy!
With pencils, a few simple tools and a little practice you will be filling your sketch book with lively subjects for painting reference, or for the pure pleasure of drawing!

Instructor: Linda Trowell
Dates: Wed. May 9, 16, 23, & 30
Time: 9:30 - 12 noon
Fee: $50 members

"Tricks and Techniques for the Beginner or Intermediate Watercolour Painter" - 1 Day Workshop

This is a "hands-on" workshop where students will make small paintings that will demonstrate techniques that will help them with their larger paintings.

Some of the topics that will be covered will be -
- colour mixing
- working wet into wet
- wet on wet (this is different than wet into wet)
- lifting
- negative painting
- how to flatten a watercolour
- glazing
- hard and soft edges
- transferring an image onto the paper usin tracing paper
- making visual textures with plastic wrap and salt
- using white paint (gouache) as a "body wash"
- what to do with those pencil lines?

Instructor: Hilda Markson Gray
Dates: March 14th
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
Fee: $50 members / $100 non-members

"Putting People  into Your Watercolour Paintings" - 1 Day Workshop

Sometimes painting a landscape painting "works better" with people. An example would be a street scene with shoppers, a market scene with vendors or a beach scene with bathers.
Then the questions arise - Where to put them? What should their size be in relation to the rest of the landscape? How do you paint people that do not detract from the rest of the painting? How much detail should you use to paint the people?
This course attempts to answer these questions and to give the artist the tools to render believable human forms.

Instructor: Hilda Markson Gray
Dates: Fri. May 11th
Time: 9:30 - 3:30 pm
Fee: $50 members/ $100 non-members

Painting Flowers Larger than Life!

In this workshop we will be painting Big Bold and Beautiful Flowers - Close-Up. We will work step by step to learn several different techniques that will make our flowers come alive, seem more realistic with the "Wow" factor, and yet keep a beautiful painterly look - all in watercolours. We will start with painting small samples, exploring background options so you can decide on the techniques. We'll look at the effects of very Wet-into-wet painting and see the best way to blend our colours. If time permits, we will look at how to paint those beautiful dewdrops! It will be fun, challenging and a great way to look forward to all our beautiful summer flowers! Material list will be supplied. All skill levels welcome!

Instructor: Anita Woods
Dates: Tues. June 12 & Wed. June 13
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
Fee: $80.00 members/ $160.00 non-members