T2 Up Close and Personal

Course Description

In this class for watercolour beginners (and beyond) we’re getting up close and personal with this challenging medium, learning how it’s made, how it works and the essential moves. Then we take it to some up-close subjects, like still life, flowers and animals. You will be amazed at how easy it is to create realistic paintings that jump off the page, but still showcase the magical medium that is watercolor Level: Intermediate to Advanced About the Tutor: Polla Posavec is an award-winning, professional visual artist living and working in beautiful Chittering, Western Australia. A graduate in Fine Arts from the University of Western Australia, she currently specialises in painting representative watercolours inspired by the intimate landscapes of life close up, including portraiture, still life, flora and fauna - particularly that of her region. A professional member of the National Association for Visual Artists, she enjoys exhibiting regularly as well as sharing her knowledge with others through teaching. Polla is also involved with multiple organisations that encourage community arts development, as she is passionate about stimulating and integrating the arts into ordinary neighbourhoods, believing it to be an underrated but vital part of the fabric of functional communities. What to bring: Watercolour paper, 100% cotton, 300gsm cold press (Arches, Fabriano, Saunders or any good quality paper) for your main painting - 1 x quarter sheet, A4 or A3 per class (your preferred size). 1 mechanical pencil and a soft eraser A4 or A5 Watercolour or mixed media pad/sketchbook/visual diary/loose pages, ideally 200gsm or more, for practice exercises, notes, swatching etc. Water container (I recommend a larger size like a 1kg honey bucket or 1L yoghurt tub) Board to tape paper to ( a bit larger than your watercolour paper), something like sealed MDF, Masonite, coreflute, thick foam core. Roll of painter’s masking tape Watercolour palette, preferably with wells and mixing area (lid recommended) Roll of paper towel Face washer-sized piece of toweling, t-shirt fabric or chux-style cloth Round watercolour brushes size 1, 4, 8 and a flat wash brush 1/2-1” or similar sizes. If you already have watercolour brushes, bring along what you have. Tube watercolour paints, Winsor and Newton Cotman OR any “Professional grade” brand Ultramarine Blue Phthalocyanine (or Winsor) Blue Cadmium Scarlet Alizarin Crimson Lemon Yellow New Gamboge Burnt Sienna Payne’s Grey