The Physical nature of painting
Painting can be very hard on you physically. Professionals spend long hours in the studio, so make sure that they are sitting comfortably and seeing their work under good light. If you are not fortunate enough to have a room to work in exclusively for painting try and make a little space somewhere where you can control the lighting and leave your work undisturbed. Daylight balanced fluorescent tubes are invaluable if you cannot work near natural light. If you cannot install these then try not to choose colours at night under standard lighting – you will find everything looks the wrong colour in the morning. Sit in a comfortable, adjustable chair and try to remain relaxed.
Stand up and stretch from time to time and go for a walk when you finish work. Drawing and painting should flow freely from the shoulder, not be confined to a small movement in your hand. If you notice any pain in your neck or back after working on a painting have it checked out by a health professional.
Always wash your hands after working before eating and never put brushes in your mouth to shape the points!
The Mystical nature of being an artist
Even total beginners to watercolour can gain enormous pleasure from simply ‘mucking about with paint’. Painting is an absorbing, calming activity. Yes, sometimes you may get frustrated because you can’t understand why something hasn’t turned out the way you had hoped – but that’s the nature of watercolour. It’s just as important you let things happen in watercolour as to make things happen. To enjoy doing this requires confidence in the outcome – and you can only acquire this through lots of painting and ‘mucking about’- otherwise known as ‘practice’. One of the great rewards with teaching watercolours and painting generally is it allows me to open up a whole new world to people. Students report to me after a few weeks instruction that they go out into the garden and begin to see a new range of tones and colours. They become more attuned to the way light affects our perception of objects, the interplay of forms and shapes- and this makes life a whole lot more interesting. They enjoy the challenge of achieving the perfect wash, finding just the right mix, controlling the brush more expressively. Painting makes you more attuned to your own world; you see it literally with new eyes, because the process of learning to paint and draw is forging new neural pathways in your brain and opening up your perceptions to fresh subtleties in a world you thought familiar. For this reason, and because we are all individuals with our own unique ways of seeing, I do not presume to teach ‘style’ – I teach process and technique. I believe we all have something to contribute to recording the beauty of the world we live in - we all have a different vision, so I see my role as providing you with the skills to do so. An art teacher should be like a tennis coach or music teacher – you don’t expect to be playing the Opera House or winning at Wimbledon, but you can improve your command of technique and performance to enable you to enjoy the game more and derive a lifetime of pleasure from playing.
Once the pathways of perception are opened, they can never be closed – through learning to paint and draw, you will enter new worlds, vibrating with gorgeous colours, qualities of light and shade, and endless possibilities for subject matter. You will never be bored again.