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Nanaimo, Vancouver Island BC Painting Lessons
I have just returned from a year of sailing the Pacific with my husband Kim on our sailboat Circadia. If you want to read about our journey (from Nanaimo, to Mexico, the Marquesas, Tahiti, Hawaii and home) you can visit my blog: www.alisonwatt.blogspot.com where I’ve posted musings, photos, paintings and sketches of our adventures.
I teach painting workshops primarily out of my studio on Protection Island, near Nanaimo B.C. Students enjoy the studio’s intimate setting, nestled in the garden of my waterfront home, as well as small class sizes (maximum 8). Weekend art classes in watercolour and acrylic are usually offered each spring and fall. A week long “Watercolour Immersion” summer class allows students to experience a more intense painting workshop. This winter (January to May) I will be offering ongoing classes out of studio space in the city of Nanaimo. Visit this space for updates on offerings.
"I have taken classes from Alison Watt every year for almost 10 years, in watercolours and acrylics, from botanical paintings to landscapes. Alison is a very fine artist and an excellent teacher, with the rare ability to transmit her skills and knowledge to all of her pupils in a warm and completely supportive manner. Each student is taught as an individual within a small group situation, and each student, from neophyte to accomplished artist, comes away from Alison’s lessons with new understanding and confidence in their abilities as an artist."
Helen Webster, Nanaimo, B.C. www.helenwebsterart.com
PAINTING CLASSES
ADULT PAINTING LESSONS IN WATERCOLOUR AND ACRYLICS
Spring and Summer Painting Classes
(Information on getting to the studio as well as materials required for courses will be sent out on registration. Watch this page for new courses.)
In Her Garden Studio on Protection Island (see 'exotic locales' at bottom)
"SURFACING" AN ACRYLIC WORKSHOP: Saturday, Sunday, February 27/28, 10am-4pm
One of the challenges of painting with acrylic is to avoid the flat “paint-by-number” look. The key is creating lively surfaces, which draw the eye closer, even when the passage is large (ie. a sky, a wall). In this workshop we will work on canvas with simple compositions (still life and abstract), creating interesting surfaces with layering and glazing, resist, escritura, and subtle colour transitions. We will also introduce texture using applied papers and acrylic mediums like modeling, molding pastes, and gels. Modelling pastes, mediums, and gels provided. Students can bring their own paints or pay a $20 lab fee for paint provided. Students should bring two small canvases (8” x 10”, 10” x 10”, or 12” x 12”) and a larger (12” x16”, 14” x 18”, or 12” x 24”). (Check Opus online for an idea of costs).
$185
KEEPING AN ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL: Saturday, Sunday, April 17/18, 10am-4pm
An illustrated journal is a wonderful way to keep a record of day to day life as well as travel. A quick illustration can capture a memory in a unique way. In this class we will go over materials (journals, watercolours, pencil crayon, pens), and techniques (basic watercolour and pen and ink). We will learn how to simplify a scene to make a quick sketch, using some basic rules of composition, as well as review specific techniques of landscape painting. Finally we will explore creative ideas to get started on your own illustrated journal. Paper, pencil crayons and pens provided. Students can bring their own watercolours or pay a $10 materials fee for paint. A materials list will be provided on registration.
$150
ACRYLIC, START TO FINISH: Saturday, Sunday, May 29/30, 10am-4pm
This course for painters with some experience with acrylic is designed to take the student from conception to finish in a small to medium sized painting. As with the large canvas workshop we will be working with layering, colour, and composition, to create interesting surface. The student may bring their own image as a starting point for the painting or work from ideas provided by workshop material. The aim is to stray from strict realism into the semi-abstract or abstract. Students can bring their own paints or pay a $20 lab fee for paint provided. Modelling pastes, mediums, and gels provided. Students should bring a medium-sized canvas (18” x 24”, 24” x24”, 20” x 24”, 22” x 28”). (Check Opus online www.opusframing.com for an idea of costs).
$175
PAINTING THE LARGE CANVAS: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, August 20, 21, 22, 10am-4pm.*
It is challenging to begin, let alone complete a large canvas. This three-day workshop designed for students with some experience with acrylics provides the time to bring the large canvas through several layers, working with colour, composition, and surface. The student may bring their own image as a starting point for the painting or work from ideas provided by workshop material. The aim is to stray from strict realism into the semi-abstract or abstract.
Students provide their own canvases (choose any dimension between 20x30 to 36x36).
Students may bring their own paint and mediums or have them provided for a materials fee of $60.
* This course is limited to 5 students
$250
WATECOLOUR IMMERSION: Monday-Friday, August 23-27, 10am-4pm
A week-long introduction to the spontaneous and portable medium of watercolour. Students will explore the basic watercolour palette and mixes. We will learn techniques like wash, wet-in-wet, and glazing and cover both the quick watercolour sketch (useful for studies or journal illustration) as well as how to use sketches and study photographs from the field to make more finished paintings. Watercolour paper provided. Students can bring their own artists quality paint or have paint provided for a $50 fee.
$350
Courses in “exotic locales”:
BOTANICAL WATERCOLOUR, at the UBC Botanical Garden Saturday, Sunday, March 27/28 (Check the UBC website for details, UBC Botanical Garden )
An introductory course which covers watercolour materials (brushes, paints, and paper) and basic watercolour techniques (mixing, glazing, wet-in-wet, masking). Special attention will be given to the concerns of plant painting (greens, whites, darks, stems, leaves, etc.).
Watercolour paper is provided. Students may bring their own artist quality paints or have paint provided for a $15 lab fee (at the time of the course).
PAINTING THE LARGE CANVAS at the beautiful Jupiter Ranch, on Gabriola Island:Thursday, Friday, Saturday, April 29,30 and May1, Jupiter Ranch, Gabriola Island
It is challenging to begin, let alone complete a large canvas! This three-day acrylic workshop is designed to help you get past the "I hate this painting" stage (which usually kicks in after about a day of work, when we might be tempted to start over or stack the painting in a closet). You will learn how to bring the canvas through several layers, working with colour, composition, and surface, to completion. The student may bring their own image as a starting point for the painting or work from ideas provided by workshop material. The aim is to stray from strict realism into the semi-abstract or abstract.
Check with Jupiter Ranch for more details: 250 247 2051 or http://www.jupiterranch.com
CRUISE THE BROUGHTON ARCHIPELAGO AND HONE YOUR WATERCOLOUR SKILLS: A painting week on the historic coastal Columbia III, June 19-24.
I’m excited to return to the Columbia III, as I have fond memories of my painting cruise in Desolation Sound two years ago. This year we will be in the beautiful Broughton Archipelago (for solstice no less!) With its intricate network of channels, passageways, and sea swept islets this is the perfect terrain for a trip devoted to painting.
We will start our days on the Columbia III with a morning watercolour class, reviewing the basic materials and palette we will be using during the week, then move on to the elements of composition. There will be an emphasis on how to make decisions on what to leave out of /put into quick and satisfying field drawings for travel journals or sketch books as well as how to use these sketches to create larger paintings. We will go over the work we do in the field and, using demonstrations and exercises, discuss the special challenges of coastal landscape: greens, water, sky and clouds, rock and forest.
Each day will include as much time as possible painting outdoors, to allow us to capture some of B.C.’s most beautiful coastline. In addition to painting, there will be time for shore walks, good food and camaraderie around the galley table over a glass of wine.
Check Mothership Adventures for more details.
Check this space for details on more 2010 courses.
Email Alison to register, ask questions or get on my mailing list.
A materials list, as well as directions for travelling to the island will be provided on registration.
TRANSPORTATION AND ACCOMMODATION ON PROTECTION ISLAND
A small foot passenger ferry leaves the Nanaimo boat basin near Cameron Island at ten after the hour and returns on the hour from Protection. The trip is 10 minutes and the cost is $6 return.
The nearby Dinghy Dock floating pub is a great place for dinner.
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 by Alison Watt
TRAVEL
Alison will be offering a Botanical Painting Course March 27, 28 at the UBC Botanical Garden. Please go to UBC Botanical Garden Lectures and Courses for more information.
Jupiter Ranch, Gabriola Island April 29,30, May 1
BROUGHTON ARCHIPELAGO: A painting week on the historic coastal Columbia III, June 19-24.
See the details at the bottom of the main page to the left
Student Testimonials
"I have studied with Alison Watt over the years in both watercolour and acrylic painting, beginning and intermediate levels. Her teaching style makes the work and the lessons easily accessible, while carefully covering everything that is necessary. You work hard in her workshops, in a well-directed way, as Alison guides you through the delights and challenges inherent in any art-making. You have fun, too."
Maureen Fraser, Tofino, BC
"I have taken, and benefited greatly from, most of Alison's workshops in both mediums. She and her own work are such an inspiration!"
Sue Wheeler, Lasqueti Island, BC
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