LESSON PLANS WINTER TERM 2023 (1st half) Lesson 5: Watercolour figures, watercolour faces.

In the last session some of my students worked on tonal watercolour paintings of figures in their context with very successful results. In this session I'm asking my students to do the same with the image of a face using a tonal mix of a blue and a brown colour.

Winter Term 1st half 2023 – lesson 5: Tonal watercolour figures in their context and/or faces.

· In the last session students worked on watercolour figures in the context of their surroundings. The next step, in this lesson, is to look at a face in the same way. The options today are i) work on an image of people in their surroundings or ii) work on the image of a face using the same technique.

· Choose your image.

· Mix a blue and a brown (ultramarine and raw umber or similar) on your palette.

· With your tonal mix, if doing the people in their context, loosely paint as large a shape as you can to include the people, their shadows, the dark and mid-toned elements of the background. Allow all the areas to flow together. If doing the face, again, loosely cover the area of your page with the facial features, hair, head and any background. Let the areas link up into one shape. Leave significant white areas unpainted (white).

· If in doubt, include more into this first layer rather than less.

· Before this layer dries, you can squeeze your brush and lift some light places from the area of paint.

· Once dry, paint in some darer shapes only onto the area painted by the first layer (not into the areas left un-painted).

Next lesson: After the two week half term break, We’re going to go wild with wonderful flowery/foliagey watercolour. We’re going to include pattern like Matisse did. Bring watercolours, flowers, foliage, berries etc and a vase. Bring patterned tea towel or patterned fabric scraps.