I recently participated in painting demonstrations with a couple of great art groups here in Ottawa: I was invited to Arteast in September after which I look part in the Ottawa Watercolour Society’s portrait evening last month.
I worked in watercolour at both and I find the medium lends itself to demos quite nicely. Partly because my style is probably not that conventional and it gives me an opportunity to talk about some good-sense practices – practices which I think work well in any medium. If I had worked in oil or acrylic the watercolourists might think, with some justification: “that’s fine and dandy but will that really work in watercolour”.
I often get feedback that my marks initially look arbitrary and only later come into focus. From a demo point of view, this is good of course, eliciting the “Ah hah!… that’s where he’s going” response part way through. Here are a few points I keep in mind:
Do just enough drawing to keep on track and then get painting quickly:
Get the Values right first – I build Form with a very limited palette:
Leave some abstract marks as these often add to the image, especially with studies:
Use colour sparingly, strategically: a flash to bring it all alive:
….and most importantly:
Have fun!