Artist-led workshop: Watercolour Painting inspired by Turner with Ralph Nel
11 Jan 2025 - 11 Jan 2025
JMW Turner was the first high profile artist to use coloured pigments in watercolours. He raised the status of watercolour to a creative medium that rivalled oil. In this workshop you'll get the chance to experiment with watercolour and develop your own painting inspired by Turner's imaginative landscapes and turbulent marine paintings. Beginners are welcome and all materials are provided. Find out more below.
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Artist Ralph Nel will start this workshop with a short tour of the Land Sea Sky exhibition and a close look at Turner's watercolours, exploring his use of them, his technique and experimentation.
You'll then return to the Simmons Learning Room where you'll follow Turner's technique, beginning with lightly soaking paper onto which you'll establish the first layer from a wash of watered down pigment or a number of colours. These will bleed into the damp paper and create the initial atmospheric character that Turner's works are known for.
As the paper dries you'll establish the second layer which will help you create a depiction of land, coastal features, clouds or storms and build a middle ground on top of the atmospheric layer. The still slightly damp paper should help these two layers merge seamlessly. Here you may wish to apply absorbent breadcrumbs to lift some of the pigment away and create lighter areas – a technique often used by Turner himself.
The final layer has the darkest features and the less watered down paint. It will establish the closest features of the work, the darkest parts of storms and clouds and any other details like birds which require distinction.