Watercolour with Ian deSouza

Ever wanted to know how to make watercolours look fluid and fantastic? Ian de Souza generously shared his watercolour experiences with 20 teachers at a workshop held at the Art Gallery of WA. Ian spoke candidly about the watercolour medium, sharing his in-depth knowledge, tips and tricks. 

Ian talked extensively about the three types of watercolour paints – Transparent, opaque and stains. He stressed the importance of understanding the paint qualities of each in order to achieve particular painting effects. Transparents are best used for evening scenes where the scene is flooded with light. Opaques, for dawn or when painting heavier architectural subjects. Stains are gritty and textural and can not be removed once applied to the paper.

As a basic rule Ian develops his artwork using a five scale tonal range — light, light/medium, medium, medium/dark and dark. Breaking the image into five values gives his compositions structure and his painting approach, discipline. Approaching his work methodically and sticking to a tried-and-true formula ensures his painting results are successful, every time.

Ian demonstrated how to work with two brushes to create a series of different lines and stressed the importance of drawing as a fundamental skill. 'I practice drawing every day and attend life drawing classes every week.' Drawing is the essential foundation of a good painting. Being able to draw from life, interpret the scene and translate it into paint on paper is the ultimate goal of the watercolour artist. 

Ian talked about how his work has developed over the last 30 years. When starting to use watercolours his works attempted to capture the subject, as realistically as possible. Over the years, as his knowledge and confidence with the medium has increased, his works have become more concerned with the interpretation of scenes, 'that space between me and the subject'. The feeling of light, atmosphere and mood interpreted through spontaneous marks, interplay of shapes and contrasts are his key considerations.

Ian stressed how important it is not to fear the watercolour medium itself. 'You need to be direct with the medium and never, ever work over the marks you have laid down. Working confidently is half the battle.' 

Using reference materials, up-side-down, Ian showed us how to interpret tones, lay washes and isolate shapes to indicate areas of light and dark. Keeping the focal point central to the composition, framing the image in mid tones and identifying contrasts gave each participant the secret tools to approach their own work with confidence.

In just three hours we had achieved some fresh works and walked away with the basic to understanding the watercolour medium.