Expressive SEASCAPES Ecourse
SELF - STUDY
“The sea can do craziness, it can do smooth, it can lie down like silk breathing or toss havoc shoreward; it can give gifts or withhold all; it can rise, ebb, froth like an incoming frenzy of fountains, or it can sweet-talk entirely. As I can too, and so, no doubt, can you, and you.” – Mary Oliver
The sea is part of us all. We are 70% water! Even if we don’t live near the sea, it lives in us.
This Ecourse is about tapping into the pulse of the Ocean. I am devoting a lot of my time in the studio to this subject as I prepare for a solo show here in Ireland about the sea next July. I am besotted with this subject right now, and want to share all the things I am discovering in the studio that are helping me to paint the sea in an exciting way, that moves way beyond illustration. The sea is in perpetual motion, and its so exciting to tap into that. Exciting and restorative too. My work hovers in that sweet space between realism and abstraction, and I am learning so much about how to capture that in my paintings, and as those of you who have worked with me before know, my enthusiasm for a painting subject can be very contagious. :)
The following outline , will give you a clear idea of what will be covered in our time together, and as always I will be sharing about artists who inspire me, and I will also be using all the source material – video’s, photo’s, and sketches from the gorgeous coast here, that are helping me to immerse myself in the sea, to bring you as close as possible to the dramatic and romantic Wild Atlantic Way. You also have memories of being beside the sea, even if you don’t live near the coast.
All of this will provide the gloriously rich mix that will feed our work together.
COURSE OUTLINE
Week 1- The Sea
Filtering the experience of being by the sea by focusing on essential marks and movement , shapes and values
This week we will look at gestural markmaking in response to movement in the sea, working from video’s that I have filmed, and photos that I have taken, of some magnificent costal sites in West Cork, Ireland, under different weather and light conditions. We will also look at the Japanese idea of reducing what we see before us to essential shapes and patterns of light and dark called ‘notans‘. These can help us to cope with what is a very active subject in art, and create simple compositions for paintings that pare back to the essentials, and avoid getting bogged down in detail. It is so easy to get overwhelmed with all that’s happening when we are outside, and we can so easily forget about the weather and the movement that we need to pay attention to if we want to create paintings that are full of energy and light.
Week 2 – The Atmospheric Sky
The sky and the sea are yin and yang. You can’t do one without the other.
The painting techniques of glazing and scumbling are fantastic tools to have as a landscape painter as they are big players in the ability to create depth and atmosphere in a landscape or seascape. You can also use these techniques with oils and acrylics, using mediums to create glazes and watercolor,is another fantastic painting material for capturing skies especially. Cloud studies with a master, the famous landscape artist,John Constable, are a really useful way to learn how to create dynamic skies, and that’s where we will start this week. Using his mastery of clouds as a springboard for interpreting clouds ourselves, using a variety of materials, as we observe skies in all their glory!
Week 3 – Colour
Seascapes are so much more then the obvious combination of blues and ochres.
This week we will learn how to create chromatic greys and darks to create dramatic light and a sense of drama and weather in a seascape.
Colour studies from stones I have collected from the beach as inspiration for a palette of beautiful neutrals will kick this week off, and we won’t forget the fabulous range of blues that can be created from warm and cool blues. I will do a colour study on these also and we will work on small paintings using different colour combinations.
Week 4 – Edges and The big picture
Dynamic paintings arrival alert. :)
This week we will look at the final part of the puzzle, the transition between sea and sky and how important edges are to make it a harmonious marriage. I will then demo, and we will create, two large paintings together that include all of the elements of painting seascapes that we have focussed on up to now.
THIS COURSE INCLUDES:
Full Access to a professionally designed art course in my private online classroom.
Easy to navigate and full of juicy inspirational content
Powerful Video demo’s and art exercises designed to help you ‘see’ what you are making as you create art more holistically.
Innovative ways to inspire you using Pinterest
Links to lots of external resources that have inspired me as an artist and teacher.
Lifetime access
FAQ’S:
HOW DO THE SELF STUDY ONLINE COURSES WORK?
After purchase you will receive a confirmation email with a link and a password.
Click on the link and this will send you to the course page.
Enter the password and you have access to the course.
HOW LONG DO I HAVE ACCESS TO THE COURSE?
You have access to the course "forever" or as long as it is reasonably feasible for me to host my website!
DOES PAULINE GIVE FEEDBACK IN SELF _ STUDY COURSES
No, Pauline does not participate actively in these courses.
DO I HAVE TO USE FACEBOOK?
No, Facebook is not a requirement. There will be an ongoing Private Facebook Group for you to share work with other artists who have purchased this course if you so choose. In this Private Group no other people will see your posts other than the students in this course. Your involvement in the group is completely up to you. I do not comment on paintings you post in self-study Ecourses.
HOW MUCH PAINTING EXPERIENCE DO I NEED?
This course is suitable for all levels.
WHAT ARE THE COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS?
The videos in the course are now downloadable. In order to watch the videos via wi-fi, you will need high speed internet access. You can access the class from your computer, tablet or smart-phone, although a larger screen is most likely more desirable.
