Cheer up the autumn evenings with a splash of colour. Join Claudia Myatt on zoom for a four weeks getting to know your colours and what they can do. We’ll be using watercolours and watercolour pencils to explore colour mixing, intensity, light and shade and how to use colour to do far more than paint what you see. Each week there will be practical exercises, demonstrations and a case study of how different artists use colour. You’ll come away with more confidence in your palette and a deeper understanding of how colour can affect the mood of the painting.

21 October 2025
Colour Basics – intensive two-hour tutorial 

We’ll start with a reminder of the practicalities of mixing and palette management, from bright primaries to soft earth colours of green, brown and grey. Get to know your paintbox and the many different ways of combining colours. We’ll also take a look at colour mapping and how to choose a field palette for different subjects and destinations.

28 October 2025
Understanding Tone – intensive two-hour tutorial

Using a limited palette can help us to understand how colour and light are connected. We’ll look at how artists use colour to show light and shade. We’ll use techniques of tonal range and how to use colour as well as tone to show distance.

04 November 2025
Making Colours Glow – intensive two-hour tutorial 

Watercolours always dry lighter and it can be hard to create the clarity and intensity that you want. This week we’ll be using a variety of techniques including glazing, setting off one colour against another and adding mixed media to create wonderfully strong colours.

11 November 2025
Playing with Colour – intensive two-hour tutorial 

We always end a Technique Tuesday course with a feast of ideas to carry on learning and  enjoy the process as much as possible! This week we’ll fill our sketchbooks with new and unusual mixes and some colourful creative doodles.

Claudia will prepare a summary of each lesson with tips and techniques to try – this will be sent out with the link to the recording.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

• A laptop, Macbook, PC, Ipad or tablet

Claudia works in watercolour but you are welcome to use whatever medium you feel comfortable with.  You will need plenty of cheap cartridge paper or sketch books, pencils and sketching pens, a small drawing board or firm backed watercolour pad. You may well want to produce more finished paintings away from the computer screen, but it will be useful to have a way of drawing and sketching, or at least making notes whilst being able to see your computer screen! Plus the usual water jars, kitchen towel, palettes, your usual art materials.

If you work in watercolours, these are the materials Claudia uses:

Windsor and Newton artists’ watercolours:

• Blues: cobalt, ultramarine, cerulean, indigo, winsor blue
• Reds: alizarin, cadmium red, burnt sienna
• Yellows: raw sienna, aureolin, cadmium yellow, naples yellow

Cartridge paper sketchbooks and Saunders Waterford watercolour paper

Rowney Aquafine watercolour brushes – selection of sizes

Waterproof sketching pens and a selection of pencils, crayons, erasers

If you have any questions about materials, do get in touch.