Generosity times two

Yesterday when I returned home from Kamouraska there was a large box waiting for me on my desk. When I opened it I found — neatly wrapped and unopened — not one, but three linen-bound hand•book watercolour journals sent to me by Gretchen who I have never met but who follows my blog. She had read about my experiments with these books and thought I might enjoy using the watercolour versions which I had never tried. To my surprise the books are larger than expected. I thought they would be 5.5″ x 8.5″ but they are almost double that at 10.5 x 8.25. Almost letter size. Beautiful objects these are — covered in gray linen and filled with 95 lb acid free watercolour paper. Of course I had to try one out immediately. Gretchen had warned me that some people were not keen on the paper, herself included, but I had quite good results and I will certainly fill these books up. I like the format because I can do several sketches on one page. Thank you for your generosity Gretchen!

My only frustration with today’s sketch is the French Ultramarine paint from Daniel Smith which seems to be defective. The pigment separates and granulates, leaving a blue sediment everywhere. We also noticed this in the Kamouraska workshop  when I spent a morning mixing paints and comparing triads, warm and cool colours and transparent vs. opaque pigments.

Speaking of Kamouraska, workshop participant Mai sent me a lovingly created montage of photos that she took at the workshop. You will really get a sense of the beauty and serenity of this corner of Quebec when you watch it here. Thanks for your generosity Mai!

Kamouraska window

In Kamouraska the river is almost always the subject. This is a sketch I did one day at dusk but never had a chance to post. Now that I have returned home I am taking a bit of time to scan my work and I will be posting a summary of the workshop soon on my Workshops page but for now this is my final post from the prettiest village in Quebec.

Kamouraska workshop day four: calm

There was definitely a different feel to the last day of the workshop. The wind finally died down and the air was warmer. I’m pretty certain every student in the group had some sort of breakthrough in their work today as well. For some it was finally getting enough water on their brush to lay down a good wash, for others it was feeling in control of the colours on their palette and for a few it was simply getting the value relationships right.
As for me, I was lucky to have had a great group of students who worked hard, kept me on my toes with their questions, and churned out some amazing work.
For our final afternoon my demo was a panorama of the river, the islands and the hills of Charlevoix in the distance. The only thing I left out were the herons who came to feed in the estuary as the tide rolled in.
Kamouraska is somewhat of a Mecca for artists and we were fortunate to get to know two of them today. Illustrator and watercolorist Anne Michaud visited us and brought along pastel artist Magda Bascaron. If you have a chance please have a look at “Carnets de Kamouraska” – a fascinating book about this region lovingly illustrated by Anne.
Au revoir Kamouraska! I’ll be back soon!

Kamouraska workshop day three: one heron and many hens

This morning we found the most perfect spot for the workshop: a little lighthouse with views on three sides out onto a spectacular salt marsh. Not only was the vantage point excellent, but there was a table and chairs for everyone to watch this morning’s demo on colour mixing. And just as I was pointing out the window at the colours of the marsh grasses, a great blue heron descended and landed in the marsh. There was a collective gasp.

In the afternoon we moved over to the property of Micro-brasserie Breughel where we had a choice of subjects: a pond, rustic buildings, vistas of landscape and water, and even a henhouse. The day ended with an extensive critique of the day’s work and there was even a bit of time before sunset to get in one last sketch of the beach at low tide.

Kamouraska workshop day two: wind

The excitement of painting outdoors in a maritime location is dealing with the unexpected. Quickly changing weather conditions and high winds are something you rarely encounter in urban settings. Today we painted all day on the pier facing the village and I have to say that despite a wind that chilled us to the bone, everyone toughed it out and produced some amazing work. My morning demo was of the rocks below the pier at low tide and we ended the day with Jane’s presentation of her wonderful fountain pen collection. Tomorrow’s challenge: colour.

Kamouraska workshop day one

The drive to Kamouraska yesterday for my four-day workshop seemed like a replay of when I visited a month ago – basically driving rain and fog. But today we woke up to only fog which seemed like a good sign that things were improving. By lunchtime the sun came out and then it was obvious why this is considered to be one of Quebec’s prettiest villages. Today we worked on value sketches for most of the day and it was great to see the progress students made in a few short hours. At the end of the day the light was clear but the wind was fierce when I wandered down near the water to sketch this. I’ve only just finished cleaning the debris out of my palette! Tomorrow’s lesson is composition.