Undergraduate Course: Contemporary Watercolours: Expressive Approaches (LLLA07224)
Course Outline
| School | Centre for Open Learning |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 7 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course challenges the assumptions of watercolour approaches, pushing personal boundaries and possibilities for scale and expressive approaches for watercolour mediums. |
| Course description |
This course is aimed at pushing the boundaries and challenging the preconceptions of how watercolours and other water-based mediums can be used, explored through a range of approaches, techniques and processes. By fusing watercolours, inks, gouache and other mediums, students shall explore various scales, tools and formats to develop and create a body of personal and expressive works through a personal and site-specific project.
Outline of Content
The course teaching is typically delivered over weekly class sessions of around 3 hours each and totaling 30 hours. Alternatively, the course can be delivered more intensely or as a block if required.
Over the class sessions the course will cover:
- Employ the use of the sketchbook for recording, researching and evidencing work.
- Explore working with collage and watercolour approaches.
- Exploration of fusing inks, gouache and other mediums with watercolour.
- Explore resist approaches.
- Working the scale and challenges of working against a wall.
- Working with non-traditional drawing and painting tools.
- Develop works through a series of studio, personal and directed reference.
- Exploration of work on various surfaces and coloured grounds.
- Make site-specific observational studies (as required).
- Considering compositions and paper formats.
- A series of demonstrations and discussion relating to each of the exercises.
- Introduction to a range of relevant artists.
- Keep a log/blog during the period of the course to record learning, achievements and challenges.
The Learning Experience
The teaching will be based and delivered in specialist art and design studios or workshops and will typically include a range of practical exercises, introductions to techniques, processes and concepts, and set projects which lead to more focused and personal exploration. Over the course, students' progress will be monitored and supported by the tutor. Teaching will include practical demonstrations, one to one tuition, group discussions and critiques.
For work required to be undertaken after the class hours are complete, the course tutor will set students a directed study plan which can be undertaken without the need for specialist workshops or access to models.
Directed study will include research into a range of suggested artists and their associated movements to engender a contextual awareness. Students are expected to demonstrate how their research has informed their work through annotated sketchbooks, a visual digital journal and practical outcomes.
The Directed Study Plan will include preparing evidence of research and practical work to form an appropriate presentation for assessment.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | Unless otherwise stated, all students on this short course pay a published course fee per enrollment.
In addition to the course fee, students are expected to provide the following list of indicate tools, materials and equipment:
- A4 Sketchbook (at least 140gsm paper)
- An A3 watercolour pad (Hot Pressed around 190gsm)
- Paper: A range of papers as and when required from newsprint, printing paper such as South Bank, Bread and Butter paper. Watercolour Paper A2, NOT (cold pressed) and Hot Pressed between 190-250gsm.
- Small set of drawing inks (either acrylic or shellac based)
- Black Quink ink
- Indian Ink
- White ink
- Pencil 2b and 4b
- Graphite pencil 4B
- A small set of gouache
- A range of artist quality watercolours, (tubes for larger studies) such as,
- Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, Ultramarine Blue, Lemon Yellow, Crimson, Cerulean blue, Payne¿s Grey,
- Pans (for more select colours): sap green, violet, yellow ochre, burnt and raw sienna, Prussian blue.
- Chalk Pastels (and oil pastels as required)
- Gum Arabic
- Wax candle and Cling film
- Masking Fluid
- Gum Tape
- Clean 9mm-12mm A3 plywood board (for stretching paper)
- A set of watercolour brushes
- Sponge
- Mixing palette
- Water pot
- A camera
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Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Research, context and ideas: Demonstrate a range of watercolour approaches and developing strategies for recording and developing visual information, supported by contextual research.
- Practice, skills and techniques: Show an expressive and enquiring use of approaches and processes to explore watercolours, inks, gouache and mixed media, to create a range of visual studies and resolved artworks.
- Selection, presentation and reflection: Demonstrate appropriate judgement to document, reflect, select, edit and present a body of coherent art works.
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Reading List
THOMAS, M. 2008. Cézanne's watercolors: between drawing and painting. Yale University Press.
BLOCKLEY, J. 1987. Watercolour Interpretations. Collins.
HAMMER, M. 1999. Graham Sutherland: Landscapes, War Scenes, Portraits 1924-1950. Scala Publishers Ltd.
JENKINS, D.F. & SPALDING, F. 2003. John Piper in the 1930s: Abstraction on the Beach. Merrell.
ORMOND, R. 1970. John Singer Sargent: paintings, drawings, Watercolours. Phaidon.
FRANK, E. 1991. Eva Hesse Gouaches 1960-1961. Robert Miller Gallery, U.S.
JENKINS, D.F. 2012. John Piper: The Forties. Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd.
WILTON, A. 1982 Turner Abroad: France, Italy, Germany and Switzerland. BCA.
NEWALL, C. 2014. John Ruskin. Artist and Observer. Paul Holberton Publishing, London.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The ability to employ the use of the sketchbook to explore and develop lines of visual enquiry.
The ability to explore visual ideas through various practical drawing and painting techniques, methods and approaches.
The ability to make independent judgments on the selecting, editing and documentation of their work, showing an insight into critical context and reflective practice.
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| Keywords | Watercolour,contemporary,ink,gouache,scale,collage,expressive,colour mixing,optical mixing |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Oliver Reed
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Kameliya Skerleva
Tel: (0131 6)51 1855
Email: |
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