Intermediate Watercolour

Additional information

Instructor	Chris Simonite
Level	Intermediate

In stock

Tuesdays, 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM
April 14 – June 16, 2026
Ten Weeks

Are you ready to take your watercolour practice to the next level?

In Intermediate Watercolour with Chris Simonite students will build on technique learned in prior classes and start developing their own style. The course will be divided into a series of subjects including Still Life, Landscape, Portraits, and finish with individual projects!

Still Life: Begin with a review of colour theory and washes, focusing on complementary colours and how to utilize them in a Still Life composition. Also discuss when to use wet on wet vs. wet on dry, and dry brushing in your own practice.

Landscape: Explore in detail which techniques to use during each phase of painting a landscape scene. Including lessons on various methods for paintings skies, trees and rocky shorelines with colour reflected into water, and seascapes with dramatic skies and breaking waves.

Portraits: Paint the basic features of a face; eyes, a nose, and a mouth! Also review the plains of the head and how light falls on a face and discuss different approaches to painting hair.

Individual Project: Students will work on their own projects in the final two classes. Skills built in the first eight classes and continued guidance from the instructor will enable students to create the visual effects they’re aiming for!

*This class is not suitable for true beginners. Students are required to have previous knowledge and experience in watercolour.

Please note, supplies are not provided for adult classes (unless explicitly stated so).

Instructor’s Recommended Materials:

Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolours.
- These are student grade and are very good quality. There are professional grade paints, which will cost more. The Cotman paints come in tube form or in pan form (solid blocks of paint). I prefer the tube ones. These are available at Artist’s Emporium and Michael’s. Other brands can work well also.
In this class we will be using a Split Primary Palette. I recommend:
- WARM RED: Cadmium Red Hue. COOL RED: Alizarin Crimson.
- WARM YELLOW: Yellow Ochre. COOL YELLOW: Lemon Yellow, or Cadmium Yellow Light Hue.
- COOL BLUE: Phthalo Blue or Prussian Blue. WARM BLUE: Ultramarine Blue. I use Ultramarine much more than any other blue. Other good cool blues are Cobalt Blue Hue and Cerulean Blue Hue.
- Additional colours: Burnt Sienna, Payne’s Grey. Feel free to purchase a set of colours that will contain most of these colours.
Brushes:
- Round brushes #4, #8, #10
- One flat brush 1/2”
- Optional, a liner brush and a dagger brush.
Spray Bottle
Masking Tape (optional craft tape AKA butcher’s tape)
Paper Towel
2 Containers for Water
Pencils and Erasers. (I like to use kneaded erasers, but a variety is a good idea)
Paper
- A pad or 2 of decent quality watercolour paper for studies. A size of 9” x 12” is recommended, but feel free to buy bigger ones.
- *NOTE* I DO NOT recommend the Michael’s Artist’s Loft paper. It does NOT LIKE WATER!
- Also recommended, some higher quality cold press paper for finished pieces. I usually purchase 22” x 30” sheets at least 140 lb and then tear or cut them down.
Plastic corrugated sheet as a backing board. These are available at hardware and Michael’s. A drawing board or even a small piece of smooth plywood is also appropriate.

Materials will be reviewed in the first class!

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Land Acknowledgement

Forum Art Centre is in Treaty 1 territory, the traditional and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe, Ininiwak, Anishininiwak, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and the homeland of the Red River Métis. Our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation in Treaty 3 territory, and much of our hydro-electricity comes from Treaty 5 territory in northern Manitoba. We are committed to learning and engaging in reconciliation and decolonization.