Sid Valley artists were this month given an online watercolour masterclass by renowned artist Kari McGowan.

The Sidmouth Society of Artists, alongside fellow enthusiasts Exmouth Art Group, enjoyed a Zoom workshop with Kari McGowan an experienced watercolour artist who lives on the northern edge of Dartmoor.

Sidmouth Herald: Devon-based artist Kari McGowanDevon-based artist Kari McGowan (Image: Supplied)

Kari believes that watercolour is a magical medium – with water carrying pigment to paper, transmitting light through its transparency, inviting the painter to share in a process. Having accomplished its work, the water evaporates leaving its footprint - an image.

Ann England from SSA said: “This was the first zoom presentation for Kari, and it was good to see someone who was prepared to demonstrate in a different way to the normal teaching.
“Kari considers that to use the wet-on-wet technique the paper used is vital and she recommends a heavy Saunders Waterford 200lb paper, which allows a certain amount of water to penetrate the surface so that paint does not dry too quickly allowing it to flow more readily.

By using a tone sketch to reflect the composition, Kari looked at light and dark and shaded
areas. She described how she looked at the values, used colour, lost and found edges, soft and hard lines, and the underpainting to enhance the painting and the viewer's experience of her artwork.

Ann said: “Kari painted a bluebell wood with the light coming through from behind in an impressionist style. One needs to focus on the time of day as the light changes from morning to evening.
“Her demonstration used the midday warm spring light with the illumination from the back. We were also given an excellent example of use of a rigger brush to enhance the trees.”

If you are interested in finding out more about the art groups then contact www.sidmouthsocietyofartists@yahoo.com or visit www.exmouthartgroup.org.uk for more information.