Sketching wildlife is all about the process of looking and thinking of shapes and movement and in this one-day workshop we will be studying Kingfishers.  We will take a look at a variety of species from around the world and have fun capturing their striking patterns and colours.  Every sketch is a learning process!

Mary-Anne will show examples of her own sketches and paintings and guide you through exercises to help your wildlife sketching and watercolour technique as we draw from stills and video footage.  She will share starting techniques that help you find the kingfisher’s form and focus on fast drawing practice to capture kingfisher behaviours as they perch, skim, hover and dive.

Feedback and advise on your work are available during the workshop via your webcam and after the workshop in the private Art Safari Facebook Group.

The workshop will also be recorded so you will be able to watch the video online afterwards.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• A Laptop, Macbook, PC, iPad or tablet
• Watercolour paper, canvas or canvas boards: 1 or 2 large sheets up to A2 size or 16 x 20”, and a couple of smaller sheets
• Cartridge paper, a couple of large sheets (up to A2 size or 16 x 20”)
• Sketchbook/notebook and pen (there’s LOTS of ideas and stuff to write down!)
• An assortment of paint brushes, suitable for your medium in different shapes and sizes
• Mary-Anne will concentrate on drawing for a good part of the course. For colour Mary-Anne usually works in watercolour but you may use any medium.
• Drawing materials: Drawing is the best way to warm up, learn new shapes and to think about your environment. Bring monochrome (pencils and charcoal) and supplement it with colour if you like.  Water-soluble pencils work especially well with animals as you can draw in a colour water-soluble pencil and put a colour wash over the top.
  • Pencils / graphite sticks – a selection of e.g. HB 2B, 3B, 4B, 6B (water-soluble & normal).
  • Conté crayons / Charcoal / Pastel – useful for quick drawings (only if you have them)
  • Rubber and putty rubber
• Colour: Mary-Anne is not too particular about which colours you use, just which to be careful with (e.g. be very careful with box greens, and only use Veridian as a mixer colour!). Mary-Anne’s most used colours in her watercolours are the classic colours which give the warms and colds in each colour (a ‘double primary’ palette) comprised of Cadmium Lemon yellow, Cadmium Yellow Golden, Cadmium Red Light, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue with Cobalt Blue.  In watercolour for landscape and for the wildlife which blends into it, then earth colours are useful.  In MA’s box, earth colours are well used, including Burnt Umber, Sepia, Raw and Burnt Sienna.  But please just use colours you are familiar with and those you already have.
• Palette knife if you’re using oil or acrylic
• Kitchen towel or rags
• Easel/table easel or other means of holding your canvas/paper at an angle (watercolour) / vertically (oil)
• Paint palette: wet palette for acrylics, wipe clean one for oils, deep wells for watercolours
• Large jars for water or solvent (if you use it)