Darren Woodhead
We had a lively session with Darren this Monday with a talk, demonstration and attempts at our own watercolours using his 'props'. These we found, to our surprise, were numerous and varied creature skulls wrapped in tissue paper and hidden in a large box.
Darren's amazing results in 'pure field painting' depend upon the choice of materials - simple brushes, quality paper and a limited watercolour range.
He described his technique when painting in extreme weather in the countryside. Wind, rain and snow do not deter and even contribute to the paintings until, he says, brushing off snow for a third time can be disastrous.
Rare birds, including visiting waxwings, can appear in town as well as these tree sparrows and winter fieldfares in berry bushes in the countryside.
Darren's publications include:
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Up River: The Song of the Esk.
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From Dawn Til Dusk
Full of field observations, drawings and paintings of South East Scotland and the beautiful River North Esk.
For the final forty-five minutes of the afternoon we were challenged to use a limited colour range to paint animal skulls with emphasis on the negative spaces and warm - cool shades.
