Watercolour initiation at Clarington's new gallery

When I learned that artists would be teaching workshops at Clarington’s newest gallery shop and arts facility, A Gift of Art, I couldn’t resist checking one out. Even though I had no experience, instructor Pauline Stephenson, welcomed me into her class. With her easy-to-follow instructions and encouraging words from my fellow classmates, it wasn’t long before I found the confidence to try my first watercolour landscape.

By studying her original painting, we learned how to sketch a pencil outline, then paint the page with a pale yellow wash, lending an autumnal feel to our landscapes. While Pauline demonstrated different brush strokes she dispensed some very practical advice, “You start at the top of the page and work your way down. You don’t want to be pushing your arm across wet paint.”

As I tried to figure out how to turn my fuzzy blob of vegetation into a stand of trees, Pauline explained, “What makes this exciting is the dark shadow under the trees.” We played with layers of colours, shadows and even some bright splatters to represent autumn flowers, all the while joking with each other as two hours slipped pleasurably by.

At the end of the class, when we lined all the paintings up along the wall, it was remarkable to see how different each was from the others, even though we had worked from the same original. I was delighted that my trees (centre) actually ended up looking like trees – a real tribute to Pauline’s teaching talent.

After my modest watercolour debut, I couldn’t resist checking out the gallery where 25 members of the Clarington Artist & Artisan’s Outlet, plus two associate members and six guest artists sell their works.  Among my favourite pieces were Debbie Dell’s colourful fused glass plates, Susan Ellis’s empathetic animal pastels, and Alan Easton’s cattails sculpted from polished steel and wood. From delicate glass doorknobs to a massive 400-pound rosewood mahogany table on apple tree trunk legs, the range of works is impressive.

This reclining rhino sculpted from clay by Florence Chik-Lau looking so charming, it made me think ceramics might be my next artistic venture. In addition to the wide range of classes offered at the Newcastle gallery, off-site courses are offered in pottery, metal and woodwork.