Intuitive Approaches to Watercolour

Fabio Cembranelli, internationally renowned Brazilian artist and tutor, started painting at university where he studied architecture. His paintings have been featured in exhibitions and private collections worldwide. Fabio is famous for his extraordinary luminous floral watercolours.

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Explaining why he has chosen transparent watercolour as his favourite medium, Fabio says: ‘what compels me to paint with this approach is the possibility of painting quickly. It suits my personality best – the fluidity of the medium provides a unique sensation of unexpected colour mixing, particularly when I define only the main masses and allow the unpredictable to happen on the rest of the paper. Timing is quite important in my method. I lean intuitively towards realism, but painting speedily forces me to create diffused effects and shapes. I love painting flowers and landscapes in watercolour and I’m always enchanted by the attempt to capture the contrast between loose and defined edges, as well as light and shadow effects’.

When he paints, Fabio aims to express the essentials of each subject through his own interpretation - producing a unique effect. He teaches painting techniques in his studio, in art galleries and in art societies as well as in person and online workshops throughout Brazil and abroad. He is also a regular contributor to several art magazines in South America, the US, UK, Norway, France, Japan and Australia.

At Big Sky Art he guides artists to develop loose and intuitive watercolour techniques to enhance their artwork. He will paint two or three demos per day, followed by individual attention for each artist.

Visit Fabio’s website for further information

Workshop Topics:

• Wet-on-wet techniques using transparent pigments only.

• Watercolour painting on damp paper.

• How to take advantage of unexpected things that may happen during the painting process.

• The importance of the white of the paper; how to save or restore it.

• Fundamentals of composition: how to create a powerful focal point.

• How to be successful in taking risks during the painting process.

DAY 1

• Flowers: sketching the main elements

• Compositional choices for flowers

• Background: how to enhance light and shadow with background.

• White flowers: working with the white of the paper.

DAY 2

• Compositional choices for still life

• Porcelain and glass vases.

• Painting without a preliminary sketch

• Fresh flowers: connecting shapes.

• Negative painting: background

DAY 3

• Light and shadow effects on balconies/gates or doors.

• Perspective and depth: enhancing the 3D effect.

• Shadows: colourful grays

• Tips about mixing colours: colour temperature and value

DAY 4

• Landscapes.

• Mixing greens.

• Perspective and depth.

• Water reflections.

• Flower fields and skies.

• Colour mixing: landscape background

Fabio will paint two or three demos per day, followed by individual attention for each artist. He will also conduct critical sessions every day.