Watercolour Workshops 2026
- - 10am to 4pm | Mall Galleries
£80 per workshop, with a maximum of 8 students per workshop. Early booking is advised.
Watercolour Workshops
The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours presents a series of watercolour workshops alongside the RI 214th Exhibition in Spring 2026:
Mess and Finesse in Watercolour with Paul Talbot-Greaves
Wednesday 25 March, 10am to 4pm
Opposites create interest and, in this workshop, Paul will demonstrate how mess and finesse work in harmony to create watercolours that are loose, yet do not lose their way. Learn how to identify where you can let go to enjoy messy applications of colour, and where to tighten up to bring the painting together. Understanding the mess vs finesse concept will transform your watercolours and lead you to greater painting success.
Materials
What to bring
Please bring along some photo references to work from, either printed or on an i-Pad or tablet. A greyscale version of your reference can be very helpful for gauging values but not essential. Along with reference material you will need to bring your own paints, brushes, and paper plus a waterpot, palette, Pencils 4B or 6B, putty rubber, cartridge pad or spare paper (for any preliminary sketches, designs and notes), kitchen roll, painting board, masking tape, water spray, household sponge wipe (thin moppet type) and packed lunch.
Indicate Do Not State with Brian Smith
Saturday 28 March, 10am to 4pm
• Small quick exercises build confidence. Collective shape, tonal contrast create light and atmosphere
• Encourage the viewer to interpret your mark making
• We will tackle subjects from landscape to figures and architecture
• We will produce a selection of works to broaden and develop your skills
• Please bring one photographic reference of your choice
Materials
Materials required:
Options to choose from, which you may find useful - it’s not obligatory, just bring what you normally use…
Paper
Saunders Waterford or Arches, 300gsm 140lbs minimum. NOT and Hot Press
Paints
I prefer tubes
Colours:
Yellow Ochre
Aureolin
Burnt Sienna
French Ultra Marine
Cobalt Blue
Light Turquoise
Ceruleum
Alizarin Crimson
Cadmium Red
Burnt Umber
Raw Umber
Winsor Violet
Indigo
Brown Madder
Indian Yellow
Neutral Tint
Lavender
Round Brushes selection
5,6,8,10, Hakes or Flats, 1 large
Sundries
Self adhesive framers tape, soft pencils 3b, 4b, plastic rubber, atomiser bottle, old blunt butter knife (or similar), water container, paper tissues, Dr. Martins bleed proof white paint, scotch magic tape
People in Every Day Life with Roger Dellar
Monday 30 March, 10am to 4pm
The day will start with a small demo showing composition selection, discussing tones, and lost and found edges. I will discuss my method of handling watercolour: how to deal with tone, paint / watercolour control, and colour harmonies. Particular attention will be on relationship and human proportion, etc. This will be followed by me advising (where necessary) students' own paintings. The day will end with a short critique.
Materials
Brushes
Pointed & flat watercolour brushes, acrylic and oil brushes
Tubed Paints
I usually use the Winsor and Newton Cotman range of Tube paints, not pans:
Ultramarine Blue
Cobalt Blue Hue
Cerulean Blue
Lavender (Guest Colour)
Cadmium Yellow Hue
Cadmium Yellow Deep Hue
Cadmium Yellow Pale
Yellow Ochre
Cadmium Red Deep
Alizarine Crimson Red
Cotman Sap Green
Burnt Sienna
Gouache White (Tubed)
Surfaces
I use Saunders Waterford Not Watercolour Paper (I do not use a rough paper)
Other Options
White Chalk Soft Pencil
Masking Tape
Water Pot / Bucket
Towelling (Rag)
Drawing Board to tape paper to
Sketchbook
Watercolour Palette
Light Weight Easel
These materials are only suggestions - don’t go and buy unless you really want to try them
Landscape and Abstraction with Prasad Beaven
Wednesday 1 April, 10am to 4pm
Workshop Outline:
Morning (10am - 1pm)
• Introduction and short demonstration: expressive approaches to landscape and abstraction
• Quick studies simplifying natural forms into shape, tone, and movement
• Exploring wet-into-wet washes and intuitive mark-making to create atmosphere
Afternoon (2pm – 4pm)
• Developing a personal composition based on sketches, memory, or imagination
• Using layering, contrast, and brushwork to express mood and rhythm
• Group reflection and discussion of individual works
Materials
To bring:
• Watercolours including: Rose Madder (or Alizarin Crimson), Aureolin Yellow, and Cobalt Blue
• Optional additions: Cadmium Red, Cadmium Orange, Ultramarine Blue, Pthalo Blue, Viridian, Sap Green, Light Red or Indian Red, Burnt Sienna or Sepia (for dark tones), Titanium White or Chinese White
• Brushes: Large flat brush, small flat brush, mop brush, round brush, rigger, and a palette knife
• Watercolour paper: Minimum 300gsm, NOT (quarter or half sheets)
• Drawing board and masking tape
• Water container and spray
• Pencil (HB), putty eraser, and sketchbook for preparatory sketches
• Absorbent cloth or paper towels
Figurative Abstract: Painting Faces with Martha Zmpounou
Saturday 4 April, 10am to 4pm
Join us for a creative and hands-on workshop where we’ll explore portrait-making using water-based media like watercolours and acrylic inks. Using photos and other source materials for inspiration, you'll be encouraged to play with colour, tone, and scale to discover or further develop your own unique approach to painting and drawing the face.
Instead of copying directly from the source, we’ll focus on personal expression—seeing where your ideas and the materials take you. Along the way, we’ll look at techniques and concepts inspired by the artist’s own work to help spark your imagination.
Through a mix of guided demonstrations and plenty of time to experiment, you’ll learn both traditional and playful, experimental ways of working with fluid, transparent materials. We’ll embrace the unexpected—like happy accidents and bleeds—as we build up portraits that balance abstract marks with more detailed elements.
By the end of the workshop, you’ll have created layered, expressive portraits that blend abstraction and realism in your own distinctive style.
Materials
• Several good quality (ideally A3 or A4) prints of faces/portraits to choose from. These could be photos that you have taken yourself or found. Consider the mood, contrast, viewpoint, and composition when selecting images of faces.
• Plenty of good quality watercolour paper. Ideally, 55x75cm (to cut smaller), hot-pressed, 300 gsm, cotton rag. Alternatively, an A3 watercolour paper sketchbook (glue bound pads are great). Suggested brands are: Fabriano Artistico, Arches, Bockingford, Saunders Waterford, but there are plenty of other brands you can use.
• Pencils (at least HB, B and 3B), an eraser (regular white Milan rubber) and a sharpener.
• Watercolours (tubes or in pans).
• A selection of soft round watercolour brushes and one large soft square watercolour brush for moving large amounts of water. The brushes could be either the Kolinsky sable or the more affordable synthetic brushes. One of them needs to be fine and thin (0 size), then different sizes and thickness of brushes are necessary.
• Few colours of acrylic inks. These can be pricey, if you do not wish to buy them, I will have some with me that we can share. I personally use warm colours such as burnt sienna, cadmium red, purple.
• A cotton cloth or blotting paper and container for water.
Translating Light with Alex Hillkurtz
Tuesday 7 April, 10am to 4pm
We will begin gently with basic colour mixing exercises, and a simple value study, in order to become comfortable with the materials and vocabulary of watercolour. Then we will move on to complete a full painting, moving through each stage from pencil sketch to final details. I’ll share my favourite techniques of creating a piece with a strong sense of light and vibrancy.
Materials
List of materials:
Brushes
Raphaél 915 soft aqua 18
Escoda Aquario 12 petit gris
Escoda Reserva 10
Escoda Reserva 6
Escoda Perla 1/4” dagger
Paper
Arches cold pressed, 100% cotton, 300gm
Paint
I use Daniel Smith
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Burnt Sienna
Quinacradone Red
Pyrrol Scarlet
Indian Red
Raw Sienna
Quinacridone Sienna
Cerulean Chromium Blue
Other Tools
4B pencil
Pigma Micron fineliner pen .01
X-acto knife
Masking tape
Tooth brush
To note
• Please note that after booking confirmation, the RI is unable to refund fees if cancelled by the student
• All workshop confirmed bookings have access to the RI 214th Exhibition on the day of the workshop
• As per the Safeguarding Policy of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, the RI does not work formally with children or vulnerable adults. These workshops are intended for participants aged 18 or over only. The RI must be notified in advance if a vulnerable adult wishes to take part in order to make appropriate arrangements. Vulnerable adults must always be accompanied by a responsible adult.