Bird Study in Watercolour | Heidi Willis

Australian born, Heidi Willis is an entirely self-taught Natural History watercolour artist, specialising in botanical illustration and bird painting. Her work intricately illustrates our native and exotic plants, flowers, fruits and seed capsules, whilst her powerful & distinctive portraits of our spectacular bird life offers viewers an insight into the world as she experiences it.

Through extensive demonstrations, step by step tuition and guided hands on learning, this workshop will explore the wonderful challenge of painting a popular natural history illustration subject, an in-depth bird study!

About this workshop

Touching on watercolour techniques of washes, the more complex process of glazing (or layers of wash), and the intricate art of dry brushing, you will learn how to manage each of these techniques to create sound foundations to managing this medium well. Through this you will build a healthier understanding and love of watercolour and of this beautiful painting genre.

Heidi's workshops focus strongly on improving your overall watercolour techniques, with a goal of equipping you with sound knowledge, direction, confidence and strategy to tackle any subject independently following her course.

What will I learn?

Using transparent watercolours, we will explore all elements of illustrating a bird subject to produce an intricate bird illustration throughout the workshop. This topic allows us to explore a wide range of critical watercolour painting techniques, dealing with texture, colour, creating low and high sheens in a subject, dealing with feather effects and developing fine details essential for this genre of painting.

As always, my workshops focus strongly on improving your overall watercolour techniques, with a goal of equipping you with sound knowledge, direction, confidence and strategy to tackle any subject independently following my course.

Working in washes, the more complex process of glazing (or layers of wash), and the intricate art of dry brushing we will learn how to manage each of these techniques to create sound foundations to managing this medium well. Through this we will build a healthy understanding and love of watercolour and of this beautiful painting genre.

Who is this workshop suitable for?

This workshop is suitable for artists with any level of experience so come along and enjoy learning more about this wonderful art form and medium.

What do I need to bring?

You can supply your own paints or you can rent a paint pack for $35 for the duration of the workshop. Please pre order your kit in advance by emailing us at team@bienarte.com.au

Watercolours:
Heidi uses Artist quality Winsor & Newton. This is her full list: 

Winsor Violet                                    Perylene Maroon                         Permanent Rose 
Permanent Magenta                        Winsor Red Indigo                      French Ultramarine Blue 
Raw Sienna                                       Burnt Sienna                               Olive Green 
Permanent Sap Green                     Cobalt Blue                                  Cerulean Blue 
Green Gold                                       Winsor Lemon                              Cadmium Yellow 
Scarlet Lake                                     Neutral Tint

Other Items:
• Pencil - 2B 
• Mechanical pencil 0.5 mm HB 
• White plastic eraser 
• Scotch tape 
• Palette (a KLIK Palette) x 2 
• Masking Fluid (colourless) if you have it 
• Ruling pen if you can get one, or have one. If not, ill have some you can borrow

Paper/ Board/ Brushes:
These supplies can be difficult to get as individuals, time-consuming at best, so Heidi will take care of it for you to make it easy. Heidi will bring a set of brushes (4 in a set) and the stock you will work on in the workshop. These items can be purchased in cash from Heidi on the day. The board is $10/sheet, brush sets and printed worksheets $35.  Heidi will bring a few ruling pens to share with the group. Masking fluid, one tip, if you are bringing a bottle, pop it into a Ziploc bag to save yourself any potential disasters!

• Bring your lunch and snacks or you can purchase from cafes close by.

What else is provided

• Tea, coffee and biscuits (bring your own cup)
• A friendly, supportive and encouraging learning environment
• Connection to the Bienarte art community