Study with the MASTERS
 Study with Yoav Shualy       
 Hebrew -  עברית

 

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."
-Winston Churchill
 

Welcome to my watercolour,oilcolour and drawing courses
 



During the courses we try to instruct you on composition, colors, technique, 3 D and space, but the true goal is to help you do painting like the professional does. By teaching you step by step all the "secret" that the professional artists know, let you be an artist, but above all to be yourself, as creator art in professional way.
Remember, having courses with an artist is more than just a teaching art, it is the knowledge from inside and it is great benefit.

The courses are given by painter Yoav Shualy. Born in Israel in 1940 and studied Art in Avni school of art, London GB and Vienna. He has received many awards for his paintings and his workShualy'spaintings hangs in many private collections all over the world.


A Day in class
Yoav Shualy is a painter of breathtaking range and control. His landscapes are wonders of beautifully modulated light, sumptuous color, and a vast wealth of visual information. His control extends to every challenge in representational painting: the turning of forms, the subtle nuances of color, the rendering of textures and translucencies, the play of air, shifting skies, running water, and open seas. For a painter of such command, the idea of teaching a beginner oil color class might seem somewhat less than exciting, but this is not so for Shualy. Working with his students at his school of Art, in Givatayim, he brought to the basics of oil color a passion and energy that soon had a room full of novices excited and interestedand not without reason. Yoav Shualy quickly demonstrated that the ability to use the very basic vocabulary of oilcolor or watercolor is crucial to creating high-quality work.

The artist-instructor has been teaching the technique of oilcolor method for more than 30 years, and in the beginning of his career he preferred the medium for his own paintings. However, after several years of painting, Shualy discovered that his oilcolor technique could be yield dazzling results. His oilcolor deftly combine a fresh, clear application of paint with very fine control. This command of technique allows him to secure a wealth of detail while keeping the painting from feeling overworked. The glittering transparency of oilcolor is at work even in the most meticulously detailed passages. I was amazed when I learned the same approach could be used in oil and watercolor, says the artist. I dont use any under painting in my oil work; I simply begin with a careful drawing and then start to brush in areas of value, often working wet-in-wet. I work from dark light, starting with the very lightest values and gradually proceeding to the darkest.
 


Shualy teaches students these techniques mostly through demonstrations. I always spend time showing various drawing and painting techniques and procedures, he says. Here, the emphasis is on the distinctive capabilities of different tools and media, and on the expressive possibilities of the materials themselves. From the beginning, Shualy emphasizes the importance of preparation, some time using his own work area as an example.
 


Yoav began the days lesson by demonstrating how to make a flat, even wash, using a large squirrel flat brush. It is important to have plenty of paint in the brush, he explained, and then to begin with a fairly light touch, setting up a bead of paint on the paper. If you press too hard at first, then there will be too much paint too soon. The idea is to keep the bead going as you move across and down the paper. Press the brush evenly to extend the wet area and maintain a consistent coverage. Students experimented with this approach for a while on their own drawing boards before proceeding to the next step, a graduated wash. This involved the same process, but involved the addition of a second color halfway down the area of the wash. The instructor used this moment to discuss one of the basic challenges of watercolor: the problem of going too dark too soon. If you overshoot a value and go too dark there isnt a whole lot you can do, he said. Although you dont want to be too tentative or timid, its still better to understate a dark because you can always go back and darken it with another wash. Shualy also pointed out some of the challenges of correction when putting down a wash. If you accidentally leave a little gap, dont go back and paint over it, he told the class. That creates all kinds of problems. Leave it alone until it is thoroughly dry, and then if you really need to correct it, come back with a very tiny brush and perhaps even use a magnifying glass to fix it on a small scale.

While students were trying out their brushes, Yoav moved around the room giving advice and trying out for himself some of the great variety of brushes that the students were using. You need a brush that has some spring and will hold a good amount of paint, he said. The artist prefers Holbain "K" flat Bristol brush, when working in both oil and watercolor. As he watched them work, he would occasionally declare a brush unfit for the task. Dont get rid of it though, Yoav advised. If a brush isnt good for one task you can often find another task that it is good for. The instructor also observed that sometimes a brush seems to work for a particular individual even when most artists cant make it behave in the same way. Making art can get very personal, he said. Everybodys touch is different.

Once students tried painting around shapes, Yoav demonstrated how to create soft edges in oilcolor when the paint has dried. Its important to work on a wet surface to achieve a soft edge, he explained. A dry painted surface can be wetted with a small amount of linseed oil, when you brush or use a sponge is the most effective, as it doesnt lift up color from underneath. Yoav demonstrated making shapes on an area of moistened canvas, creating soft edges all around. You can go back and soften an edge further by running a brush through it, he told the artists, but its important just to do it once. You dont want to keep going back and working across an edge because its soon going to start looking overworked. The temptation is to keep goingbut dont. Yoav observed that the edges continue to blend and settle as the paint dries and that the final results are often better than they first appear.

The artist pointed out that the technique of "wetting" the canvas first and then work into it to create soft edges can be combined with the other techniques that the students had learned earlier in the day. You can come back later on and then is dry "wash" it wet and then add more layer of color, he said. This is a good technique in a situation where you want to build a shadow and need soft edges. Throughout the day Shualy encouraged his students to take note of chance effects in the oilcolor that reminded them of real-life situations. He noted that its important to begin making connections between what the paint can do and how the world actually appears. This is the side thats actually in you creatively, the instructor stated. And its important to work on that too. You have to utilize the spontaneity of oilcolor. As he moved around the class Shualy was quick to provide the students with little corrections on the way they were holding a brush, their posture, or the way they had their materials laid out. Its like being a "Father to a child's, he said. Youre just checking to make sure that people have the best form and stance to make things work well.

I hope that students begin to make connections between their media, the materials used, and their subject matter and images, Shualy said when discussing the goal of his class. Throughout the day he referred to a number of books on his desk that contained reproductions of work by many great watercolorists. Its vitally important for students to be aware of the art around them, and of the many artists, living and dead, from whom they can draw energy and inspiration, he stated. As they work and develop their craft and ideas, this awareness aids in the building of their own style and way of doing things.

The intensity of both Shualy s watercolors and oils are further aided by his choice of subject matter. My work is based on a desire to describe a subject realistically in all its details of form, space, color, and surface texture, he concludes. I paint familiar places and things that I have experienced intimately. The attending memories, childhood impressions, and associations are what I respond to. This is what has meaning for me, and this is what I value as a painter. 


General information about the atelier/studio .

What is the possibility of having a short time courses for Personal portfolio?
Where are the lesson
located -  in the center of the city GIVATAYIM. see map
How many student in the class ? 
What about the studio- The lesson take place in studio that build and  designed for that purpose.
How to get to the atelier by bus or by private car ?  see map
The prices for the lesson painting -  The prices l will given upon request.
What is the possibility of having private lesson.
 E-Mail for more information or  register for the courses:  info@shualy.com
 
For more information,  Tel/fax:972+3+7311535/7322285 

                               Courses on line



Chapter 1

A word about the watercolor tools

Buy the very best that you can afford. It's tough enough learning to paint without the additional handicap of poor quality materials.

Two or three of the best brushes will serve you better and longer than a fistful of cheapest!
Good quality paints are : St. Petrsburg-(Shminka), Windsor&Newton, Talens, Rembrandt,...
Mostly used is watercolor paper on a block or per sheet (200g, 300g, 640g). Also see the web sites Arches, Canson,...
Don't forget some pencils, eraser, bowls, some rags.
A dozen of colors to start with will do (cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, permanent green light, olive green, cadmium oxide green, cadmium red, alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue, menstrual blue, cerulean blue, burnt umber, sienna)

Chapter 2

Before you get the brush in your hand, get these 10 points in your head:

  • Don't expect instant results - Remember learning to ride a bicycle? You probably fell off a few times. Remember learning to swim? You probably sank towards the bottom a few times. Here's the good news: The potential for physical injury when learning watercolor is less than either of these.
  • The more you practice the better you will get - A scribbling  day is educational play. Gradually build up confidence by doing lots and lots of doodles rather than attempting full scale paintings. Your progress will be faster.
  • Just start with a few colors - If you have one of those paint boxes with more colors in it than the proverbial coat, none of which you know the names of, give it to the kids. Buy a few tubes - student quality from good manufacturers are fine for practice. It's hard to get paint in the wrong tube so the label will usually tell you what color paint is inside. When you squeeze it out it will be fresh and clean and ready to go. In your journey of discovery you will learn a great deal about the unique properties of each of the colors so make sure you can identify the colors you use.
  • At any stage in your painting, if it's not fun, stop painting. - Think about all those jobs you would be doing if you weren't painting. Smile and start painting again.
  • Watercolor paints are generally transparent - this means that it's not easy to hide mistakes by covering with more paint. When you apply paint on top of dry paint, the effect will be similar to laying colored sheets of glass on top of each other. The lightest tone you have is unpainted paper.
  • Watercolor paint is not impervious when dry. - It can and will be loosened with subsequent attacks of the brush and has a wonderful ability to produce mud in direct proportion to the amount of agitation it is given. The general rule is: Bung it on, quick as you can, then leave it alone. Repeat after me - bung it on, leave it alone. Put it to music.
  • The one thing you shouldn't skimp on is the paper - Only use paper specifically made for watercolors and treat it with respect - no fingers on the surface - not even your best friend's. A pack of 20 sheets of good paper will cost about 10 ($15 US Dollars). If you spend a weekend using all this paper, front and back, 40 sides, and a few Pounds or Dollars worth of paint, just think how much fun you would have. It's cheap entertainment - if you end up with a painting, that's a bonus.
  • Don't think that buying every brush on the market will be the magic solution to being able to paint. - The first three brushes you should have are:  Rounds No.'s 6 & 12 which come to a fine point and a Rigger which comes to a needle point. The best quality for watercolor is Kolinsky Sable, next best is Sable then Sable and Synthetic mix then Synthetic. Try to get the No. 6 Round in Sable synthetic mix or better. Synthetic is OK for the No. 12 and rigger.
  • Get all the help you can from the paper the paint and your brushes. - They have all been designed to help the painting process - watercolor papers have surface texture, the paints give more than color, the brush has more painting zones than the pointed bit.
  • Use a white palette with flat mixing wells. - This will enable you to see the approximate strength of color as it will be on the paper and it will help your observation of some of the chemical properties of the paint. If you have a mixing palette with slanted wells, use it as a door stop or paperweight.

Hebrew עברית
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