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: