Watercolours for Beginners - Beeston Library - Adult Learning

This beginner-friendly course will introduce you to the foundations of watercolour painting. You will explore how to use watercolour paints, brushes and papers, and begin to build confidence with simple techniques such as washes, glazing and wet-on-wet painting. No previous experience is needed, just a willingness to experiment and have a go.

During the course, you will learn about the basic materials and techniques used in watercolour painting. We will look at different types of watercolour paper, brushes and paints, and explore how these affect the final result.

You will practise controlling the balance of water and paint, mixing colours, laying flat and graded washes, building colour through glazing, and creating soft or sharp effects using wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry techniques. Each session will include demonstrations, guided practice and time to experiment with your own ideas.

This course is suitable for complete beginners or anyone who would like to refresh their basic watercolour skills.

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• Identify and use a small range of basic watercolour materials, including paper, brushes and paints.

• Mix water and paint to create at least three different strengths of colour.

• Apply basic watercolour techniques, including flat wash, graded wash, glazing, wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry.

• Create simple painted studies using colour, shape, texture and layering.

• Make choices about materials, colours and techniques to develop a small watercolour painting or sample piece.

• Share your work with others and use supportive feedback to identify at least one strength and one technique you would like to develop further.

You will need:

• Watercolour paper in a pad or loose sheets, ideally 300gsm/140lb, in either a paper pulp or cotton.

• Watercolour paints, either a basic pan set or tubes

• Small selection of watercolours brushes (at least 1 round and 1 flat) we can work with any sizes, but try not to go too small so a size 6 upwards.

• Water vessel, a yogurt pot or jar is fine

• Apron or clothes you don’t mind splashing water and paint on.

Funding and Fees

If you receive certain benefits, you may be able to take the course for free.
If money is stopping you from enrolling, please visit our funding page to see what help is available.

Living in England

To book and join one of our courses, you must live in England permanently and either:

• Live outside the devolved areas listed below, or

Live inside the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) area (Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire).

You cannot enrol if you live in these devolved areas:

• Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)

• Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

• North East Combined Authority

• South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority

• Tees Valley Combined Authority

• West Midlands Combined Authority

• West of England Combined Authority

• West Yorkshire Combined Authority

• Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority

• York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority

• Hull and East Yorkshire

• Greater Lincolnshire

• Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority

• Cornwall Council

• Lancashire Combined County Authority

• Buckinghamshire Council

Residency Requirements (Additional Information)

If you live in the UK on a visa, we’ll need evidence of your visa to confirm funding. You can upload this when applying, and you’ll need to complete a short questionnaire.

Some exceptions include:

• Your visa must last until after your course ends.

• Asylum seekers must have lived in the UK for at least 6 months while their claim is being processed.

• You are supported by your local authority under Section 23C or 23CA of the Children Act 1989, or under the Care Act 2014.

Anyone who does not meet the funding criteria would need to pay full course fees.