Joe Dowden - Workshops

Watercolour Workshops

One day courses with Joe Francis Dowden, held on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
(Itinerary also published on Events page)

Book now by phoning 01903 237096 / 0788 799 8499 Or email here - joe@joedowden.com

Workshop Details:

Saturday daytime Workshops 10.00am – 4.00pm
Held at Findon Village Hall - off the A24 - North of Worthing, West Sussex. BN14 0TA. The hall is in the main street through Findon. (Click here for location - will open in New Window)

Wednesday afternoon Workshops 1.30pm – 6.00pm
Held at Sompting Community Centre, Loose Lane, BN15 0BG. Loose Lane is off West Street Sompting, between Lancing and Worthing south of the A27. (Click here for location - will open in New Window)

Cost: The fee is £45.00 for the Saturday classes and £40.00 for the Wednesday classes.

All abilities are catered for
There are printed workshop notes
Easy to follow one step at a time demonstrations
One to one teaching
Special hints, tips & insights
A good quality image to work from

Click here for a Sample Workshop - Boat on a Shingle Beach............

The Course Dates

Saturday - Findon Workshops	Wednesday - Sompting Workshops

SATURDAY February 9th 2008 “Lakes and Mountains”. Distant mountains reflected in tranquil lake land. Straightforward project applying Watercolour to beautiful deep looking water.	WEDNESDAY February 27^th 2008 “Snow scene”. You can develop more skills in watercolour with this lovely scene. Paint convincing snow, winter trees and beautiful countryside


SATURDAY March 8th 2008 “Lake with Little House”. Deep, tranquil lake - sky and water - ripples and reflections. How to solve these challenges in Watercolour. .	WEDNESDAY March 19^th 2008 “Lane with Puddles”. How to put puddles in a painting. Paint shallow water to wet your wellies in. How to make it real. Logical, easy to follow steps.


SATURDAY April 5th 2008 “Boat on a beach”. How to draw and paint a boat. Sea and sky. Fluttering flags and the amazing Joe Dowden shingle technique simplified.	WEDNESDAY April 23rd 2008 “Bluebell Woodland” How do you paint a carpet of Bluebells on a forest floor? Here are easy techniques to achieve this in a day.


SATURDAY May 3rd 2008 “Field of Daisies”. Paint a meadow with techniques that fill it with wild flowers and plants in long grass.	WEDNESDAY May 21st 2008 “Windmill”. A windmill step by step. The drama of sails against sky, an evocative English scene made straightforward.


SATURDAY June 7th 2008 “Bluebell Woodland” How do you paint a carpet of Bluebells on a forest floor? Here are easy techniques to achieve this in a day.	WEDNESDAY June 18th 2008 “Dazzling sunset”. How to make the sun bright and the water wet. Techniques for painting sunset across an estuary. This will show you how it’s done.


SATURDAY July 5th 2008 “Meadow with Poppies and Barn” Paint a meadow with techniques that fill it with wild flowers and plants in long grass. Sketch an old country barn in the background, just like the ones in Surrey and Sussex.	WEDNESDAY July 16th 2008 “Tips and techniques”. Fun with watercolour. Easy methods for getting realistic results – Flowers in a meadow, foliage and foreground, realistic beach shingle, underwater stones.


	WEDNESDAY July 23rd 2008 “Wednesday field trip”. A repeat of last year’s very successful and popular trip into the local Sussex countryside, with the likelihood of an alternative rural setting looking out from under cover.

	Image to follow
SATURDAY September 6th 2008 “Swans on a Lake”. This subject needn’t be difficult. Simple method for painting swans in water can be used for many other paintings.	WEDNESDAY September 10^th 2008. “Underwater Stones”. How to paint clear shallow water and make stones look like they are just under a shimmering veil of shallow water.


SATURDAY October 4th 2008 “Shallow Woodland Stream”. Shallow rippling water and reflections. River bank, woodland, foliage, foreground and water.	WEDNESDAY October 8^th 2008. “Lane with Puddles”. How to put puddles in a painting. Paint shallow water to wet your wellies in. How to make it real. Logical, easy to follow steps.


	WEDNESDAY November 12^th2008 “Autumn River and Reflections”. Tranquil river, warm autumn foliage, a sunny afternoon, techniques for wet looking water and reflections.


SATURDAY November 29th 2008 “Lane with Puddles”. How to put puddles in a painting. Paint shallow water to wet your wellies in. How to make it real – simply.	WEDNESDAY December 3^rd 2008 “Snowy Landscape”. Snow covered rural landscape cloaked in white, a view across the fields and a farmstead nestling below distant hills.


	WEDNESDAY January 7^th 2009 ““Little Bridge over Snowy Stream”. Old Masonry Bridge over a winter stream. Water, landscape & snow.

	Image to follow
SATURDAY January 10th 2009 “Little Bridge over Snowy Stream”. Old masonry bridge over a winter stream. Water, landscape & snow.	WEDNESDAY February 4^th 2009 “Sea Shore, and Cliffs”. Deep blue sea, high cliffs, rocks and perhaps some wheeling gulls, all easily achieved.


	WEDNESDAY March 4^th 2009 “Windmill”. A windmill step by step. The drama of sails against sky, an evocative English scene made straightforward.


	WEDNESDAY April 1^st 2009 “Bluebell Woodland” How do you paint a carpet of Bluebells on a forest floor? Here are easy techniques to achieve this in a day.

	Image to follow
	WEDNESDAY May 6^th 2009 “Sandy beach on a sunny day”. Paint a sandy beach with a blue sky and a few simple figures – here is how to do it.


	WEDNESDAY June 3^rd 2009 “Meadow with Poppies and Barn” Paint a meadow with techniques that fill it with wild flowers and plants in long grass. Sketch an old country barn in the background, just like the ones in Surrey and Sussex.


	WEDNESDAY July 1^st 2009 “Field of Daisies” Paint a meadow with techniques that fill it with wild flowers and plants in long grass.

How the Courses Work

Here is how the courses work.

A demonstration is followed by the class painting under guidance from the tutor until that stage is complete and we move on to the next. This is repeated until the painting is complete.

Teaching is from 10.00 am to 4.00pm with a lunch and tea breaks for the Saturday classes and 1.30 pm to 6.00pm with tea breaks for the Wednesday classes. The venues are spacious, with plenty of tables and a kitchen for refreshments, which consist of tea, coffee, biscuits etc.

Paints from scratch
Joe Dowden produces a painting from scratch in stages with full explanations.

Joe has a friendly relaxed way of teaching. We start with a demonstration of the initial stages of the chosen painting. After each demo, all have the opportunity to follow along and complete that stage, while Joe gives each individual some one to one tuition.

This is followed by a demonstration of the next stage, while the group takes a break from painting and watch how the next step of the painting unfolds. The class follows each demonstration, with the practical task of taking their very own painting toward completion, under the artist’s expert guidance.

Designed to build confidence. Everyone is enabled to get a result by the end of the day. You will find not only do you complete a painting, but you will be able to put into practice what you have learned in all your work. There are also numerous tricks, tips and techniques to be learned. You can benefit from Joe Dowden’s professional insights.

He also comes equipped with a painting of the same scene done earlier. With plenty of large coloured prints of this painting, or a photograph for each painter to work from, everyone can see what they are working toward achieving. A very well prepared course.

So how will you remember what you learn?
The answer is in the final touch - printed detailed course notes, which are done for every class, and are written while the original demonstration painting is produced. With numerous additional tips and concepts, and step by step explanations written with the same level of expertise Joe has employed in his numerous art books, these aid the memory when the day is over. (Sample course included on this page)

Each class is subject driven. You get to complete that particular subject on the day. You can use what you learn in all your work. Through practice under confident and friendly tuition you can achieve much. The hope is that you will be able to use what you learn in all your work. The classes are logically arranged in a progression of subjects, but each is “stand-alone”. You can go to one, all, or anything in between.

Happy Painting

Joe Francis Dowden

February 2008