Landscape Painting in Watercolour: Turner, Cotman, Seago and Beyond.

A couple of weeks ago I went on a course at The King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts in Shoreditch.

The course was led by Prasad Beaven, an accomplished watercolour artist, who works in a loose style that I very much admire – and wish I could emulate.

We learned about pioneering watercolourists from the great age of watercolour (1750 to 1880) – such as Alexander Cozens, John Robert Cozens, Thomas Girtin, JMW Turner and John Sell Cotman – plus 20th century painter, Edward Seago.

These artists painted landscapes with greater imagination than their predecessors, rendering them not simply as a record of place, but as mirrors of feeling, with enhanced tone and atmosphere.

I was particularly taken with Cotman’s use of geometric, two-dimensional design and muted colours. I tried to recreate his Hell Cauldron, called a Shady Pool, where the Greta Joins the Tees (such a long title!), and was fairly pleased with what I did.

It was really frustrating not to be able to recreate anything quite like a Turner – the man was a genius! I love his watercolours, but goodness only knows how he created them as they are near impossible to replicate.

I also adored Edward Seago’s simplicity and loose style and was particularly proud of my attempt at his The Lock Gates.

I thoroughly enjoyed my week and my fellow attendees were lovely. For me, the course was so good because it successfully mixed a number of different learning approaches: we heard about the art history, then Prasad inspired us with his demonstrations of techniques and styles, and finally we put everything into practice with lots of painting.