Our demonstrator for September was John Gaston. He did a watercolor demonstration.
The meeting was held in the Guild Hall, First Congregational Church (middle side door), Sanborn Street, Reading, Wednesday September 14th, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
John showed us how he paints a landscape in watercolor. He did the demo using another of his completed paintings as source material.
John is holding the painting he based the demo on.
He explained his pallet to us. He uses
some of the leftover old paint to mix grays.
He started with a thin wash.
He paints with the paper vertical, and lets the wash
puddle to get interesting edges around the wash.
Every now and then he dried the painting with a hair drier.
We had a good turnout for the demo.
Here he continues with the wash, adding bright colors.
The large red area on the left was a key part of the painting.
Next, he started putting in the trees.
There is more detail now.
Continuing adding detail into the drawing.
More branches and trees.
Adding more darks.
Putting some color into the walkway.
Finally, doing some loose splattering.
Here is the final painting.
You can see some of John's work at his web site, http://www.gastonartandframe.com/
John Gaston of Gaston Art and Frame in Shrewsbury is the demonstrator for Sept. John is a watercolorist and part owner of Gaston Art and Frame.
"My career in the arts has exposed me to some life defining moments. I wouldn't have it any other way." A respected colleague of mine once told me - "It takes a lifetime to learn how to paint." I am still working on it.
After graduating from Vesper George School of Art, Boston, Mass., John's early concentrations were in the field of the applied arts through graphic design and illustration- a career that has stretched over thirty five years. John's knowledge led him to teaching at secondary institutions in both Boston and Worcester, Mass.
John resides in Shrewsbury where he is the President of the Artist's Guild of Shrewsbury and the co-founder of Gaston Art & Frame, Inc., an art gallery and picture framing store located in his home town.