nco
MASTERCLASSAine’smaterials
•Paints
LemonYellow(Nickel
Titanate),CadmiumRed,
AlizarinCrimson,Viridian,
PrussianBlue,French
Ultramarine,YellowOchreand
VandykeBrown,allWinsor&
NewtonProfessionalWater
Colours;CadmiumYellow
Orange,Jackson’sArtist
Watercolour
•Brushes
Rosemary& CoSeries 222
flatone-strokebrushes,sizes
1”,1.5”and2”;Royal&
LangnickelCrafter’sChoice
flatbrushes,sizes1/4”,1/2”
and3/4”
•Paper
Bockingford535gsmNOThalf
imperialwatercolourpaper2 Add movement
I wanted to create a sense of more
substance to the dress without losing that
sharp outline of the body. I added some
Cadmium Yellow Orange to the Cadmium
Red and brought it into the bodice and skirt.
Still using the 1.5” brush, I moved swiftly and
danced the brush across the paper, twisting
my wrist to bring vitality to the skirt.1 Establish tension
I began by studying my source. The grounding
of the back of the dancer’s body and the
lifting of her ribcage was significant here.
To create that tension, I painted a clear edge
to the back of the shoulder blade and the
vertical front of the abdomen. I used my 1.5”
flat brush loaded with fluid Cadmium Red,
aiming to indicate the shoulder straps and
the feel of the skirt as succinctly as I could.
Less is more at these initial stages.Inspired by her art class sketches,
AINE DIVINE recaptured the
flamenco spirit back in her studio
with bold colours and simple tricksI
made a lot of mixed-media drawings
of a flamenco dancer during a course
I attended at Dance Base in Edinburgh.
It was wonderful to have access to this
powerful and dynamic dancer for an entire
day. We were helped too by the well-ordered
setup, thanks to tutor Damian Callan.
The model maintained the same pose for
between 10 and 20 minutes at a time and
we were given ink and sticks, collage paper
and drawing boards. In short, everything was
sorted, the job for us as artists was simply
to show up, be inspired and get moving.
I would recommend that you give yourself
the gift of preparation before you begin anyart session. Even if you’re just drawing at
home, set yourself up well before hand.
Have your art materials within easy reach,
choose a pre-arranged subject that you find
inspiring, and give yourself some time for
warm-up drawings before embarking on
longer artworks.
Dancers are a wonderful subject, already
dramatic, vibrant and full of life – all
ingredients for a powerful painting. If you
don’t have access to a model, consider
dressing up either yourself, a friend or a
family member as a dancer and taking a few
reference photos in character. It could prove
a lot of fun and, who knows, a new vocation
as a flamenco dancer may be uncovered.
Looking through my collection of sketches
from the day, I was struck by the power and
strength in the poses. One particular pose
inspired me, and I wanted to make a painting
of it. My intention was to capture the same
dynamic stance and vibrant colour.
http://www.ainedivinepaintings.co.ukORIGINAL
SKETCH