Wilding the Watercolour
Contemporary watercolour workshops with Noël O ́Callaghan

Wilding the Watercolour
Contemporary watercolour workshops with Noël O ́Callaghan
Tuesdays 2 to 30 September 2025
10:30 to 12:30
5 Sessions
€150 per person including materials and refreshments. Booking direct with artist – 085 2748144 / nocal@gmx.net
This watercolour course is energetic and bold in direction, taking inspiration from fauvism and expressionism. There will be special emphasis on the winter watercolour. This will be an opportunity to prepare for the staccato shapes and crisp contrasts of this season and may also to lead to creating a special present or some original seasonal greeting cards.
As always, we will be embracing the dynamic nature of the material, enjoying its sensuality and fluidity rather than pursuing a strict academicism. However, we will also study classical techniques and concepts such as washes, layering, perspective, figure, foreground and background, and using the white of the paper as light. In other words, we find out about the rules, and then break and bend them to serve our own individual creativity!
Watercolour as a medium is sometimes perceived as staid and conservative, but this does not have to be the case. In fact, the immediacy of watercolour makes it especially suitable to spontaneous work.
The materials are light to transport making it perfect for outdoor work (even for those without a car) and because it is odourless and fast-drying, it is especially suitable for people with limited, or no, studio space. This workshop provides an opportunity to try out and get advice on professional quality watercolour paint, brushes and paper and get a feel for the materials before committing to the expense of purchasing your own.
We will explore the various properties of paper and brushes, look at colour theory and colour recipes, gestural mark-making, negative space and practice exercises which take the fear and nervousness out of making a watercolour. We will strike the balance between delicacy, transparency, strength and intensity which makes for a vibrant, lively and modern watercolour.
We will also look at ways of rescuing ‘failed’ works in what is often considered an unforgiving medium. I will share tips on reusing and recycling materials, thus promoting sustainability in our practice. This is not only beneficial in terms of the environment and our pocket but also helps to loosen up and can lead to painting in a freer manner. Using mounts and frames, we will see how these radically change our perception of our work. There is no pressure to create a “finished” work but most participants find that they make a watercolour which they want to frame and have the basis for a number of others which will evolve to completion over time.
Noël’s was born in Cork City and her early art experience was in the studio of her father, the artist,
Diarmuid O ́Ceallachain, who was teacher of painting at the Crawford College. She studied for a time at the Crawford but found the art school system restrictive and left to follow a course of self-study through constant life-drawing and plein-air painting. She has used this experience to help many students to discover their own unique creative “voice” She moved to Berlin in the mid-80s and has worked as an actor, singer and percussionist. These experiences all feed into her art practice. She has exhibited widely in solo and juried shows, has taken part in many festivals and events and has received awards from the both the Irish Arts council and the Berlin Ministry of Culture. Her work can be found in many private and public collections. Her recent solo show “Reasons to be Cheerful” in the Lavit Gallery was very successful, garnering a lot of press attention and sales.
Among the places she has shown are The Highlanes Gallery Boyle Arts Featival, The Crawford Art Gallery, Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre, RHA,, RUA, Dublin Theatre Festival, Catherine Hammond Gallery@ VUE, The Fenton Gallery, Cork, The Drawing Hub, Berlin, Gallery im Turm, Berlin, Hallward Gallery, Dublin, Origin Gallery, Dublin., Lavit Gallery Cork, The New Theatre, Dublin, Cnoc Buí Art Centre, Union Hall, Galerie Michaela Helfrich, Berlin.

www.noel-o-callaghan.com/@thesketchoftheday