Loose & Expressive Watercolour: Understanding Tonal Values with Nina Volk

Participants will learn how to check tonal values while painting, integrating value awareness directly into the creative process rather than treating it as a separate exercise. This approach allows you to build confidence in making tonal decisions as the painting develops.

Each day will include two paintings. Day one will focus on landscapes, exploring both a soft, mellow mood and a stronger, higher-contrast interpretation of the same subject. Day two will extend this approach to either street scenes or landscape variations, such as aerial views, again working with both subtle and bold tonal structures.

Throughout the workshop, key elements of landscape and street painting will be covered, including structure, movement, light, atmosphere, and the inclusion of animals or figures where appropriate. The emphasis is on learning how tonal values support expressive, loose painting and how they can be used to interpret a subject in multiple ways.

The content is flexible and may be adjusted to suit the group, with the core focus remaining on tonal values, mood, and expressive interpretation.

What You Will Learn

• How tonal values influence mood and emotional impact in a painting

• How to assess and adjust tonal values while painting, not as a separate exercise

• Strategies for painting the same subject in both mellow and strong value ranges

• Techniques for loosening your painting style while maintaining structure

• How to interpret landscapes and street scenes independently rather than copying reference material

• How to simplify complex subjects, including buildings, people, animals, and movement

• Greater confidence in making tonal decisions that support expressive outcomes

Suitable for: Intermeadiate - some experience with the basics of watercolour

Equipment and Materials Required: 

Table top easel + Coreflute board to fit 1/4 imperial sheet (or just the board and some prompt to put under)

- 100% cotton Watercolor Paper Rough 1/4 imperial - I use BaoHong - it is the Roughest out of all brands, but Arches will be good too. Saunders is too soft and too smooth.

- Brushes:

Natural Mops, Large 12-14 mm, Medium 10-8mm, I use NEEF and FUUMUUI Natural Mops. Fuumuui makes great quality natural mops at a very affordable price.

Mix fiber Flat, I use NEEF 1 inch and 3/4 inch - from Senior Arts

Old Chinese calligraphy or old mop or old round brush - one that you do not worry to paint roughly with

Round Synthetic with fine point - Escoda Perla #12

Needle or Script fine brush

Other equipment

- Spray Bottle perfume quality nozzle

- Tissues/Kitchen Towels and Tape

- Triangle Palette knife (not round)

Paints:

Holbein: Lavender, Horizon Blue, Cobalt Turquoise Light, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Deep, Jaune Brillant #1, Cadmium Red Light

Daniel Smith: Lunar Black, Alizarin Crimson Permanent

Winsor Newton: Gold Ocher or  Raw Umber, Burnt Sienna or Burnt Umber, Sepia

Zinc White - 100% opaque white - for small highlights

Nina will bring some of the more unusual colour paints to share: paints like Lavender, Jaune Brillant #1, Horizon Blue, Cobalt Turquoise Light (all from Holbein) as they are very unusual and not many artists would have them. She will bring some small tubes for purchase, just in case if any one falls in love with these colors same price as I get them from Seniors - Holbein is usually the most affordable choice - around $15 a tube

Nina will bring Paper $50 a pack for 20 sheets of BaoHong if any one needs (comes to $2.50 per sheet), Spanish spray bottles - so far everyone loved them.

Please bring cash to pay Nina on the day.