Aurora Spain Demo

Watercolour on Canvas

Friday 9th August 2024

Aurora Spain offered to demonstrate the materials and processes she uses to be able to paint with watercolour on canvas. She is a professional artist who lives near Windsor and she belongs to the Windsor Artists Collective. On her website she explains : “‘My paintings are a constant exploration of both new and old techniques. I transfer my learning and practices into demonstrations, workshops and teaching. There is always a sense of exploration and excitement.’

Aurora began by talking about some of her artwork that she had displayed around the room. It is clear she likes bold designs with lots of different textures. For instance in the painting “Midnight Trees” she has used tissue paper to give texture and interest to the trees, then coated with water colour ground before continuing to paint them.

Aurora turned her painting over to reveal that it had a plywood backing, this could be MDF which would work equally well. The backing is fixed to the canvas with screws but she stressed it is important to use gummed tape to cover the screws and make it tidy and professional. Good nylon chord and decent D-rings should be used as well.

This painting is called “Himalayan Poppies” and it is framed without glass. She uses Easy Frame on line for frames and mounts because they are very quick and reliable. https://www.easyframe.co.uk. Aurora never puts her paintings under glass. Glass tends to get broken and she thinks it is not necessary and instead she uses a cold wax medium to protect her paintings.

Jacquard’s Dorland’s Wax Medium is a translucent mixture of resin and pure beeswax which can be used as a protecting, waterproof varnish. Aurora puts it on a radiator in the winter to soften it enough to apply to the painting with a lint free cloth. This will seal the watercolour and when it is buffed up, usually a day or so after application, it will have a slight sheen.

Aurora often goes to Windsor Great Park and finds lots of inspiration there for her work. This is called “Acer Trees” and is another example of watercolour on canvas. On close inspection there is some gilding and metallic paint which works well in low light at night although it is not really visible here.

During the course of the evening Aurora talked about colour and texture. Many years of experimentation has led to her distinct style: bold forms, vibrant colours and sculptural textures. It takes time to create one of her paintings and so she will demonstrate her techniques but she will not be able to complete a painting.

“The Fall” is a large mixed media painting. The tips of some of the leaves have metallic watercolour paint mixed with watercolour ground. Aurora explained that she had used glassine paper to create the effect that can be seen in the middle photo. Glassine paper is often used to wrap pastels or to protect paintings and artwork. Aurora cut out some glassine paper shapes and laid them on top of the wet watercolour wash until it dried. She then peeled the glassine off and was left with this unusual effect. She advised people to experiment with glassine themselves.

Tonight Aurora is going to work on another tree painting. She has pre-prepared a canvas. She has painted White Titanium Watercolour Ground all over it. She likes to use a hake paint brush to do this. She showed everyone the difference between the White Titanium and the Pearlescent White Watercolour Ground.

It is possible to stick the tissue paper directly onto the wet ground but it is preferable to use Binder Medium or PVA glue. Aurora took some tissue paper and placed it along the branches of the trees she had left bare for this demonstration. Then she ought to let it dry before painting over it with Pearlescent Ground however for the sake of the demo she is going to continue without waiting.

This is the preliminary plan for the painting. Aurora likes to sketch out what she is intending to do before she gets to work on the actual canvas. While she waits for the pearlescent branches to dry a little she decides to paint the background using mainly Daniel Smith watercolours. She likes to use a large palette together with a colour chart that she has created so that she can lay the palette on the chart and know which colour is where even if they have become mixed during the course of painting.

She has chosen to start with Manganese Blue to do a light wash behind the trees. She uses a pipette to add a little water to the paint. She also uses a spray bottle to revive her colours in her palette or to help the paint move over the canvas.

She always tests out her colour on a sheet of paper before applying it to the canvas. Everyone knows that watercolour dries lighter than it was when applied. Aurora was asked how she gets her depth of colour in her paintings and she said she does numerous glazes. It is essential to let each wash dry before adding new colour otherwise the paint mixes and is no longer pure. Clearly this is a time consuming process.

Finally, Aurora uses a watercolour by Daniel Smith called “Moonglow” to paint some of the hollows in the tissue paper. She used a No8 sword-shaped watercolour brush to paint the light grey bark on the tree. Time was quickly running out and she could take the painting no further. She had certainly provided lots of information about the techniques and materials she uses to create her unique works of art.

With grateful thanks to Aurora Spain for being the first artist to demonstrate to Frimley & Camberley Society of Arts in the new location of Deepcut Community Centre. For more information about Aurora’s work and the classes and workshops she runs please see her website: https://auroraspainart.com.
or find her on Instagram: auroraspainaurora_artist

Write Up by Carole Head