North Island College is offering burgeoning artists a chance to paint with a master’s touch this spring.
Internationally known artists Andy Shutse Lou and Clive Powsey are joining North Island College (NIC)’s continuing education team to teach Chinese Brush Painting, and Light and Shade in Watercolour Painting at the Comox Valley Campus this March and April.
Lou’s works have been exhibited and collected around the world.
Born in China, Lou has taught drawing, watercolour painting and Chinese brush painting for many years in Texas and California, as well as at the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria.
He has co-authored three books on brush painting and has been a regular instructor at Alberta’s Summer School of the Visual Arts at Red Deer College since 2001.
Lou’s one-day workshop is a first for NIC.
It is open to anyone interested in Chinese culture. An art background is not required.
The workshop concentrates on flowers and landscapes, the two major categories of Chinese brush painting.
Students will learn about the works of traditional and contemporary Chinese artists and the evolution of brush painting. They’ll discover their own brush-painting style as they learn about ink, colour, texture, aesthetic principles and technical skills through demonstrations, in-class discussions and hands-on practice.
To learn more about Lou’s work, visit his website at www.members.shaw.ca/aalou/Index.html.
Powsey’s watercolour landscapes and figure drawings have appeared in group exhibitions at the International Waters (1991), a joint exhibition of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, the American Watercolour Society and the Royal Watercolour Society.
The winner of numerous awards, his most recent commendations include the D.L. Stevenson Award for Excellence in Watercolour for a painting submitted to the 84th annual Open Water Juried Exhibition at the Leighton Art Centre in Calgary.
Powsey’s course at NIC, Light and Shade in Watercolour Painting, allows students to understand the painting process through still life arrangements, the nude figure and landscape references.
Taught over five weeks, the evening classes start with basic drawing and perspective techniques, followed by watercolour painting techniques.
Students learn how to distinguish local colour from the effects of light and shadow and how to create form and drama in painting.
An inventory of Powsey’s painting and drawing is online at www.clivepowsey.com.
To register for the classes online, go to www.nic.bc.ca/continuingeducation and search for your course using the course code.
For more information, contact Carolyn Kirk-Albert at 250-334-5000 ext. 4602.
— North Island College
