WATERCOLOUR LANDSCAPE WORKSHOP WITH TONY BELOBRAJDIC - WRAP UP

Members had the pleasure of spending a full day painting with Tony, whose fresh and expressive approach to watercolour inspired everyone.  Rather than beginning with detailed pencil sketches, Tony encouraged us to study the subject carefully first, identifying the key shapes, tonal values and focal points before putting brush to paper.

Working with only one brush for most of the day - a Chinese-style brush capable of holding plenty of water and creating beautiful, pointed, marks -Tony demonstrated how simplicity of tools can lead to more expressive and confident paintings.  His philosophy centred on avoiding overworking and unnecessary detail, allowing paintings to retain their spontaneity and energy.

A major focus of the workshop was learning to see and to paint shapes rather than objects.  Tony showed how linking one shape to another and paying attention to strong contrasts between light and dark can create powerful compositions.  He also emphasised the importance of negative shapes — for example, painting the sky around the sails of the Sydney Opera House rather than carefully outlining the sails themselves. Mistakes, he reminded us, are part of the process and often add character and life to a painting.

The morning session focused on a city and river landscape with distant hills. Starting with minimal drawing, everyone worked quickly and confidently,simplifying shapes and limiting detail.  The results were wonderfully varied, with each painting reflecting an individual interpretation and style.

We were also treated to a delicious morning tea provided by Narelle and Catherine, and Tony said the cakes were worth travelling for!

In the afternoon, Tony demonstrated a more complex Sydney Harbour scene featuring the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and boats.  Watching him explain his thought process while building the painting step-by-step was fascinating and insightful.  Some participants chose to paint along, while others simply enjoyed observing the demonstration and absorbing his techniques and ideas.  Throughout the workshop, Tony encouraged us to paint directly with the brush rather than relying on pencil sketches, use a limited palette, simplify complex scenes into strong shapes, make expressive brushstrokes and resist the urge to over-detail.  This approach created paintings that felt fresh, lively and full of atmosphere.  By the end of the workshop, everyone left inspired by Tony’s expressive style and encouraged to focus less on perfection and detail, and more on confidence,observation and enjoyment in the painting process.

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