Watercolour Workshops in Zermatt

Back in September, I met with the lovely ladies from Manud, to chat about hosting some watercolour workshops in their cozy fusion restaurant in Zermatt. I’d been to a fermentation workshop there before, so knew it was the perfect spot. We decided that the first one would happen during the winter and that was earlier this week! I’d love to tell you all about it.

Manud restaurant

Planning & preparation

I decided that I would aim the first workshop at beginners. Watercolour can be tricky the first time if you don’t get the feel for how the paint flows, blends and works in layers. I also thought that it had to be related in some way to our famous Matterhorn, standing there majestically above us, so a Matterhorn landscape it would be!

Next I ordered some extra materials, to make sure all the students had enough each, and a choice of paper sizes on the day.

Then I did a trial painting, to test how long it took (especially because of drying time between layers - more on that later), and to make sure it fitted in to the one and a half hour session.

On the day, I arrived half an hour before to set up, to find there were ten people on the sign up list. Ten! I couldn’t believe it, I was so happy. Thank you so much again to all of you who came.

My trial landscape painting of the Matterhorn

Watercolour for beginners

I began by explaining the two types of watercolour paint. I usually use pans as these are easy to transport when travelling or hiking in the mountains, but for the workshop we used tubes and individual mixing palettes as it was easier for everyone to choose which colours they wanted, and have multiple people use the same colour.

Everyone practiced wet on dry, wet on wet, and blending techniques before we began the landscape.

Watercolour landscapes

First everyone had to sketch a little scene of five layers, give or take, with the Matterhorn in the background. Then everyone began sketching and erasing, trying to get the exact shape of the Matterhorn. Once I insisted they didn’t have to be so exact with their sketches, just get the general feel for the mountains, they all happily drew their own interpretations, which was so lovely.

If you’ve ever looked at a rolling view of the countryside or mountains, you may have noticed that you can see the layers of the landscape, with the ones at the back seeming hazy and paler, and the ones in the foreground contrasting in a deeper hue.

This is what we recreated with watercolour, using just one colour each. It was so lovely to see which colour everyone chose and how many different ones!

Starting with the furthest layer (in this case, the Matterhorn), we painted a pale wash over the whole layer. Then came the patient part, we had to wait for it to dry before painting the next layer, or they would all blend together and we wouldn’t get the same effect. As each layer dried, we painted the next one with a slightly darker wash, as well as back into the previous layer in certain places to create shadows and a more in depth landscape. We also added in the sky, painting in between the imagined clouds, which were left blank as the white background paper. Lastly, we finished with a couple of trees in the foreground, and it was wonderful to see how differently everyone painted them.

Students painting

Being carefree

The biggest lesson we talked about during the workshop was it's ok to make mistakes. As children we play, experiment and are creative all the time. Then as adults we correct ourselves and get nervous, annoyed, frustrated and disappointed when we make mistakes.

Now l'm not talking about big life mistakes, I'm talking about perceived mistakes.

It's ok to draw the Matterhorn a little wonky, it's ok if the paint isn't quite dry and the colours bleed together. You didn't make a mistake. This workshop was about learning to use a new medium, doing something different, playing & experimenting, taking time out for yourself, and about the relaxed and content feeling you had whilst you painted. Not about it looking exact.

I loved how everyone embraced this (to varying degrees), and finished the session with happy smiling faces!

On a side note, only two people drank from the brush cleaning glasses before we started painting, and thankfully no one after! - Though I’ve definitely made that mistake before and no harm done! 😉

Happy workshop attendees with their finished paintings

New friends

It was a really lovely evening, and honestly went so fast. All the participants said they enjoyed it and felt calm and relaxed. Several said they would come again in the future. Aside from sharing my skills and seeing you enjoy painting with watercolour, my favourite part was connecting people who previously hadn’t met. It’s not easy to make friends as an adult, and unless you’re into après-ski or go to gym classes, there aren’t a ton of opportunities here. This was such a lovely way to bring people together.

There were actually two people there who arrived separately, had known each other for ages, but hadn’t seen each other in years!

Students with their finished landscapes

Would you like to join the next one? Sign up to my mailing list to be notified when the next date is confirmed (hopefully in March). I’d love to see you there.