This community watercolour project was a collaboration with Botanical Artist Alicia Salazar and 12 art lovers from Glasgow’s Cranhill community.

From Late Winter to Late Spring 2012, our art sessions included woodland walks, nature study and Botanical drawing workshops where participants developed drawing and painting skills using watercolours, coloured pencils and pen and ink.

“The experience has been very interesting and I’m less ignorant to the fact that there is woodland basically on my doorstep. It has been most enjoyable spending time in the great outdoors – so sad it’s ending.  Joanna and Alicia’s teaching skills are fantastic (could listen to them all day).  I enjoyed going out to the woodlands and using watercolours for the first time. I learned the techniques of mixing paint, layering and looking at twigs and leave from a different perspective.” (Angela)

“I’d  never tried watercolours before and it was an eye opener.  Loved being taught by Alicia and Joanna.  Really enjoyed it and will continue with it.   I enjoyed meeting people with the same interests and learning how to paint with watercolours, looking at trees and learning their names and learning about colours and mixes. I am very happy to have gone on this course. I have learned a lot and will continue to draw with watercolours.” (Denis)

 “It has opened my eyes to what’s around me.  Alicia and Joanna are lovely people – very informative and patient.  I most enjoyed discovering different trees and leaves – I normally wouldn’t notice the details in foliage.  I learned edible leaves and how to apply paint in layers and about shading and seeing light and diluting and mixing colours.”  (Wilma)

“I learned many things from Joanna and Alicia especially how to use colour and brushes.  I really didn’t know before.  I most enjoyed drawing and I especially enjoyed The Botanic Gardens and to see the last of the snowdrops in Castlemilk. I discovered how to work in watercolour which I had never used before especially the technique of first wetting the paper with water and then using colour pigment.  Through painting nature, I learned to see it in very close detail – its beauty and its patterns.” (Zamurad)