Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day

Endless Love

Watercolour

Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg in Manon

A MOMENT OF STILLNESS BY ZOE JAMES-WILLIAMS, WATERCOLOUR

#WATERCOLOURWEDNESDAY

A MOMENT OF STILLNESS BY ZOE JAMES-WILLIAMS

WWW.ZOEJAMESWILLIAMS.COM

Artist Tips, Practice Still Life

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

Always practice something from life, just a little watercolour study every day. Like a pianist practising their scales. I love picking things from the kitchen like onions, tomatoes, whatever is around!!

Watercolour of Xander Parish and Viktoria Tereshkina, Mariinsky

New watercolour of Xander Parish and Viktoria Tereshkina, Mariinsky Ballet, while performing Romeo and Juliet at The Royal Opera House. From the Star Crossed Lovers Series

Watercolour Portrait of Mariinksy Ballet Dancer Xander Parish

Watercolour Portrait of Xander Parish, This is from when I attended dress rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet at The Royal Opera House. I wanted to paint a traditional portrait with a twist. For Xander's cloak I used vintage pages of William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet to symbolise how he superbly encapsulated the role. Xander Parish just received a Britain's National Dance Award for"Outstanding Male Performance". Congratulation Xander smile emoticon
www.zoejameswilliams.com

Start of Spring Term 2015

My Ostreme and Swansea Grand Theatre Art Classes are starting back on January 14th 2015,


I have one space left in Swansea Grand Theatre due to a late cancellation. Please contact me if interested on the email or tel no below.

Ostreme has a waiting list but if you wish to be placed on that please contact me on 
I teach from beginners to more experienced students. All levels welcome

info@zoejameswilliams.com or 01792642164


The art classes are both lively, fun and friendly. You also will be taught drawing and watercolour skills through subject matter including landscape, portraits and still life etc. 

One of our end of term lunches! This was at PA's Mumbles

Student work. The art class takes all levels.

Xander Parish, Starlit Lovers Series 1

 Xander Parish performing in Romeo and Juliet in The Royal Opera House
This is first of a series and I wanted to capture Xander and Viktoria's beautiful chemisty as they first fall in love as Romeo and Juliet. I used a limited palette to create the twilight effect with a blush for the skin tones.

#Starcrossedlovers series no.1 #romeoandjuliet #ballet #xanderparish #ViktoriaTereshkina #Mariinsky #Watercolor #pastels #charcoal #drawing #thebigdraw
Copyright Zoe James-Williams
Check out Xander Parish Website for up to date information on his dancing schedule. Also you can read a great interview in The Telegraph  Xander gave about becoming the the first British Dancer to be invited to enjoy The Mariinsky Ballet Company in St Petersburg.  
You can also follow him on twitter @xanderparish

Art Exhibition Late Turner at Tate Britain on until Jan 25th 2015

Must see exhibition

Late Turner on at Tate Britain until Jan 25th.

The EY Exhibition: Late Turner – Painting Set Free is the first exhibition devoted to the extraordinary work J.M.W. Turner created between 1835 and his death in 1851. Bringing together spectacular works from the UK and abroad, this exhibition celebrates Turner’s astonishing creative flowering in these later years when he produced many of his finest pictures but was also controversial and unjustly misunderstood.

Highlights of the exhibition include such important pictures as Ancient Rome; Agrippina Landing with the Ashes of Germanicus and Modern Rome – Campo Vaccino, rarely reunited since first exhibited together in 1839; The Wreck Buoy1849; and magnificent watercolours like Heidelberg: Sunset c.1840 and the seldom-seen Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland c.1837. 

The show also brings together major series of works including a group of unusual square pictures, casting a light on Turner’s innovative techniques. Newly identified watercolours of a fire at the Tower of London in 1841 are shown with the spectacular painting Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons 1835 and the exhibition concludes with Turner’s last exhibited pictures from 1850, depicting the classical lovers Dido and Aeneas. It is a panoramic survey of a bountiful and significant period of exceptional energy and vigour, maintained despite failing health.By taking a fresh look at Turner’s late works, the exhibition sheds new light on his life and art. Challenging the myths, assumptions and interpretations that have grown around his later work, it reveals a painter as distinguished by the broad scope of his knowledge and imagination as he was by his radical and exploratory techniques, processes and use of materials. As much as he brought renewed energy to the exploration of the social, technological and scientific developments of modern life, in such icons of the machine age as Rain, Steam, and Speed – The Great Western Railway 1844, he remained as deeply engaged with the religious, historical or mythological themes that linked him to the cultural traditions of his era.

John Ruskin’s description of Turner as ‘the greatest of the age’ is brought to life amongst the many large-scale oil paintings, drawings, prints and watercolours on display at The EY Exhibition: Late Turner – Painting Set Free, an unmissable exhibition that will redefine ideas of one of Britain’s greatest and best-loved painters.

Curated by Sam Smiles, Professor of Art History and Visual Culture, Exeter University, with David Blayney Brown, Manton Curator of British Art 1790–1850, Tate Britain and Amy Concannon, Assistant Curator 1790–1850, Tate Britain.

Video about the Turner Exhibition

Painting in progress, The Dying Swan

Painting in progress of Alina Somova, Prima Ballerina with The Mariinsky Ballet Company while performing The Dying Swan. I have used pastel, watercolour, acrylic and washi paper on blue ingres pastel paper. It is far from finished which is why I am just showing a section of it. But you can see the texture of the washi paper on her headdress and tutu. The skin tones have to be worked on but am happier with the hair. The hands also need more detail. 

Wedding Portrait Commission in Watercolour

Just received this picture of a wedding portrait commission I just completed in watercolour for a couple's First Wedding Anniversary. Traditional gift for a First Wedding Anniversary is paper so a painting on watercolour paper is the perfect gift!

 It was lovely to see the painting framed as it was a pleasure to paint.

My wife loves the water colour!!! I can't thank you enough ... the result was fantastic!  James

Albany Gallery Summer Show in Cardiff June 27th- Sept 6th

Summer Show in Albany Gallery, Cardiff 

starts June 27th until Sept 6th

A changing exhibition of work by more than 60 artists including Ceri Auckland Davies, Gwyn Roberts, David Barnes, Jane Corsellis, Zoe James-Williams, Muriel Delahaye, William Selwyn, Sion McIntyre, Nick Holly, Will Roberts and many more.

How to paint clouds and sunsets in watercolour

How to paint clouds and sunsets in watercolour

I am teaching how to paint clouds in watercolour by splitting the lesson into two parts. This week we looked taking out clouds with tissue paper and working into them. Also we looked at sunsets which are notoriously difficult by simplifying them and using a layering technique. 

How to draw still life

Summer Term started off with still life. 

It is so important to study objects in front of you as well as work from photos and other people's paintings. We looked at the different textures and the effect of light on the fruit and vegetables. Also we looked at traditional composition  as well as how other artists such as Georgio Morandi have  gone against convention and placed still life in a straight line for eg. As you can see this really inspired some of the students. I always like to encourage experimentation and pushing the boundaries. Traditional techniques are great as a starting point but don't forget to try out more experimental techniques as well. 

Still Life in a straight line by Georgio Morandi