David Webb
My teaching involves drawing, composition, understanding the importance of tonal values and the techniques required to paint successfully with watercolour. As its name implies, watercolour is a very fluid medium. It is transparent and relies on the whiteness of the paper to shine through a series of washes built up from light to dark.
I first picked up a watercolour brush when I was in my mid-teens, after finding a Winsor & Newton enamel palette at a jumble sale.
After working for twenty years as an illustrator, mainly of natural history subjects, I decided to change direction after being inspired by the watercolours of artists such as Edward Wesson, George Seago and Sir William Russell Flint. I love the looseness, fluidity and transparency of their clean watercolour washes and how you can say so much with a sweep of a brush over the paper.
My subject matter now is mainly landscape and seascape, although I still paint animals from time to time. I am inspired by light and how it can transform a seemingly ordinary scene into something that deserves a second look. Working with a limited palette I sketch and paint outdoors as much as I can, and my courses at the St Ives School are a combination of onsite and studio work. I am a great believer in demonstrating to my students the techniques that I have learned over the years.
When not teaching I like to paint for exhibitions. This year I had my work accepted for the open exhibition of the Royal Institute of painters in Watercolours and the St Ives Society of Artists.
What our students say
I have attended classes in watercolour painting before and not many of them were as instructive as this one. The teacher was very friendly, he made sure we made progress, and he was full of little hints and ideas on how to improve each individual painting. We spent delightful mornings sketching St Ives and then moved to the studio to turn the sketches into watercolour paintings. The studio was spacious, brightly lit by daylight, and fitted with everything we needed. We were supplied with all the materials and were allowed to keep the sketchbook. Friendly staff members cared for coffee and tea and requests of material. Our small group was very delightful and thanks to our teacher all our individual levels of skills and knowledge were merged into one instructive and yet easy and friendly weekend.
Ideal way to learn new painting skills. Able to replay parts to fully understand the explanation and practice the skills.
[David] was very good at explaining and demonstrating. He had a gentle way of providing support and direction.
David was absolutely brilliant – the techniques were so easy to follow – I just need to practice practice practice!
I loved the session, it was brilliant! Thank you for an inspiring and easy to follow process
Thanks for the session with David Webb. I painted along and really enjoyed the washes.
The school is very atmospheric and the staff were delightful, highly recommend courses at the School. It’s a fantastic way to relax and learn new skills.”
I really enjoyed the session, David is a great tutor as well as watercolourist.
Courses with David Webb
Cornwall's Rugged Coast in Watercolour (rec)
Online Pre-recorded - Watercolour - Seascapes
Active sort order:
Course ID: a004J00000Qpt1G
Active Instance: a024J00000Dyky1QAB, 11-Feb-2027
Discover how to capture the beauty and intensity of Cornwall's dramatic coastline in dynamic watercolour.
| £30 - 1.5hrs | Book |
Coves, Rocks + Cliffs in Watercolour
Online Pre-recorded - Watercolour - Landscape
Active sort order:
Course ID: a004J00000DDM6A
Active Instance: a024J00000Bdy9NQAR, 11-Feb-2027
Learn how to use watercolour to depict coves, rocks and cliffs with artist David Webb in this webinar recording. Learn to look at a scene with an artist’s eye and choose which elements are important and which can be left out.
| £30 - 2.5 hr | Book |
Getting Started with Watercolour Painting
Online Pre-recorded - Watercolour - Beginners
Active sort order:
Course ID: a00Nz00000MGlJF
Active Instance: a02Nz00000Eh66wIAB, 06-Jan-2027
Over 5 hours of tuition in bite-sized segments, to give you a thorough grounding in painting with watercolours. Learn essential techniques that will help you to avoid common mistakes in watercolour painting.
| £145 | Book |