France
Marion Rivolier
Painter and scenographer, Marion Rivolier graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2000. It was there that she discovered scenography — the art of space — a discipline that perfectly complements her work as a painter, in which she creates a dialogue between moving bodies and space. Since then, she has alternated between painting, set design for theater, exhibition scenography, and teaching.
What interests her most is capturing movement and light in the moment. She works directly with the brush, without any preliminary sketch, to quickly capture the atmosphere and colors of a place or an action. She builds an intimate dialogue with her subject to understand its essence and express it through a lively, decisive gesture without the option to revise.
She is an active member of the Urban Sketchers Paris collective, where she is involved in ambitious projects focused on education and social issues (e.g., with Secours Populaire and the Paris La Santé penitentiary center).
In 2020, she published “Capturing the Soul of a Place through Shape and Color in Watercolor” with Eyrolles, a guide based on her artistic practice, translated into English and Spanish. In September 2023, she co-authored with Brigitte Lannaud Levy “Drawing in Museums with Children – 22 On-the-Spot Workshops in Cultural Venues”, also with Eyrolles.
She loves to explore spaces through drawing to understand their essence and significance, a practice she shares through her watercolor workshops held regularly in France and abroad.
Capturing Space Through Colored Values / First Steps in Direct Watercolor
Workshop language: French
Marion Rivolier invites you to explore space through the flow of watercolor, directly with a brush. The goal is to learn how to observe, analyze, interpret, and tell your own story.
We will work directly with a brush, without any preliminary drawing, in a sketchbook. Together we will explore the possibilities of watercolor to compose, frame, experiment with values and color contrasts, paint with emptiness, and learn to make decisive artistic choices.
We’ll learn to approach space using large colorful masses rather than lines and contours. The idea is to be attentive to your subject in order to express its essence quickly, but without rushing.
The goal is not to make a pretty drawing or achieve a perfect result, but rather to experiment, make mistakes, learn from them, and deepen your understanding of gesture, color values, and depth.
Suggested material:
- A watercolor sketchbook, ideally Moleskine A4 landscape (or Hahnemühle Watercolour Book, 200 g/m² with fine grain). Alternatively, A3 loose sheets, cellulose watercolor paper (200 g/m²) — in that case, bring a board for support. Avoid spiral-bound sketchbooks. A6 and A5 formats are not suitable.
- A pan watercolor box with ~12 colors. Recommended brands: White Nights (Nevskaya Palitra) and Schmincke. Suggested colors: Hansa Yellow (211) / Naples Yellow (209) / Golden Yellow (216) / Orange (315) / Scarlet Red (318) / Magenta or Quinacridone Pink (324) / Ruby or Carmine (323) / Bright Blue (509) / Ultramarine or Lake Blue (510) / Indigo (essential) (516) / Middle Green (725) / Sepia (413)
- Three wash brushes: small, medium, large. Suggested: Raphaël (natural hair) "803" in sizes n°3/0, n°1, and n°3 or n°4. Or synthetic brushes like Léonard "2072RO", Outremer series. Do not bring water brushes.
- 4 clips for holding sketchbook pages
- 1 cloth
- 1 folding stool (optional)
- 1 water container + water
