New Watercolor Techniques Video!

 

I'm looking forward to teaching a Nature in Watercolor Workshop for Beginners for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.  In preparation for the workshop, I created a short video on exploring watercolor techniques.  

The workshop registration is currently full, but the video is publicly available on my YouTube channel.  I hope you'll check it out, and paint along with me!

If you'd like to join Osher at Carnegie Mellon University to have access to a wide variety of wonderful classes, you can follow this link:

https://www.cmu.edu/osher/about/index.html

Happy Creating!

New Watercolor Swatching Video

I'm looking forward to teaching a Nature in Watercolor Workshop for Beginners for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.  In preparation for the workshop, I created a short video on getting to know your watercolors and brushes through swatching. 

The workshop registration is currently full, but the video is publicly available on my YouTube channel.  I hope you'll check it out, and paint along with me.

If you'd like to join Osher at Carnegie Mellon University to have access to a wide variety of wonderful classes, you can follow this link:

https://www.cmu.edu/osher/about/index.html

Happy Creating!

Book Report: John Lidzey's Watercolour Painting Workshop

A gem from 1995, John Lidzey's Watercolour Workshop has been a great discovery for my watercolor education.

Lidzey walks the reader through basic watercolor instruction and step-by-step projects,

so you learn as you go.

The book is chock-full of inspiration in the form of luscious paintings of simple, everyday scenes.

Lidzey treats everyday places and vignettes with reverence. His romantic paintings make me rethink my habit of painting only nature and landscapes. 

If you're curious about what's included in the workshop, here's the list of contents:

John Lidzey in his home studio.

Though it's been out of print for some time, I found this book online on a used book site for less than $15.  That's an inexpensive workshop! You might look for it in your local library.

I find that books like this one let me dive more deeply into watercolor studies than a quick video would. And there's something peaceful about flipping through pages rather than gazing at a screen. I can take it at my own pace.

I hope you'll find a new-to-you art book to inspire you and help you grow!

Adding Pop to a Watercolor Scene

Earlier this year, I painted these Cosmos blooms as a watercolor class demonstration.  I made a quick  pencil sketch of the flowers and splashed in watercolors, finishing by adding color to the negative space.  I wanted my students to see the steps in creating a watercolor painting.

After class, rather than discard the sketch, I worked on it a bit.  I wanted the loose scene to pop a bit more, so I sketched in areas with my Inktense watercolor pencils.  Touching a wet brush into the Inktense area smoothed the color into a wash, but left the original pencil strokes visible.  

As a finishing touch, I added India ink from my Pentel ink brush pen, and Micron waterproof pen lines to contours I wanted to enhance.  I found an inexpensive frame from Goodwill Industries, and the finished piece now hangs in my home.

Why not try this technique for capturing the beauty of Autumn?!

Watercolor Sketching

During a recent Introduction to Watercolors class demonstration, I sketched a favorite subject -- a feather from one of my wild relations.  The turkey feather's bold contrasts caught my eye, and the adventure of following its contours and shapes captivated me.  I used Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna with a touch of Ultramarine Blue to paint the feather.

A dark background of Ultramarine Blue mixed with a touch of Burnt Umber defined the whites of the turkey feather and popped the whole subject forward.  A sprinkling of table salt added the speckled & frosty look to the washes.