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Session One Starts on June 6, 201!

Session One Starts on June 6, 201!

My online workshop, Watercolor Toolbox, starts June 6th!  This workshop is especially for beginner watercolor artists.  Here are some of the things that are covered in this workshop:  how to correctly set up your watercolor palette, which brushes and paper to use, watercolor basics such as how to do a wet-into-wet wash, how to glaze, using value in your paintings.  The final project will be a fun, easy watercolor painting.
This workshop is available online for six weeks so register today with Artful Gathering Online Art Retreat to get the full advantage!

Finishing up our Series Workshop

Finishing up our Series Workshop

We just finished the last class in a fun watercolor series.  During this final class, students tried something new and painted on Masa Paper.  Masa paper is a soft, white, machine-made Japanese paper that is used for printmaking, sumi, marbling as well as painting with watercolors. We found it forgiving and fun to paint on.  We also explored how to use the elements of design in our watercolor paintings.  Here are some photos from our classes:

Exploring Texture with Watercolors

Exploring Texture with Watercolors

Texture is one of the elements of design.  Our last class in this series was exploring different ways to get texture in our paintings.  We made lots of examples.  We used alcohol, pipettes, saran wrap, wax paper, palette knives, gauze and collage.  Each gave a very different look.  It was fun to see what everyone came up with!

Opening Day for Artful Gathering Registration

Opening Day for Artful Gathering Registration

Today, May Day (my favorite day of the year!) is the first day you can register for this wonderful online retreat.  Several years ago my students at CREATE, Irvine, asked why did I not teach watercolor classes online.  Well, the answer was simply that I had never thought about it and wasn’t sure how to do it.  I have now joined with Artful Gathering Online Art Retreat and I am teaching online.
I work all January, February and March filming and editing in my studio, teaching watercolor classes just for this online retreat.  This is my second year doing this and I absolutely love it!  Many of the students that I “met” last year have become my friends.  And one is even going to Orvieto, Italy with me in September to paint (Pat!).  This is a great way to learn new things from the comfort of your home.  You pick the schedule too.  Workshops that you sign up for are available to you 24/7 for 6 weeks.  There are many fun classes to choose from.  Instructors often sign up for classes from other instructors at this online retreat.  I hope you will stop by my “classroom” and say “HI!”
Here are my two classes for this summer:
WATERCOLOR TOOLBOX (just for beginners!)

WATERCOLOR FUN!

Color

Color

This weeks class was all about color another one of the elements of design.   I encourage my students to make color studies and make a color plan for their paintings.  We used the color wheel to pick our colors.  I forgot to take photos so check back next week for class photos.  Here are some photos of my color studies for paintings that I am working on:

The Elements of Design

The Elements of Design

One of my favorite classes to teach is how to use the Elements of Design.  The are the building blocks that make up your painting.  The ones that I like to work with are: Value, Color, Shape, Line, Texture, and Pattern.  In each class we focus on one of the elements and emphasis that element.
Value is a good one the start with.  Value is simply the lightness or darkness of colors.  Using value pens we make small value sketches of our subject.  Here is an example of a value sketch.  Notice that it is just a simple sketch using white, grays and black.  This shows me where I want to emphasis the values in my painting.
Next we paint our painting using one color and just focus on getting lights and darks with that one color.


Here are some photos from our fun value class.

The Treasure Hunt Continues

The Treasure Hunt Continues

The Artful Gathering Online Art Retreat Treasure Hunt continues.  Every week you can collect new words from the teachers blogs.  Grand Prize = one free tuition!  One lucky winner will win my book!

NOTE:  You will have to be registered to have access to the site.  The registration fee is $5 and will give you access to preview all the classes.

A Treasure Hunt!

A Treasure Hunt!

Artful Gathering Online Art Retreat is hosting a blog hop treasure hunt starting today, April 2, 2014!  Today is the first day of the treasure hunt and my blog has one of the secret words you will need to solve the final puzzle.  There are many prizes to win and the grand prize is a free workshop of your choice!  

To learn how the treasure hunt works and to see the prizes please visit Artful Gathering Online Art Retreat.  If you would like to sign up for the NEWSLETTER, you will get weekly updates on where to find the next treasure hunt words.  

This is my second year teaching watercolor classes with this unique online workshop.  You will paint along with me in the comfort of your own home with my personalized videos. 
This year I am teaching two workshops:  Watercolor Toolbox and Watercolor Fun.  Watercolor Toolbox is perfect for someone that wants to start watercolor painting.  Watercolor Fun will take your watercolor painting skills to the next level.So start your treasure hunt here on my blog page.  Look for the secret word.  I hope you have fun and will keep my fingers crossed that you win the free workshop grand prize!