As the leaves turn into marvelous shades of crimson and gold, I am already preparing for my watercolor painting workshop in Limoux, France, June 6-20, 2026! I am looking through my portfolio of watercolor journals dating back to 1991 and picking out my favorite page designs, subjects to paint, techniques that I have made up and techniques that I have learned from fellow artists. My journals are my art muse. Perhaps you have seen one of my articles that I have written for Art Journaling or Somerset Studio?
There is one spot left in my Watercolor Painting Workshop in Limoux, France, 2026! Would you like to learn more about my workshop? For more information, email me.
So often my students and artist friends ask me to teach again in France because they would like to join me. Here is your chance! I am teaching a watercolor workshop Provence, France, May 11 – 17, 2019. If you have been considering joining me, I want to encourage you to sign up for this workshop with French Escapade. Because I want to spend more time painting in my studio, this is the last workshop that I have planned for quite a while. I will miss painting in Europe but look forward to studio time.
I am very excited about this French watercolor workshop! The time of year is a spectacular time to be in the south of France. The fields will be covered with wild, red poppies. The town that we are staying in is charming and scenic. It is the source of an impressive spring that gushes from the ground and creates a beautiful, emerald-green river.
What I love about Provence, is that every village nearby is all unique and delightful in very individual ways. It is easy to get to picturesque towns such as Gordes, St. Remy de Provence, or Les Baux, with just a short drive. We will spend the whole day painting, exploring, and creating fun memories in our sketchbooks. Our evenings will be relaxing, tasting French wine and dining on delicious treats from the local markets. French Escapade will take very good care of us!
Look at these colorful photos below of Provence, France. Each one could be a beautiful, painted scene in our watercolor journals!
Red Poppies in Provence
Colorful Shop
Window and Shadows
Lavender Fields
Baby Olive trees
Flowers on the River
I have some very fun ideas and lesson plans for us to paint in our watercolor art journals.
Wildflowers and Poppies
Painting in Provence, France
Poppies in France
Watercolor Art Journals
Fun Art Supplies
Inside my Watercolor Journal – St. Remy de Provence
Treat yourself to a very special, fun, relaxing time painting in Provence, France! There are just a couple spots still available for this fabulous trip.
I wanted to show you how I go from photo, to sketch, to painting using my watercolor journal.
Here are some pages from my Italy journal. I drew the sketch from a quaint street scene in Oriveto, Italy. Here is a photo of my inspiration:
Photo of Orvieto Street
After I took this photo, I used it to create a sketch. I showed my students an easy way to use a drawing program on my tablet. This helped to get the perspective correct. It also helped to get the placement of the buildings. Here is my sketch:
Sketch of Orvieto Street
From this sketch, I was able to create a watercolor painting in my journal. Here is the journal painting:
Artist Jacqueline Newbold enjoys painting life in color! Her color-filled watercolor paintings capture a moment in time. She loves to paint the sunlight on red poppies, the glow of a Tuscan village perched on a mountaintop, and the brilliance of a dramatic Oregon Cascade Mountain sunset. Jacqueline loves to share her passion for watercolor painting and mixed-media art journaling by teaching in her Art in My Heart private studio, the Art Unraveled Art Retreats in Phoenix, the Art & Soul Retreats in Portland, Oregon, France, and Italy. She teaches private watercolor lessons, classes, and workshops in her private art studio in Bend, Oregon.
“Art journaling to me is not so much about making art but recording my life in a colorful way. My journals are a place where I can experiment with different art mediums, sort things out, write about my life, my sorrows, my adventures, and travels. I play with color, sketch, doodle, take notes, make lists, add inspiring quotes and write about my day. The process is fun, and I love when the result surprises me.”
We had a lot of fun spending time painting in our watercolor art journals while in Orvieto, Italy. We painted scenes from the beautiful convent gardens and palace where we stayed, as well as the nooks and quaint corners of the town itself. One day we went wine tasting at a vineyard that had a gorgeous view of Orvieto. There were white roses blooming everywhere! This was a beautiful, relaxing day of painting as well!
Art journaling to me is not so much about making art but recording my life in a colorful way. My journals are a place where I can experiment with different art mediums, sort things out, write about my life, my sorrows, my adventures and travels. I play with color, sketch, doodle, take notes, make lists, add inspiring quotes and write about my day. The process is fun, and I love when the result surprises me. I have written articles for Cloth Paper Scissor and the Art Journaling magazines about using watercolor and mixed-media together.
I am with a very enthusiastic and fun group of artistic ladies: painting, wine tasting, exploring, laughing, and learning about the rich history of Orvieto Italy. Yesterday we had a fantastic tour of the very impressive Duomo. The labyrinth of caves underneath protects it from earthquakes. They provided shelter during war times.
Jacqueline Newbold’s Next Watercolor Painting Trip
Join me on my next wonderful watercolor, art, and painting workshop in France. We will be on an artistic journey of creative expression! Our home base will be a charming medieval village in Provence, as we have fun painting and creating art in our watercolor journals.
You will learn to incorporate watercolor and mixed-media techniques. We will spend a magical time together exploring the area, rich with sights, sounds, and colors – all wonderful inspiration for developing your artistic eye. Our host will be frenchescapade.com. They will provide many delicious meals cooked by a French chef and transportation to painting sites. We will stay in a charming hotel with a little river meandering through the garden. It also has an outside swimming pool, a hot tub, and a riverside terrace bar all surrounded by impressive mountains. This workshop is available for all levels – beginners and experienced artists are all invited to come along on this delightful trip!
The Creative Process, A Peak inside my Empty Watercolor Journal
Do you enjoy the anticipation of an upcoming vacation or trip? Do you practice packing your suitcase with your favorite clothes? To me the journey begins way before walking out the door, suitcase in hand. I love preparing my art supplies for my travels. Planning for my upcoming trip, Painting the Italian light, Orvieto, Italy. My smaller journal is a Strathmore 400 Field Watercolor Sketchbook. For years I have had a love/hate relationship with the Strathmore field book. Every other piece of (crappy) watercolor page alternates with a piece of drawing paper. This drawing paper is where my mixed-media imagination soars and I have probably filled at least 20 of these journals with art from my travels.
Pages in my journal prepared for the trip
First page in my new journal with inspiring quote.
in order to compensate for the not so great watercolor paper I tear my Strathmore Sketchbook apart. I kept the metal coil and the black hard covers. I filled it with Arches 140 paper alternating with Strathmore 400 series drawing paper. I prepared the drawing papers with colorful backgrounds and finished the first page with an inspiring quote for my upcoming trip: “To Paint…. to travel…. the combine the two is to celebrate life” (Jack Brouwer).
Artists can get a little bogged down once in awhile and need the inspiration to paint
Sometimes artists need the inspiration to paint. Maybe it is because we tend to paint the same subject matter, use the same color scheme, or feel like we are not growing in our art. One way to get a jump start on the new day ahead is to browse through the latest issue of the Art Journaling magazine. It is always filled with colorful, edgy, creative art. I am excited to say that my Baja Journal is featured in the latest issue of Art Journaling!
I was published in Art Journaling
This is the cover of the new Art Journaling magazine published by Stampington and Co. I love seeing the brightly colored orange flower against the powder blue background. It is so simply painted and with the added splashes of white paint, the artist makes it look loose and lively. Why not try painting this flower to get you started on a colorful day! Simple, colorful and fun.
Another idea for finding inspiration is to paint along with an art DVD. I have several available for purchase with the online shop at the Artful Gathering the online art retreat. Check it out!
Whitespace is a thing of beauty. When I first started painting, I was told to cover every square inch of the paper with paint. Now I realize that was not the best advice. Not placing color on every square inch of your paper leaves some places for things to sparkle—just like the sunlight! Your white paper is your “white paint” so you always want to save some light!
Wherever the paper is wet you can bet things are going to spread. Color will travel when the paper is wet, even slightly damp. Use this to your advantage! And learn when to stop. There comes a time when the paper has started to be drier than your brush. This is when it is time to set your brush down and go make yourself some tea 🙂
Even when a paper appears dry, it may be damp enough for colors to not stay put which can cause color to feather out. Paper that feels “cool” to the top of your index finger still has moisture in it, so if you want that color to stay exactly in its place, let the paper dry until it feels the same temp as areas that have not been wetted at all before applying color.
I am very happy to announce that I am teaching again in Orvieto, Italy, September 11 – 16, 2018! Consider joining me on this wonderful journey. Painting in Italy is offered through Adventure in Italy. I have very fond memories of our painting workshop in 2014 creating colorful memories in our watercolor journals. We had so much fun exploring Orvieto – what great food, wonderful wine tasting, friendly people and it was so inspiring to be surrounded by beautiful Italian art! If you have taken a workshop with Adventures in Italy before, you will get a 10% discount for being a returning artist.
Let’s paint together!
Here are a few photos of our joyous time together:
Colorful Spring! Spring makes me think of colorful flowers, bright blue skies and birds singing in the yard. What a wonderful time to do some watercolor painting! I have been busy writing magazine articles to inspire you to fill your world with color! Grab your watercolor supplies and join me as I walk you through some fun painting ideas. Watch for my upcoming articles in these magazines:
