Watercolorists at work

Starting from outlines to practice fabric shading

My watercolor workshop at Artisan Gallery 218 focused on the figures that bring a painting to life. We painted flowers as a warmup, plenty of little chickens to practice with colors, and animated figures the rest of the time.

The workshop had some beginners and some more experienced painters. I brought the good paper — 140 lb. Arches — so people were very successful. Often beginners think their work is not worthy of the good paper, then get frustrated when they can’t get the results they want. You won’t get the same effect of the techniques I’m demonstrating unless you use the paper I’m using. The 100% cotton paper is soft and absorbs color, and strong enough to lift off or scrub off parts you want to change. You can even work on the back.

I’ve been putting together a 3- or 4-page workbook specific to each workshop, copied at the printers and sewn together on my sewing machine. Each participant can see the supplies we’ll be using and what we’ll be doing in a step-by-step process. They can take the workbook home and continue learning. It’s all about practice! Every time you paint, you learn more.

Pages from the workbooks are tailored to the workshop’s content