Skill Level Required: Intermediate to Advanced

Workshop Outline:

In two days of demonstrations and discussion, we will explore both the genesis and the completion of paintings in watercolor that are strong, clear, communicative, and that speak with your own authentic artistic voice. 

Design: All art forms have one thing in common — a solid design. Design is the creative process by which the artist decides what elements are included and which are left out to best realize the intent of the painting. 

Intent: Nothing is more important than intent. Why do you choose to paint? What is the purpose of your painting? What is it you want the painting to say, and what do you want your viewers to feel?  

Composition: Once we have a handle on the intent and purpose of our painting, we can begin to arrange the physical shapes used to design our work. Among other things, we will look at the classic rules of composition and when we might want to consider breaking them. Nothing is more crucial than the darks and lights. No amount of technical expertise can salvage a painting with a weak or muddled range of value. My paintings employ three basic values – darks, lights, and mid-tones — to establish dimensionality, depth, and scope as well as drama, and narrative.

Color: Much as we all love color, no color can save a painting that does not have an effective dynamic range of values. We will look at using color as value, the power of complementary colors, and the effectiveness of using color as a conduit for emotional content.

Of course, in the context of the considerations above, we will be looking  at perspective construction, and effective methods of painting skies, water, atmosphere, architecture, landscapes, and the human figure.