Summer is my absolute, most favorite time to be a watercolor artist. The light, flowers, greenery – all the natural world is beautiful to explore, see, study and paint. I will teach and encourage a small group of "budding" artists to watercolor paint plein air (outside) and with still life using flowers, greenery, rocks, basically anything they find in my garden that intrigues them. They each will have a watercolor sketchbook that I will provided to use both on their lesson days and to take home with them and continue the practice of observing, drawing and watercolor painting. At the end of their summer lessons, they will have a body of work in their sketchbooks to be proud of and that will encourage them to keep working on their art all year long.
This is a small classroom setting – only 6 students. Some may think individual lessons are primo and but I personally have found that I have grown the most as an artist learning watercolors with other artists. We will learn everything from how to observe a subject matter to using pencil, brush and paint to represent objects accurately. All along I encourage my art students to try new things, be okay with mistakes, and to trust that the creative process is more about learning than creating a final piece of art. I have been told over the years that painting in watercolors is hard because you don't have much control. But I've found that the surprises that come from this relative lack of control are what makes watercolor so beautiful and exciting.
watercolor by Amy Woods
The watercolor light filled classroom. Photo by MCK Designs - Krissy McArthur