Watercolor Crash Course! Sunday, 11/20/11

This is my favorite time of the year.  I love the warm golds and reds of autumn. Beautiful!  This Silver Maple leaf is the subject we will be painting for the Watercolor Crash Course! on Sunday, November 20th, at Auburn University. Beginners and advanced beginners, all supplies furnished. $55./$65 Tuition. Take advantage of the early bird special and register now. www.auburn.edu/cconline.

While weekend workshops have value to students who are seeking to experiment with a medium, learn a few techniques and have fun for an afternoon, they sometimes become frustated with their inability to move beyond this stage. If it is the student’s goal to become an artist who first conceives and then develops and executes their own orignal work, they soon realize they’ve skipped some important lessons along the way. The solution is simply to begin at the beginning; build a strong foundation in drawing, then layer color skills, and as confidence grows, move through intermediate levels and finally challenge oneself with more advanced work.

The Visual Art Certificate Program begins with the foundation of all good paintings, and sculputre and other mediums…Drawing. Drawing is the bedrock of all that follows and it is for this reason CSU has developed a program that emphasizes it’s importance. As a student gains confidence in these skills, they may add color with classes such as Beginning Watercolor, Intermediate Watercolor (Level One:Technique and Level Two: Landscapes), Composition for the Painter and Media Spotlight: Colored Pencils.

Visit columbusstate.edu/CE to learn more.

Stravinsky, line drawing by Picasso

Enhanced House

All things are created twice; first in our mind and then in our medium. It began with a walk on the 4th of July. I saw a red, white and blue house, but the paint was faded and peeling. The whole place was run down. There was a tattered WELCOME flag flying over cracked cement steps and there were no flowers on the trash littered porch.  Artists can see something like this and get very excited, much to the puzzlement of other folks. It is because they see more than what is actually there. They might be inspired by the possibilities. A tweak here, and there, and wha-la….a painting!

   This summer, I’ve taught a class somewhere almost every Saturday; Watercolor Crash Courses! at Auburn, Columbus State and Art Works Gallery, and two new classes; Mother Nature in Watercolor and Drawing Crash Course!

   I’ve been developing the Fine Art Certificate Program that will be launched at CSU in September. Everyone should come to the free presentation of that program, Open House, on September 8 at 7:00pm. I’m looking forward to teaching Drawing Fundamentals and Beginning Watercolor in Sept., Oct., and November.

 “Mother Nature in Watercolors” is a new class I’ve created for beginners who have had some experience mixing colors and want to learn some simple techniques for painting seascapes, trees, sunsets, stormy and clear skies, puffy white coluds, watery reflections, foliage, and other natural elements. Saturday, June 25th, 10:00-3:00, register at ART WORKS in Pine Mountain, 706-663-7778. $65. includes all supplies.

"Half a brain is good, but a whole brain is better", Betty Edwards, author of "Drawing of the Right Side of the Brain"

Brenda Stevens’ “Drawing Crash Course!”….coming to CSU on June 18. This one day workshop promises to sharpen your powers of observation, give you a peaceful right brain experience and surprise your left brain with your natural ability to draw.  http://columbusstate.edu/ce    706-507-8070.  All supplies included.

My birthday was spent  in Savannah and on Tybee Island; two of my favorite places on earth. The fog was so thick on New Year’s Eve, the crowd gathered along Savannah’s Historic Riverwalk could not see the blasting fireworks directly overhead. After midnight, it began to rain and it rained all night. New Year’s Day was cold, yet sunny, and we spent hours that afternoon walking on Tybee Island Beach. Just before sundown, we drove out to the lighthouse, our last stop for the day. An approaching thunderstorm whipped up enormous clouds that reflected the colors of the setting sun. The weather was extreme and the skies were incredible.

Magnolia

One hot afternoon, I was walking in my neighborhood and heard loud buzzing coming from a row of  giant Magnolias.  I walked closer to investigate,  looked down into the curled petals of  large, white blossoms and was surprised to see so many bees in the flower. Their industrious attitude inspired this painting.