Ink & Watercolor Workshop Round Up

The temperature was hot (35C), and the enthusiasm was high for the Ink & Watercolor Workshops that I delivered through Black Spruce Gallery in early August.

I’m not a novice in the world of leading workshops. I’ve been doing that my entire career. However, I am new to delivering workshops in the world of art. And, in a word, I had a blast!

When participants are eager to learn, it adds so much to the workshop experience. And that was definitely the case with the two groups of enthusiastic artists who took part in these programs.

Each day began with a reading of the book, Ish by Peter Reynolds, which extends an invitation to do your best and let that be enough.

That positive message set the tone for our time together which was filled with info, hands on experiments, insights and laughter from start to finish.

Contour line drawings were the first order of the day – matching the movement of the eye with the movement of the hand and learning to slow down and see.

We experimented with variations in line to add more interest to our drawings. And then we moved on to play with color.

For several of the participants, this was their first experience working with watercolors. For a few, it was a case of dusting off the paints from the back of the closet. And many were somewhere in between.

Together we experimented with mixing pigments the consistency of honey, milk and tea. We practiced washes and glazing.

We explored combining the pigments on the paper – instead of the palette – to create brighter colors and richer textures.

And, probably the most fun of all, we tossed paint and teased out shapes from the happy accidents.

We also played with the Elegant Writer pens – teasing washes from the lines and adding watercolor for accents.

The day ended with a sketch demo where I worked from a photo – choosing a composition – sketching the lines – and tossing and teasing the paints – from start to finish.

Participants described the demo as a fun and relaxing way to wind up the day

One even suggested that next time we should combine the demo with a glass of wine to celebrate the end of a successful workshop! I like the way she thinks!

A very special thanks to Cheryl Tuck Tallon of Black Spruce Gallery, for the invitation to deliver this program. She and her team at BSG handled all the details for promo, registration and set up. And Cheryl was a most generous and welcoming host, providing a warm welcome, a cool fan, plenty of ice cold water on those very hot days, and a tasty lunch and snacks.

PS – I had a terrific time delivering these programs, and would definitely do so again. If you might be interested in taking part in a program sometime in the future, drop me a line and let me know at pat@patkatzart.com. I’m keeping a running list of those who are interested and will be sure to let you know when other workshops are in the works.