Home Scholars Watercolor Class

The Home Scholars Academy invited me to teach a watercolor class this past fall. We had a great time learning watercolor techniques and practicing our skills while painting a variety of subjects, especially landscapes and seascapes. 

First we learned various watercolor techniques and brush stroke skills while painting a technique sheet, which we would use for future reference.

We then worked on building a good composition, mixing the right colors, masking, adding details, and so forth. 




We selected most of our painting subjects from reference photos.

All of our paintings were completed on one-half sheet (6" x 9 ") watercolor paper taped to a paint board. 

The most challenging part may have been knowing when the painting is done.

Here are just a few of these students' beautiful watercolor paintings:

Birch Trees

 

More Trees

Landscapes

Seascapes

These students ranged in age from 8 to 14 years old. 

Raccoons!

We made raccoons!


This is such a fun mixed media project, and I've decided it's one of my very favorites!


Aren't they the cutest little rascals?

First we look at our resource of photos of raccoons and we determine where the raccoon will be in the composition. Will he be sitting on a log or climbing a tree? We sketch two lines to represent the tree shape. 

Using a soft pencil or vine charcoal, we start with a quick step-by-step lesson on how to sketch the raccoon's face. 

We select our oil pastel palette: black, grays, browns, tans, and yellows; and we fill in our raccoons with furry texture, using the photos as a guide. 




Then we add cute little eyes, a shiny black nose, sharp little claws, and other details.

Next, we add the bark to the tree and a soft watercolor background.








For an added 3-D effect, we cut out some autumn leaves from crayon rubbings, fold them slightly, and glue them to the artwork. 

My sample

Autumn Leaves

Patterned Autumn Leaves, always a favorite autumn art project at the Blackfoot Art center.


To create this project, we first examined different types and shapes of leaves. 


Then we sketched the shape of our favorite leaf lightly in pencil, and went over it again with a black Sharpie, creating several spaces within the leaf. 


We filled in the spaces with patterns and shapes in many colors, and drew at least two more outlines around the leaf. This can be done with crayons or oil pastels.

Finally we painted over our leaves and the background with watercolor, allowing the crayon to "pop" through. 




The kids always love trying crayon wax or oil pastel resist watercolors: it surprises them every time!

Autumn Still Life

These autumn-themed still life paintings were created with tempera on watercolor paper. 








Still life is a traditional art subject that allows artists of any skill level to improve observation and drawing skills. 







Artists mix shades, tints, and tones of color to create highlights, shadows, textures, and fine details. 









Students of any age can paint a still life, even preschoolers. These students ranged from age 8 to 15. 














Best of all, still life objects never move! They just remain in place, patiently waiting to become a beautiful work of art.

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

My sample