Through his workshops and international art retreats, he invites students and educators alike to loosen control, trust the process, and find joy in playing. Rooted in his training in interior architecture and stage design, Paul’s artistic language is richly layered and highly choregraphed. His lines weave and wander, while bursts of colour dance across the surface—gestural, spontaneous yet deliberate. Each piece reveals itself slowly, like a performance built in acts, where structure and improvisation coexist in quiet tension.
​A Daniel Smith brand ambassador and dedicated Urban Sketcher, Paul currently serves on the organization’s Advisory Board, continuing to shape and contribute to a global community of sketchers. ​

“What interests me lately and what I’m planning on talking about is the brush stroke.” This I have studied in the most peculiar of ways - through 45 years of Classical Japanese brushwork. It’s peculiar because  I am not Japanese nor do I come from a family with any Asian members. Also, I do not know Japanese well and I was not interested in learning it. Yet I have completely immersed myself in a very ancient and complex form of writing - Shodo: the Way of the Brush. ​​
My first teachers were Zen monks, priests and a master martial artist or two. From there I met more Zen monks, priests and martial artists and by this time I was traveling often to Japan and meeting more priests and martial artists and artists as well. And so my orientation has much to do with energy and how to bring the energy of the universe through my body and out through the brush. 
Much later I studied with Japanese calligraphers in a very formal and different way. During my husband’s illness, I would take the train to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles for classes every week. It was through this class that I became a member of one of the largest Japanese Shodo organizations and for many years I traveled in this way to class and I would send my work every month to Japan for grading. Ultimately I was awarded a Godan certificate (5th degree black belt) in Shodo (to be ranked in Shodo, one must train in the five traditional forms of brushwork), and a Nidan certificate (2nd degree black belt) in a very exotic form of brushwork called Kana (initially used by women because in the old days - the days of the Tale of the Genji - they were not allowed to write in the other scripts.)  
And so I have a rather unique perspective on Japanese Shodo which I just call Zen Brush; it is at once wild, and it is also very formal and controlled. I use all this training in my practice. “

Carmen Daugherty is an avid watercolorist and urban sketcher. Since she retired from teaching elementary school students in 2019, she has been able to devote most of her time to her daily art practice. When she is not outside plein air sketching with friends, she is in her studio painting in watercolor or sketching in her sketchbook journal. She has studied with Urban Sketchers Stephanie Bower, Shari Blaukopf, and Suhita Shirodkar and watercolor artists Brenda Swenson, Richard Scott and Julie Crouch.  Carmen’s artwork can be viewed on Instagram at www.instagram.com/carmenldaugherty

Carmen’s plein air paintings have been juried into the Laguna Plein Air Painters association and her watercolor florals have won awards at Mid Valley Arts League and South Bay Watercolor Society. 

Carmen is excited to share her sketchbooks with you all! She will be presenting a slide show of the different ways she uses sketchbooks. She will demonstrate a quick sketching technique and she will share her outdoor sketching kit. ​

December 17 meeting - In person/Zoom Demonstration by Joe Cibere - Via Zoom
Joe Cibere is signature member of the National Watercolor Society and his painting style demonstrates his love of nature and wilderness. His “abstract realism” paintings integrate strong design and balance with a sense of illusion. ​
www.joeciberewatercolors.com/ 
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​He has appeared in “Watercolor Magazine” and in the International Artists book “The Watercolor Sky and Cloud Techniques of 23 International Artists”. He is also in the new book “Splash 20” and the February 2019 issue of “Watercolor Artist” magazine. His studio is at Studio Channel Islands, Room R5 in Old Town Camarillo, CA.
 
“The challenge is to know when to stop and let the medium take over. That’s why the most successful paintings seem almost effortless,” Joe asserts. “I always look forward to interacting with art patrons and other artists for feedback about the creative process & affirm that visual expression is one of life’s greatest joys.