Upcoming Workshops
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Carolyn Lord, April 20-22, 2023
(Thursday, Friday & Saturday) 3-day workshop is a plein air class. Each day will be outdoor at a different location near Arcadia, California. Her demo will be live at the April 19, 2023 meeting. 
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Tom Francesconi, May 15, 17, &19, 2023
(Monday, Wednesday, & Friday) 3- day online watercolor workshop
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Check out the latest Art & the Artist Newsletter for flyers and registration forms.
To sign up for a workshop, mail in a printout of the flyer to the enclosed address. (No online registration.)
Scroll down for more workshop details. Cick here for a look at some of our previous workshops. |
New pricing for online workshops ($230 MVAL members/$260 non-members) |
Important: This workshop is for all levels of painters. Students should have a familiarity with drawing, composition, and plein air painting in any medium. Space is limited. Carolyn Lord - Plein Air Workshop – Water Media Workshop
This 3-day workshop by renowned watercolorist Carolyn Lord will begin indoors, with presentations on how to organize the watercolor palette; pigment quality; etc. On the first day, after lunch, we will go outside in the garden for a painting demonstration with ideas on drawing and composition; painting strategies; interpreting complex motifs; importance of silhouettes; division between light and shadow. The second day will be in the garden and the workshop attendees will paint all day, while the instructor provides individualized attention. The third day is in the garden, with attendees painting in the morning and receiving individualized attention. After lunch there will be a final painting demonstration. Carolyn has taken atelier drawing classes and has done some painting in oils, so she is prepared to explain her concepts to artists who are new to watercolor painting. Take the variable Spring weather into account –wear the appropriate clothes, hats, gloves for protection from the sun. Carolyn’s presentation to MVAL members prior to the workshop will be on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 7:30 PM – 9 PM. This talk may be attended on-site or through Zoom. Detailed information for this presentation will be sent to MVAL members amd registered workshop attendees. In this talk, Carolyn will cover composition, color, values, with numerous examples of her drawings, watercolors, and oils. There will be no demo. |
Important: This workshop is for all levels of painters. Students should have a familiarity with drawing, composition, and plein air painting in any medium. Space is limited. Tom Francesconi, Painting Fresh and Expressive Watercolors Emphasis of this workshop will be on creating stronger paintings through a better understanding of value relationships, color, and design. Tom will share his thoughts about these topics and how they can play a more meaningful role in our paintings. During the workshop, Tom will share specifics of how he creates loose, interpretive watercolors that entertain and delight the eyes. Painted examples will support the information being discussed. Tom endeavors to create a workshop atmosphere that is relaxed with a focus on exploration and discovery. Subjects for this workshop may include a landscape, urban scene, water scene and the figure. Each morning begins with a discussion about the day’s topic, followed by a full demonstration where Tom always encourages lots of questions. Afternoons are reserved for student painting time during which Tom will be available for guidance and questions. Every day will end with a class critique. Bring your smile. | ||||||||
Previous Workshops - 2022/2023
George Politis, Live from Greece – Water Media Workshop
George Politis will teach watercolor and watermedia in this 3-day workshop. You will learn to see and find a subject (often far from the obvious). Through George’s thinking process and technique, this workshop aims to boost creativity by finding inspirational ideas. Various subjects might include:
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Alison Watt, Just Add Water – Water Media Workshop
This workshop is designed to help you explore different water media to expand your painting possibilities. By adding a few new materials and techniques to our toolbox, we’ll loosen up and add elements of drama and surprise to our paintings. Using the water media materials, we will explore techniques which include using wet-in-wet (washes and flow), mixing media (watercolor, inks, gouache) splattering, spraying, using resist, mark making with oil pastel, watercolor Pencil, crayon, and India ink, printing, collage, and texture. Day 1 The Way of Water: working with water to create that gorgeous first layer. Subjects will be: Plant Material (fresh or from photos: leaves, flowers, berries, seeds), Landscape (from photo of your choice). Day 2 Building dramatic layers: working back into the paintings we prepared yesterday, we will explore resist, splattering, spraying, and mark making. Final layers will involve adding glazes, dark values and gouache to paint out negative spaces. Day 3 Pushing into abstraction: from a starter image of your choice we will use all of the techniques of the first two days, as well as printing and collage, and texture to move towards abstraction. |
Previous Workshops - 2021/2022
Janet Rogers
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Linda Kemp,
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Dale Laitinen,
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Richard Scott,
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Calvin Liang,
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Kimberly Michael,
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Workshops - September 2017 to August 2021
Pete Morris,
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Keiko Tanabe,
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JoAnn Formia, April 23 & 30, 2021
JoAnn Formia, Creative Abstract Painting in Watercolor
JoAnn wants to share her love of watercolor and abstract painting with you by revealing her skill in both areas. An alternate way of creating a successful abstract painting will be presented, using a limited palette, a combination of soft and hard edges, and line work (calligraphy) if needed. On the first day, we will prepare two paintings for use on the second Friday. http://joannformia.com/ Among many accolades, she is beginning her 16th year serving on the Watercolor West Board of Directors. |
Joe Cibere, March 19–21, 2020
Joe Cibere, Innovative Water Media
In this workshop, Joe will teach his secret of good paintings through demonstrations and hands-on instructions. We’ll learn about the value of values and how to loosen up. We'll learn a new way to paint that will cure your mid-tone crisis and get you to that next level by learning a process that will take the guesswork out of your next painting and give you the confidence that watercolor demands. Taking advantage of a low-tech masking technique, you'll be able to loosen your paintings and become a more expressive artist. 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. https://www.joeciberewatercolors.com/ |
Fealing Lin, January 2021
Fealing Lin, Transparent Watercolor Portraiture & Figure
January 2021 (March 2020 cancelled due to COVID-19) Although portrait painting can be very intimidating, Fealing will teach you how to relax and enjoy the process as you discover the spontaneity and uniqueness to watercolor. You will learn how to capture the quality of light. You will achieve a level of transparency with your images and develop an understanding of head architecture that will give you the confidence to take on even the most challenging portraits. Award winning watercolorist, Fealing combines semi-abstract strokes and impressionistic concepts to elicit life and movement in her portrait and figure paintings. There will be daily lecture, demo and exercises. Fealing will assist and critique student’s works, and allow the students to work on their own pace. During this workshop, learn how value and temperature change, as well as how to use transparent glazing to allow the glow of the paper to shine through. By balancing colors and weaving lights and darks, you will achieve painterly and successful paintings. She will spend time in the workshop discussing the value and essentials of a good drawing, although the focus will be on painting. www.fealingwater.com/home |
Julie Crouch, October 2020
Julie Crouch, Negative Painting with Watercolor October 2020 via ZOOM Learning to paint negative shapes (in other words, the spaces around and between the positive shapes in your painting) is the quickest way to take your watercolor painting to the next level. This fun workshop will help you understand what to look for to paint negative shapes and how to create depth in your paintings. Julie’s demonstrations and exercises for you to practice will reinforce what you’ve learned. You will be amazed when objects “magically” appear as you learn to paint what is NOT the subject of your painting. In this online workshop hosted live on Zoom, you will be able to view the other students in the class on your screen (smartphone, iPad or computer) as well as having a bird’s eye view of Julie’s demonstrations. The workshop is being held on 2 Fridays. Take advantage of the week between the two sessions to practice what you learned and come to the second session armed with your questions for Julie. New to ZOOM? No worries! We will hold a brief INTRO TO ZOOM session during the week prior to the workshop. |
Margaret Danielak, January 2020
Margaret Danielak, The Art of Selling Art
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Kathleen Scoggin, October 2019
Kathleen Scoggin Watercolor Abstracts October 2019 You will learn how to use Composition and Design to plan a strong painting. We will use line, shape, color, value and texture to make your paintings exciting. Step by step instructions will be given for a no fail abstract with lots of WOW FACTOR. kathleenscoggin.com |
Julie Crouch, May 2019
Julie Crouch...An Organizing Approach to Painting in Watercolor May 2019 Have you ever approached a clean white piece of watercolor paper, wondering "Where should I begin?" After years of classes and workshops, Julie realized that she needed a way to synthesize the information her instructors had so generously imparted so that her brain wasn't bombarding her with all of the disparate bits as she painted. juliecrouchart.com |
Rïse Parberry, February 2019
Risë Parberry, Granular Landscape Inspiration February 2019 “Create art with a bold, experimental attitude by learning to capitalize on the synergy of quality watercolor paper and sedimentary pigments influenced by gravity.” For more information on Risë Parberry’s methods and artwork, check out her site riseparberryart.com |
Jan Wright, September 2018
Jan Wright, Triplex Water Media September 2018 Jan Wright's "Triplex" painting process in water media is used to develop textures that can't be obtained by any other method, resulting in award-winning paintings. This multi-step process adds visual dimensional texture to your artwork. The results are unusual and provide endless possibilities for creative expression. www.jan-wright.com |
Soon Y. Warren, October 2017
Soon Y. Warren October 2017 The Author of Painting Vibrant Watercolors Discover the Magic of Light, Color and Contrast, Soon Y. Warren presents her technique for using glazing and washes to capture the sparkle of glass. A signature member of the NWS, AWS, among other watercolor societies, she is a full-time artist, teacher and workshop instructor nationally and internationally. www.soonwarren.com |