New! Video Tutorial on DIY Altoids Mini Watercolor Palette

Here's a screen shot from today's live broadcast tutorial: DIY mini Altoids watercolor travel palette. See the replay at Periscope.tv/michelecoopart.

Tips: Follow the baking directions on the Sculpey box for a successful result. Don't forget to let it cool down before inserting the homemade lid liner and squeezing in the watercolors.

Written directions in previous blog post here.

Quick tip live on Periscope

See replay until Friday am on periscope.tv/michelecoopart 

Here's one of my tricks for getting the last crumb of pigment out of a dried up tube of watercolor.

See my video replay on Katch.me/michelecoopart 

Watch Thursday at 4:30pm for tutorial on Altoids mini travel palette, and a quick line and wash demo using my 5 year old DYI set.

The Gloves Come Off!

I found a warm spot on the deck today and the sun felt so good! So I thought I should finally put these three little spring pots together into a nicer bigger vessel. Then I started looking at the shadows and the colors and the shapes and ...the gloves came off! Sorry, but I just want to paint!

Okay, the initial washes are dry and I'm going to finish my sketch and finish my flower potting. Update in a little while.

Update: And then the bees came!

My finished sketch......and now I can finish potting! 

Get ready to make your own tiny Altoids pocket palette

For this week's 4:30 pm Thursday Periscope, I will show you how to make a tiny pocket palette for watercolor sketching. Having a small pallete like this makes it easy to stand while sketching. I use mine all the time when I meet with the Urban Sketchers.

I will use it live to do a quick sketch for you, too. See you Thursday afternoon! Periscope.tv/michelecoopart

So here's a shopping list in case you want to get ready ahead of time:

Make a mini pocket palette with---

• a clean empty Altoids smalls tin (anybody want a mint?)
• Sculpey oven bake Polymer clay
• Wisp *disposable travel toothbrush
• White plastic deli lid
• self stick magnetic strips
• Scissors

Simple 3 color watercolor mixing

Wet in wet live watercolor demo on color mixing via a simple triadic color wheel, then a carrot, then 6-stroke people, then a carrot person! Fun! See the replay by 4:30 pm Friday or on Katch.me

I forgot to make a title so it's called "Untitled".  Heheh. 

1. When it says live, tap-tap-tap the screen to send hearts. Or say hello in the comment bar.
2. If you miss it live, you have 24 hours to watch the replay. You can still tap to send hearts but you won't be able to comment. After 24 hours the broadcast will disappear. 

Periscope.tv/michelecoopart

As time allows, I will upload selected Periscope videos to my YouTube Channel.

Note: If you are experiencing a black screen, but hear comments while watching on your PC or Samsung phone you are not alone. This is a common glitch sometimes associated with the latest Chrome update and/or video resolution. Please search YouTube or the internet help pages for a solution.

Update--Periscope Twig and Ink Demo, the New Trolley

So much fun, drawing with my twig and chatting with everyone! I guess I didn't Katch it properly, so this is going off air tomorrow afternoon. Unti then, you can see the replay and still leave hearts if you like it. Periscope.tv/michelecoopart 

Don't forget to ride free on the new First Hill trolley! Free rides end after Presidents' Day. Saturday will be a grand celebration along the route in the International District tied in with Lunar New Year.

NEWS FLASH! Yes! It did save on Katch.me Here's the link for a replay that does 't expire. https://ktch.tv/78Bq

Note: Periscope and Katch are mobile apps designed for smart phones and tablets. Viewing on your laptop or PC will still work but it will be cropped to look the way a phone would show it. Download the mobile app to get the best experience while viewing.

Live Ink and Wash Demo on Periscope Tomorrow

Let's have some fun with a twig and ink! I will broadcast a quick watercolor demo tomorrow, Thursday at around 4:30 pm. Wondering how to watch?

1. Download the Periscope App on your tablet or smart phone
2. Find me here on Periscope and follow me. (I think you can watch on your laptop or computer, too)
3. When it says live, tap-tap-tap the screen to send hearts. Or say hello in the comment bar.
4. If you miss it live, you have 24 hours to watch the replay. You can still tap to send hearts but you won't be able to comment. After 24 hours the broadcast will disappear. 

Periscope.tv/michelecoopart

Sunny!

Guess what!? The forecast says sunny and zero chance of rain for two days in a row! This creates an emergency situation in the garden.

I saw the red pitchfork handle from the studio doorway and had to capture it before my husband pulls it out of the ground and starts digging up his garden.

As I stalked my subject to get the right angle of light, I spotted some hazelnut shells dug up by the squirrels, a few little green threadlike sprouts and some fresh autumn leaf mulch in the empty pot. Red robins chirped from the trees in the swale and a low buzzing alerted me to the flight of a sleepy hummingbird in the willows. 

(You can see the the skylight on the roof of the studio and the mullioned windows in the doorway if you look all the way back across the garden.) 

FYI:  This pitchfork has been here since December. Shhhh!

Update: 6 stroke Figure on YouTube

Here's one of the spontaneous demonstrations I did Thursday during my live broadcast on Periscope. So many requests for a replay! I found out about an app called Katch.me where you can record your broadcasts. It was too late, though, because mine went off air already.

No worries! I have uploaded my saved recording to YouTube here http://youtu.be/wl1fhBEhuAo

The online chat while doing the live broadcast does not record to my iPad, but I trust you will enjoy the demonstration anyway. And all my "invisible friends"! Give me a thumbs up if you like it!

Live watercolor on Periscope today

If my smart phone works like I want it to, I will broadcast a quick watercolor demo today, Thursday at around 4:30 pm. Wondering how to watch?

1. Download the Periscope App on your tablet or smart phone
2. Find me here on Periscope and follow me. (I think you can watch on your laptop or computer, too)
3. When it says live, tap-tap-tap the screen to send hearts. Or say hello in the comment bar.
4. If you miss it live, you have 24 hours to watch the replay. You can still tap to send hearts but you won't be able to comment. After 24 hours the broadcast will disappear. 

Periscope.tv/michelecoopart

Intro to Watercolor Workshop Announcement

Two Day Watercolor Workshop - Introduction to Watercolor
Saturday & Sunday, Feb 20 and 21, 2016
Open to new students and returning ones. No previous experience necessary. No previous class required. All materials provided for $10 per day.

What's the most fun for creative people? Making art!
After that? Sharing it!

Come experience the beautiful, exciting world of watercolor in a beginning level class with other new students. Your instructor, Michele Cooper, will lead you through two fun-filled days of making your own watercolors. Step by step, you will learn how to use your brush, mix color and become accomplished at Michele's patented "tricks and cheating ways" with watercolor.

This hands-on workshop presents all the basics for the first-time watercolor painter or a great review of color mixing, brushwork, and painting techniques for the out-of-practice painter. You'll learn how to set up your work area and arrange your palette. We'll discuss different types of paint, brushes, and paper. You'll get to compare student and professional grade paint, cold and hot press paper, and different types of brushes. Learn how to do dry brush, wet in wet, flat washes, and graduated washes. Discover how to mix and layer colors and how to mix a complete color wheel from just three colors. Continuous hands-on demonstrations will show techniques first hand. You may purchase your own supplies or buy all supplies from the instructor for $10 per person. 

Open to new students and returning ones. Class size limited/wait list when full
Call in (425) 822-7161, come in, or  register  online.

Venue: Kirkland Arts Center, Kirkland, WA. Skylight Room

Instructor: 

Michele Cooper

Date: Saturday and Sunday, February 20 and 21,  2016 - 10:00am to 4:00pm (with lunch break)

Tuition: $170

All materials provided for a materials fee of $10 per day. Take home the art you make.