Free Zoom—Sketch and Paint Watercolors — December 28

 

Join us Dec. 28, 2022 at 6:30pm PST

Ready to have a fun hour with other creatives painting watercolor? We had a great time last month so let’s do it again! Live online and interactive. Free.

Join me as the days get a little bit longer this Wednesday, Dec 28 at 6:30pm PST

Paint along, ask questions about watercolor materials, methods, etc. Get some unique tips and hacks from experienced artists.

Message me on my Instagram/Facebook or email me (michelec12@gmail.com) with YOUR NAME AND EMAIL to get free access to our live interactive watercolor tutorial on Zoom.

You may leave the comment, “Sketch and paint, yes!” if I already have your email address and I will send you the details and links.

What’s your favorite water soluble pen/ink?

What’s next?

After I get your name and email address, I will send you the Zoom link for Wednesday, 6:30pm PST

You will need:

A stable Wi-Fi connection 

A laptop with webcam, tablet or smart phone

Optional: AirPods, headset

About 5 minutes early on Wednesday, you may join the free Zoom meeting. I will let you in from the waiting room. Make sure your video is on and your audio is off until you want to speak. Smile and wave to greet your art friends. Text where you’re from in the Chat.

For approximately the next hour:

1. Enjoy the demonstration by Michele
2. Paint along (have paper, paint, brushes and water ready)
3. Ask questions about watercolor
4. Try using a water brush. Pentel Japan Aquash Water-Brush set of 3 types   https://a.co/d/5NhBF0d

If you want to paint along you will need:

Two pieces of paper, one mixed media and one 140# CP watercolor 

Water soluble  Ink—either a fountain pen, dip pen, or office type pen

Watercolor paints and brushes (see #4 above)

Just use what you already have. Here are some options. 

My Instagram 

https://www.instagram.com/michelecooperart

My Facebook page 

https://www.facebook.com/ArtMicheleCooper

Can’t wait to see you Wednesday!

ATC or ACEO Tarts

I use a magnetic whiteboard to hold the tiny cards in place.

Dessert anyone? Is it tea time yet? These are the steps for your ATC or ACEO tarts:

#1. Go to your favorite bakery and purchase some fruit tarts. Or something else that you like that is equally yummy. 

#2. Use your .01 black Micron pen to draw them on 2.5 x 3.5" sized 140#CP watercolor paper. You can cut them yourself or buy them ready made.

#3. Use your artists' quality water colors to paint all the strawberries first, then the crusts. Once they are dry, then paint all the blueberries, then the cast shadows. Tips for painting the berries: Vary the colors and make sure to reserve the white paper for the top of the crust and shiny highlights.

Sign them, trade them, eat the tarts. Hmmm. May have to go back for the lemon ones. Oh! Did I say that out loud?

Paint your Closet

Right! The last thing you want to do today, eh, Sunday painters? Well, I don't mean the walls, I mean the shoes, bags, hats, etc.

If you love it enough to wear it, you'll love drawing and painting it. 

About now, you're probably ready to shift the summer stuff out and the fall wardrobe in. As long as you are sorting through things, why not take a break and practice your drawing and painting on the things you like best?

Sunday Painters, Loosen Up!

This could keep you busy for a month of Sundays! I grabbed some random supplies from the studio to play around with today. I have some ideas to give you a bit of practice with color mixing, water ratio, pencils vs paints and more!

Watercolor Techniques in a Nutshell!

1. If you're a bit worried about color, start with working out value, the relative light and dark pattern you need for any sketch or painting. Choose three graphite pencils of varying value. Harder ones are lighter and softer ones are darker. Now one at a time, see if you can make the same light, medium and dark values with each one. Practice crosshatching small 1" square sections on a piece of sketch paper. (Copy paper works, too) You'll have to control the pressure, depending on which pencil you use.

2. Now make similar little squares with your watercolor, mixing Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue to get neutral midtones. You'll have to control the amount of water as well as the balance of warm/cool color to get the results you want.

3. Choose three tubes of watercolor, each color intrinsically light, medium or dark. Practice using the paint almost full strength, choosing a subject suited to these three colors and values. Check your results in black and white or grey scale. The above examples are referenced from a previous challenge and show how loose you can really get!

Tip: Have you been drawing lines around things to make them look more realistic? Unless you want "tighter" paintings that look like coloring book pictures, keep it loose. Squint! Draw general shapes lightly with pencil, then paint with a good pointed brush, using value and color to get the definition you desire. Keep detail to a minimum.

About Sunday Painters posts: Especially during this summer, I have been posting weekly inspirations for those of you who like to play around with art at home. These are not meant to be lesson plans or complete exercises, but just a jump start to get you going. Please let me know if these ideas are giving you a little boost to practice on your own. :)

One Ripe Plum

"Red Plum"    Sold
Original ACEO by Michele Cooper
2.5"x3.5"
Watercolor

I had saved two red plums as still life prospects, but only one survived.

I truly enjoyed spending as much time on this tiny painting as I would have for a larger version. You still have to compose, observe, interpret and execute with the same techniques as always.

"Flooded Fields 3" - Corrective Measures

Here's the third of 3 installments of my new watercolor demonstration video, "Flooded Fields".

It's commonly thought that you can't make corrections in watercolor....once it's on the paper, it's there for good. In Part 3 of my new video, I show you two reasons to change the "finished" painting and the methods you might use to accomplish it. Get ready to use an X-Acto blade and paint over the entire foreground of a "finished" painting.

There are a few tips on color mixing and brushwork, too.

Please let me know what you think. Once you watch it, don't forget to give it a thumbs up if you "like" it. Thanks for watching Parts 1 and 2 and for your kind words and comments.

"Flooded Fields 2" - The Foreground

Here's the second of 3 installments of my new watercolor demonstration video, "Flooded Fields". Please let me know what you think. Once you watch it, don't forget to give it a thumbs up if you "like" it. Thanks for watching Part 1 and for your kind words and comments.

Tomorrow, I will post Part 3.

Free Watercolor Video Lesson

Iris Fields
5x7" Original Watercolor
by Michele Cooper

Foregrounds and value studies seem to be two of the most challenging aspects of painting a watercolor landscape.

This subject was covered in one of my recent classes, but I wanted to connect those two aspects to a finished example. So several days later, long nights and editing out lawnmower sounds and a tiny spider descending into frame from my skylight............and......Voilà! I have one more YouTube demonstration to add to my channel!

You can watch it right here on my blog or click the little rectangle to the right of the YouTube logo in the lower right corner of the video to see full screen here or on YouTube. Let me know what you think, okay?

Free Watercolor Lesson

Original watercolors by Michele Cooper.

Two examples of tulip fields, using the principles of gradation and alternation with reference photo.

For those who are curious about what goes on in my watercolor classes, here is an excerpt from a recent session, with visual aids, demonstrations and sample assignments.

Using Walnut Ink or Liquid Pencil, study lights and darks of your subject.

Select one of your reference photos or sketches. Make one or two eighth sheet watercolor sketches to work out the composition, then use the sketch to make a larger painting.

Have fun, all you Sunday painters!