Winter 2023 Watercolor Mini Series Live and Interactive on Zoom

 A. Michele’s NW Studio Mini Series Live and Interactive on Zoom Starts Feb 1, 2023

2023 Winter Watercolor Mini Series - 4 watercolor classes live and interactive  online - Replays Available 

Wednesdays 6-9pm PST

2/1, 2/8, 2/15, 2/22-2023

Tuition: $160 for 4 classes on Zoom

Payable by Venmo, PayPal, check **

Format and details:

• This is a live online group watercolor class.
• All levels are welcome.
• Live lessons will be recorded and available for replay.
• Among other skills we will be focusing on brushwork, shadows and reflections 
• Each lesson will be approximately 3 hours including a 1 hour offline assignment.
• You will be able to see a close view of the instructor's workspace.
• You will be able to share your work in a private online notice board with other students.
• You will receive a supplemental email each week with a homework assignment.
• All handouts, links and recordings are found in the course portal.

**Enroll now:

Please send $160 for Feb 2023 watercolor mini series (4 weekly classes)

1. Venmo (@Michele-Cooper-49)
2. Paypal (https://www.paypal.me/michelec12)
3. Check to Michele Cooper

Please email me for further assistance michelec12@gmail.com

My Instagram 

https://www.instagram.com/michelecooperart

My Facebook page 

https://www.facebook.com/ArtMicheleCooper

B. Intermediate Watercolor-In person 

A19.23.WI

Michele Cooper

Fridays, January 27 - March 17, 2023 (8 sessions)

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Kirkland Arts Center, Skylight Studio

https://www.kirklandartscenter.org

Intermediate, Ages 14 through adult

$375.00 $337.50(members)

This class is full.

Join the waitlist 

 

And for dessert we have........

And for dessert......

We have pie, of course! With all the talk of Pi Day being today, and the last date of its kind in a century, etc., etc., I unaccountably developed a sudden craving for pie. Evidently I have no resistance to subliminal suggestion.  

It was a close call. I seriously considered getting out my perfect pie crust recipe, the ingredients and my rolling pin. But then you saw how that went last Sunday with the pancakes.

So we got a Bakery pie instead. Labeled "Berry Envy Pie", it has raspberries, marionberries, aronia berries and blueberries. Berry good!

AND I just managed to sketch the French Lavender ice cream before it slid down the pie! You can see the ice cream pre-avalanche in the sketch and post-avalanche in the trophy photo.

This is the back page of my 2015 Sketchbook Project. I have one more sketch to do and then I can send it off!

Sunday painters-Found Still life

"Found still life" usually refers to a composition that you come upon by accident.

I had just finished with my lunch of an avocado with lime and casually put the unused part of the lime up into my kitchen window. Walking away, I glanced back and saw a very good composition. Without rearranging anything, I wondered what it would look like if I brought a chair into the kitchen and sat down to sketch. As I lowered my eye level, the composition got even better. It just so happens that this is getting north light.

Sometimes, everything just works!

Why not try a found still life today? I'm sure there's one just around the corner waiting to be discovered. 

Seattle USk at Lake Union Houseboats

My two pages of sketches for the day

Photo Credit: MKBuike, Red Harp Photography

Here I am (blue jacket, white hat) on the dock outside Mary Lou and Sam's houseboat with Seattle Urban sketchers Peggy, Frank and Jess. See the Seattle USk blog for more photos of the day's outing. BTW, that's my new pared down urban sketch kit on my lap. It worked great this first time around!

An extra treat: Sam took some of us out afterwards on a cruise around the lake in his Lear boat, the "Plug N Play".

A view from Sam's boat

We saw another whole aspect of the houseboat community from the marine viewpoint.
Thank you, Mary Lou and Sam for your generous hospitality.

5th Ave Repair - Sold

"5th Ave Repair" by Michele Cooper
Original watercolor line and wash
Size: 8x10". Sold

I took a walk in Seattle recently to enjoy a beautiful day in May. As I came around the corner, the street was sectioned off with traffic cones and I saw the scene sprinkled with cherry blossom confetti.

I love exploring a busy street scene with line and wash. 

Line Drawing for Spring Blossoms

Here's what's on the easel today. I am about 2/3 of the way through the line work on a line and wash painting.

Yesterday I put a handful of flowers in a glass of water and left it in my kitchen window. I haven't been able to stop looking at it. So, in between the rest of my life this weekend, I plan to see if I can capture the cheerfullness of life during my garden's spring bloom.

Come back for a visit tomorrow, when I plan to do the watercolor work.
Update: Sorry if you have experienced broken image link. Having trouble with uploading images this weekend. Working on it. Soon as I can, I will post the wash stage of this one.

Potpourri

Potpourri
Original Watercolor by Michele Cooper
Size: 11x15"  Price: $200

Here is a loose watercolor of a bowl of potpourri with a dominance of warm color. I love the interplay of light and shadow on the circular shapes and the complementary orange/blue color scheme.

Tulip petal

Fallen Tulip Petal     Sold
ACEO 3.5x2.5"
Original watercolor by Michele Cooper
Price: $30  (free S&H)

When is a tulip petal not like a tulip petal?
When the painting looks nearly like a leaf of radicchio?
Or when the goldfish think it may be one of their own who jumped out of the bowl?
Last night the bouquet of tulips in my studio lost a petal and started me on this unexpected detour from what I thought my day would be like.

Four Red Tulips

"Four Red Tulips"
Original Watercolor by Michele Cooper
Size: 15x22"   Sold

Now I put on "Puccini" and crank up the volume! A 2" flat watercolor brush, the #16 round, and a spray bottle. Petals fall and I'm dancing under the skylight!

Three Pink Tulips

"Three Pink Tulips" sold
Original Watercolor by Michele Cooper
Size: 8x10"  Price: $120

I'm still using line and wash with this series so far, but now becoming more interpretive, less botanical. I wanted this composition to be higher in key and "poetic". I'm listening to Claude Debussy's "Claire de Lune" as I paint.

"Pink Tulip and Shadows"

My goldfish kept me company in the studio today as I began with a contour drawing in ink. I'm keeping it light and using a very fine tip.

I'll work on balancing delicacy with fresh, "fragrant" color.



I plan to use much more color than line in this line and wash watercolor.
So the line cannot dominate.

Fresh!

"Pink Tulip & Shadows" by Michele Cooper
Original watercolor (5x7)  Price: $60

"River Bend" Watercolor

 "River Bend" Original Watercolor by Michele Cooper
 Size: 8"x10"
Price: $125

Inspired by the return of clear skies, sunshine and shadows, I've been sketch hunting around our nearby rivers and rocks.

The second photo shows reference photos and my painting before adding the finishing touches. Sometimes it takes longer to decide on those that it does to paint the rest of the watercolor.

"Fresh Today at Pike Place Market"

"Fresh Today at Pike Place Market"
11x15" Original Watercolor by Michele Cooper

I painted this from sketches and video footage. I like being able to stop the action where it best fits the composition I have in mind.

Rising from the Mist

 "Rising from the Mist"
Original Watercolor Painting by Michele Cooper
Size: 11x15"  Price: $235 Sold

The weather is always changing on the N. Cascades Pass. Sometimes it changes every five minutes. No matter what the season or weather, there is always something beautifully majestic to discover.

Who Ate the Canary?

Who Ate the Canary?
Diptych

"He Said" Original Watercolor ACEO, 3.5x2.5"
"She Said" Original Watercolor ACEO,  3.5x2.5"
Price: $30 each, sold as a diptych

Here's today's pair of watercolor cats in my series of complementary diptychs. Each one complements the other: i.e. in this pair one is dominantly warm, the other cool, one high contrast, the other soft contrast, one masculine, the other feminine, one innocent? the other guilty?

Cat Sketches - Line and Wash

This is half of a page of sketches I did of cats. The large one is pencil and the others are pen, all on 140 lb watercolor paper.  The small ones are diptychs, paintings meant to be viewed as two together. The concept is opposites.

What kind of titles would you give them?
Tune in tomorrow to see the watercolor "wash" part of line & wash. :-)

Packaging and Shipping Framed ACEO

First, I usually don't ship framed artwork. Although I believe my choices are professional and may I say, elegant, I think the collector already has an idea of where they will hang it and what type of frame they want. I could never guess.

Having said that, if the artwork is small enough, I can make an exception, i.e. ACEO and anything up to 8x10" outside measurements, or thereabouts. You can see how I package them in the example here. Another layer of packing fits over the bubble wrap before the box is sealed.
I usually don't ship any artwork larger than this with glass. However, these small sizes, securely wrapped and padded have arrived safely. Take them out of the box and hang on the wall. Instant gratification!

"Coming About"

 "A Quiet Day"
Original Watercolor by Michele Cooper
5"x7"    (Price:  $60 including S&H)

This is the small painting that inspired "Dream of Sailing" and the one below, "Coming About".

They are all inspired by countless trips to the San Juan Islands and memorable sailing experiences.

(Left) "Coming About"
Original Watercolor ATC by Michele Cooper
3.5"x2.5"  (traded)

Watercolor Pea Pod

"Pea Pod"
Original Watercolor sold
7"x5"

More fun with "green".
It never ceases to amaze me how many more colors there are than green in objects that are supposed to be just green.

Note: Artwork purchased here is sold without mat and frame unless otherwise stated.