New 2020 Summer Series of Live Online Watercolor Classes

I found a lovely spot to paint in a nearby public garden.

Let’s paint on location this summer. I would love to share a few of my favorite spots with you where we can paint together, apart. As we follow official guidelines toward gradual reopening where we live, let’s share the joys of sketching and painting outdoors. Join me live online every 10 days or so as we explore the season with watercolor.

• Live watercolor demo from  Michele Cooper

• Suitable for ALL levels of painters 

• Plenty of Q & A

• Take advantage of the “mobile studio”

• Interact/chat with other attendees

• Paint along with me or paint later

• Send me a photo of your painting and I will critique and showcase in a special video on YouTube!

Register for Workshops

I am running a free live online informal meeting with a brief watercolor demonstration on Wednesday, July 8th at 6 pm PDT.  Wherever you are, join me for this Q&A session about the upcoming summer series of workshops and a free live demo of people walking dogs. To join, please fill out my 2 minute survey.

This online workshop is suitable for painters of any level.  Each session there will be an interactive demonstration/tutorial in Watercolor.  I will go at a slow pace and describe with commentary what I am doing and the techniques I am using.  The commentary will only be in English, and I will try and speak slowly in case I have any attendees where English is not their first language.

All you will need is a good/reliable internet connection, and a headphone or PC speakers to hear me and to hear each other .  If you want to, you'll be able to ask plenty of questions as I go along.  There is a $45.00 USD fee to attend this live session.  It will not be uploaded to YouTube (as a Public Video) or available to anyone apart from the attendees who have paid to watch.  I should be able to send you a link to the recording of the demo afterwards, which only you can see.  

The demo might be an hour to an hour and a half in duration (depends on how many questions/comments I get!).  We will paint at a slow speed and in stages.  So you can paint along with me if you want, or wait until you receive a link to the recording. I suggest that you find a quiet spot outdoors to follow along with the recording.

What you will need (apart from paper and water)

1. See my Sketching Equipment page for suggested on location equipment.
2. Your normal palette of colors (I mainly use, organic vermilion, alizarin crimson, burnt sienna, raw sienna, cerulean blue, cobalt blue, ultramarine blue, aureoline yellow and new gamboge yellow, white paint for highlights).  You don't need to use these colors.

Hope to see you online!

Register

Contact me if you have questions.

Watch my series on “Flooded Fields” ahead of time for tips on painting on location.

Here’s a free series to demonstrate my usual approach, special techniques and methods during a typical outdoor watercolor excursion.

• Flooded fields 1
• Flooded fields 2
• Flooded fields 3

Mark your calendar for the official month-long celebration of watercolor as World Watercolor Month returns in July! Founded in 2016, this is the 5th anniversary, and so I hope you'll help us spread the word! Psssst... also the souvenir shop is open and the prompts are posted! ;-)

Arrival for a three day workshop on Nature Journaling in the NorthCascades

I'm looking forward to meeting my students for a weekend of sketching in the North Cascades.

The bridge across Diablo Dam

During the workshop, my focus will be on my students. When I have time I will draft a few articles, but I'll be posting these after we return.

The back of our classroom as seen from the surrounding path

The beautiful bronze eagles that overlook the amphitheater.

Part of the discovery at North Cascades Environmental Learning Center is the sighting of beautiful wildlife bronzes throughout the property.

Finished another 2-page spread in my Nature Journal on Periscope

I finally finished another two page spread in my nature journal from the Summer Watercolors in the North Cascades workshop that I taught June 16-18. I was hoping to visit a little with any of the participants who might drop in while I broadcast the demonstration of the deer and hummingbird. See the Flickr album here.

This time I used my iPhone and could see if people were logging on as well as any comments while broadcasting. Here's the finished two page spread after adding some narrative to the live demonstration on Periscope today.

The following photos show each stage of development that lead up to the final result.

The additional watercolors and a few headlines on today's periscope.tv/michelecoopart 

I added pencil sketches of the deer to my 9 minute scope from last Wednesday. 

The page began with details about weather and a quick sketch before lunch of all the tech involved to get my presentation up and running. The presentation turned out great. And right on time!

A Forest Discovery

At noon we took our sack lunches on a short trek to Buster Brown field. We spent a wonderful afternoon sketching in the meadow. On the return hike Sylvia and I discovered a bracket fungus growing near a woodpecker hole.

We have some growing on our birch trees, too. I actually saw and heard the northern flicker who made the holes in our tree when he did it.

The fungus in the N. Cascades National Park looked like a set of steps and with the moss covered "porch roof" over the hollow spot, reminded me of a fairy tale house that a tiny gnome might live in.

I added the sketch to my nature journal page for the day along with some swirly gnome-like writing. During lunch I sat on a fallen log, shared by some big black carpenter ants. I'm not sure yet if I'll add them to this spread.

Bracket fungus, lichen and moss share the bark on this tree in the forest.

Faux leather roll up case for watercolor sketch kit

 

Thinking of going on a nature walk in the crisp fall air or the shady forest canopy in summer? Why not take your watercolor sketch kit along?

This faux leather roll up case will hold:

• A waterbrush that carries its own water in the handle
• A disposable fountain pen with water soluble ink
• A wee four color DIY watercolor set in a mint tin
• A #2 mechanical pencil,  .7 mm
• A Sharpie waterproof  fine point grip pen
• A folded blue paper shop towel

*Travel kits available only for registered students at the October 7,8 and 9  North Cascades Fall Getaway Workshop  and the June 16, 17 and 18th North Cascades Summer Workshop. Not available through mail order. I will deliver your order at the workshop on the first day.
Please contact me to order.

*Travel Kit Options

1. Basic Kit includes: 1 canvas or faux leather roll up case, 1  #2 mechanical pencil, .7 mm, and 1 Sharpie waterproof fine point grip pen
2. Basic Kit plus one handmade 4-color watercolor tin
3. Basic Kit, 4-color watercolor tin, plus one disposable fountain pen (water soluble ink)

*Important: Any other items in the photo are display only and not included.(i.e. Leaves, water brush, easel)

My new tiny Pentalic Sketchbook

The University Book Store in Seattle has always been one of my favorite places. When our children were small, I took them upstairs for story time in the childrens' section. It was timed perfectly so that lunchtime was right afterwards. Imagine the swift run through I usually had to do downstairs in the art store!

No such problem while shopping with fellow sketchers last Friday! We ogled the beautiful fountain pens laid out in covered cases like rare jewels, found new supplies that we really didn't need (now on the wish list), and shared the reasons why we were buying our favorites.

3x5" Aqua Journal with my Micron Pen in the elastic holder

A friend told me about these tiny 3x5" Pentalic Aqua Journals, so I got one that day. An elastic brush holder is positioned at the top of the book and is designed to hold a travel brush or pen. The Aqua Journal is fitted with a ribbon marker, elastic band closure and storage pocket in the back of the book.

I have seen fellow artists using the 5x8" Aqua Journals, which will give you a nice sized 5x16" panoramic spread using both sides when open. So far, no results online for these really small 3x5" ones. I have already mentioned the Nature Sketch books (illus.) and recommended them to help my students work on daily sketching. In every instance, I really like the quality, weight and finish of their 130 lb paper. All these sketchbooks open out flat. It suits my direct style of line and wash sketching.

Why, you may ask, am I excited about the smaller size? I want to get over the idea of making a finished painting every time I'm out "sketching". Maybe if it's almost too small to see, I might think of it as merely a sketchbook and simplify my composition. It seems the more room I have on the paper, the more "finished" it appears to want to be. Don't hold your breath, though, I think it's my attitude that needs changing rather than the size of my sketchbook.

Hmmm. Maybe I should only paint things that are 30 miles away. Wait, isn't that a zoom feature on my iPhone camera? I have a pair of binoculars somewhere, don't I?