Painting Trees at Bear Paw Studio

Bear Paw Studio 
Watercolor Painting Workshop 

4/28/12

Painting Spruce Trees

My first experience at conducting a workshop for adults was a very pleasant one, thanks to my six eager and capable students. All being current or retired teachers themselves, they had classroom etiquette down pat, and went to work with a dedication I wasn't expecting. 

Back row:  Marian, Sharon, Sandy, Peg; Front: Michele, Laurie

Peg and Sandy do some warm up brush work by putting some beautiful marks on their paper.

In this 4 hour, beginning level workshop we talked about watercolor materials--paper, brushes, paints--then went on to practice basic strokes and washes, blending colors, and softening edges.

L to R: Laurie, Michele, Peg, Sandy work on mixing lots of water with their pigment to make the paints juicy and flowing.

The studio had plenty of space for six painters to move around and paint comfortably, with the bathroom and water just a few steps away.  We had a break for a quick tour of the studio and lunch in the kitchen downstairs, then back to work for the afternoon session.

Here I start a step by step demo and include some pointers on varying colors, shapes, and edges in a small painting of the spruce trees around Smith Lake.  Man, I look way too serious here!

Everyone's painting was successful, with final paintings all capturing the beauty and personality of the spruce pond and showing each artist's unique interpretation of the scene.  Congratulations to them for taking an important first step on their painting journey--conquering the "I can't paint" jitters!  I hope they all continue to discover the joy painting with watercolor.