Upcoming Watercolor Classes With Caroline Buchanan

August 7 – 11 and 14-18, On Location

— from Caroline Buchanan —

Watercolor artist and instructor, Caroline Buchanan, will be teaching three different watercolor classes on Orcas in August. The first two are based at the Olga Community (Energetic) Club and the third is on location.

Too often watercolor artists “lose” their white and flounder in dull mid-tones. Monday and Tuesday, August 7-8, are two days focused on how to save the whites of the watercolor paper to give paintings focus and drama and, in particular, to how to capture the feeling of sunlight with color and value. Observations will be made in surrounding Olga hamlet but the painting will take place on the large tables in the Community Club.

On Thursday and Friday of the same week, same place, the focus is on understanding which pigments to use when — not just blue, but which blue (and why) and how to avoid another fatal mistake of watercolor, that of getting “mud” instead of clear, sparkling paintings. This understanding along with those actively-planned white shapes will contribute to many more satisfactory paintings.

On August 14, 15, 17, and 18, Caroline will lead Watercolor Sketching. In this workshop, she demonstrates different sketching and painting techniques to use while on the go. This is a very useful class for those planning a trip and wanting to journal the trip with illustrations. It also is helpful in learning what things really look like. You will be producing drawings/sketch paintings that can be enjoyed for themselves or used as reference later for larger paintings.

The class meets at different locations each day and often changes locations during the day — farms, forests, the shoreline, flower gardens. The beauty of Orcas is there to be enjoyed — and recorded.

For more information go to www.buchananwatercolors.com (classes). You may call Caroline at 360-376-5509 or email her at watercolors@rockisland.com.