Visual Arts: Wild & Wondrous Explorations in Watercolor

Watercolor is a highly versatile, vibrant and endlessly creative medium to work in.  Learn how to tame its wild and wondrous qualities in this weekly workshop that will explore basic painting skills in washes, dry brush, composition, color theory and mixing, masking and a variety of alternative techniques to bring your artistic visions to life.  Examples of what we will paint together include:

• Organic still-life, such as fall leaves, rocks and gemstones (shape, value contrast, dry brush)
• Alluring landscapes (washes, glazing, lifting techniques, atmospheric perspective)
• Abstract compositions and playful patterns (color relations, dry brush, wet-on-wet)
• Loose and lovely florals, succulents & leaves (transparency layers, water blossoms)

This workshop is perfect for the beginner who has never touched the medium, as well as intermediate and advanced artists who would like to learn new techniques, improve and refresh existing skills, and be challenged to develop an individual style in their work. You will learn from live demonstrations and practical exercises in each class, accompanied by pre-recorded timelapse and video demonstrations for repeat viewing. 

This workshop is the perfect way to make new friends with artists from around the world who share your passion for painting. An ideal enhancement to your current artistic practice and school curriculum, or college application portfolio.

Weekly Class Schedule

Class is held on Mondays from 3-4 pm PDT/PST.  A sample schedule of each session is below:

• 5-10 minutes – Introduction of topic (e.g., washes, dry brush, composition)
• 10 minutes – Live demonstration of technique
• 20-30 minutes – Students practice along with quick, successive exercises
• 10-15 minutes – Share each other’s work and discuss

After the first class, there will be prompts for students to continue practicing techniques throughout the week posted to the course Padlet resource board.  Sessions 2-6 will start with a review of student work.

Find the full schedule here.

Meet Your Faculty

Cristie Scott has painted in watercolor for twenty years and continues to find new and exciting ways to push the boundaries of the medium. She is the Manager of Parks Exhibition Center, Idyllwild Arts Foundation’s campus gallery, and teaches Art Fundamentals to 9th and 10th grade students at Idyllwild Arts Academy. Cristie holds a BA in studio art from the University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, WA) and MA in visual arts administration, with a concentration in nonprofit management from New York University-Steinhardt (NYC). She has studied painting en plein air at the Marchutz School of Fine Arts (Aix-en-Provence, France) and contemporary art practices and dialogue at ArtMill (Czech Republic)

Prior to her current role as gallery manager, Cristie supported the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program as coordinator to the Native Arts and adult arts programs (summers 2006-’08 & 2010). She served as the Executive Director of the Durango Arts Center (Durango, CO) for four years, as well as the City of Durango’s Public Arts Commission for eight years, including four years as chairwoman. She enjoys all aspects of arts engagement, especially introducing the wild and wondrous qualities of watercolor to students of all ages!

What You Will Need

You will need to purchase supplies (including brushes, a palette, and watercolor pigments) for this class. Find the full materials list here.

You will also need:

• Good internet connection 
• Any electronic device that has access to the internet (phone, tablet, computer, iPod, etc.) 
• Make sure your device is charged before class begins

If you have never used Zoom, check out this Zoom tutorial.