"Class Art"

What you see here is my form of "homework". This painting is the result of one of my watercolor workshops. Many years ago I taught a drawing and watercolor class on Tuesday nights to first time artists. I would always choose a simple subject to paint and this happens to be one of them. These paintings were usually large scale pieces so that the students in the back of the gallery could see as well. These pieces were painted using a very limited palette as well, I didn't want the students spending a ton of money if they then decided that watercolor painting wasn't their cup of tea. Usually on these types of classes the drop-out rate would be about 50%, but the ones that did finish the training usually stayed true to the medium. Watercolor's are very different from other mediums in the fact that they limit your time that you can work (wet in wet) and they don't lend themselves to making changes after you have paint on paper. In oils or acrylics or other permanent pigment paints, you don't like it you just paint over it, with watercolors it's not that easy. Many times my family has ask me why I am bathing a full sheet of Arches 500 lb. watercolor paper in the master bathtub. With the pressure to get it right the first time comes the spontaneity of things that happen on their own. Sometimes this is a "good" thing and sometimes not. I tend to paint with a dark palette and mix most of my colors from an 8 paint kit. I was taught this way and haven't changed much in 30 years. The artist today could buy any color that they might need, but why? With the right basic color palette you can mix and arrange almost any color. We will be speaking some more about my philosophy in the coming days - not always the right way - but my way. Thanks for joining us and please pass this site on to all of your friends.