Brush/Pigment/Water/Paper
Free, virtual workshop with
Sandy McDermott
September 16, 2023 9-11:30am AK time
What do these tools have in common?They hold the key to better understanding the medium of watercolors!
Join me
"Classes with Sandy are opportunities for exploration, of a particular medium and of nature. She plans her lessons with care from her extensive knowledge and experience." ~Marty
The magic of watercolors is in the interaction
of the brush, pigment, water, and paper variables.The goal is to help you “play”
with these variables in a "purposeful" way.Something I call Purposeful Play!Learn what it feels like to manipulate these variables
and you’re on your way to better handling the medium.Let me help you demystify a "thing" about watercolors!Open to anyone interested in Field Sketching, Nature Journaling, or just sketching/painting with watercolors in general.Limited to 20 seats.Free but registration is required.No experience necessary
Suggested supplies
- A sketchpad that is suitable for dry and/or wet media. Approx. 9 x 12" or a size you enjoy working in. Make sure the paper has a textured surface, not smooth.- 140# cold-press wc paper, 2-3 sheets (optional)- Drawing tool of your choice.- A few watercolor pigments. For a number of reasons, student quality pigments behave very differently than professional quality pigments. To get the most out of this workshop, I highly recommend professional quality.
This is my palette, provided only as a guide:
Cadmium red, Permanent Alizarin, Crimson, French Ultramarine, Cobalt or Cerulean blue, Cadmium Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, Ivory Black, Cadmium Orange, Violet, & Burnt Umber
Winsor & Newton has been my go-to brand for most of my pigments (not all). There are a number of other very reliable brands available. You certainly do not need all of these for the workshop, just a few of your favorite pigments is all you need.- A few different watercolor brushes. Ideally, for this workshop, have a few different "types" of watercolor brushes and a few different sizes to compare their performance side-by-side. Provided as a guide, these are what I use:
Silver Black Velvet squirrel-hair size 16 round has been my go-to for a long time, along with a few Winsor& Newton Sceptre Gold (synthetic blend). I recently started using two 100% synthetic brushes: Princeton Aqua Elite size 16 round & Escoda Prado size 10 round. If you like using a flat or wash brush, bring it.- Two water bowls: one for rinsing your brushes, the other to keep clean for mixing pigments or applying to paper.- Paper towels, rag, or shop towels
Questions? Just ask!
[email protected]
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- Experience with watercolors is not necessary but a wee bit might be helpful.
-The workshop does not cover drawing techniques.
- We will meet over Zoom, link to be provided to registered participants
one day before the workshop.