Beginners and intermediate painters wanting to work with watercolor or gouache from photos. No prior knowledge of painting or drawing is necessary to do the exercises.

You will learn the exact steps for selecting a good photo, mixing color, drawing your image, and creating a watercolor painting from scratch.

I will give demos, examples, and answer questions, but my goal as an instructor is to give you the craft knowledge to build your own visual language as an artist, rather than teaching you to paint just like me.

No. As of right now, all online class sales are final. If you are unsure about my teaching style I recommend checking out my YouTube Channel or reading my posts on my Newsletter‍ ‍to see if my communication style and vibe is for you before signing up. : )

Yes.

Section 1: Take photos using the techniques shown, and draw composition thumbnails in your sketchbook. (45 min- 1 hr)

Section 2: Complete the color chart we start in class (1-2 hours)

Section 4: Complete the value study we start in class.  (1 hour)

Section 5: Continue working on your full-color painting (1-1.5 Hours)

Students in my live classes get access to the Persistent Bloom Discord Server and a special secret channel where you can get feedback from me and your peers on your work. Plus, you get lifetime access to the Discord with the purchase of a class, so you can keep sharing what you make, building community, and finding persistence in your practice!

Supplies you’ll need for the first session:

⭐️ A cameraphone (iPhone or Android) or a camera without a phone you are comfortable using. 

⭐️ a sketchbook or 3-4 sheets of scrap paper for our assignment

⭐️ a pencil & eraser

⭐️ a pen

⭐️ a place to take notes 

⭐️ your brilliant creativity

Supplies you’ll need for the main class:

you won’t need these supplies until session 2 and I go over common supply questions in a Supplies Lecture.

Can you use different supplies than what you see listed here? Sure! Thats what the color chart in Section 2 is all about.

Art Supplies are expensive BUT purchase what is affordable and accessible for you.

I reccomend Windsor & Newton, Holbein, and Daniel Smith but these are studio quality paints which can be more expensive than student grade. Both will work for this class. You can use a HIMI gouache set, but the colors might do weird things.

As an added note on where to shop, Blick will always be cheaper and better than Amazon when it comes to art supplies. Michaels has incredible coupons when you sign up for their email list. Please don’t shop at Hobby Lobby or Amazon if you can help it.

• 1 Sketchbook (I recommend Talens Art Creation Sketchbooks, as they are the best value, but any sketchbook with mixed media paper will suffice!) Size-wise, I recommend smaller sketchbooks (3.5”x5”) are easier to manage but if you already have one with watercolor paper, stick to that and fill it! Don’t buy something new if you don't have to.

• 1 Enamel tray 

• Brushes - 1 Wash Brush (can be flat or angle shader), 1 angle shader (1/4”), 1 round, and 1 filbert (i use a 6 but you might prefer the 8!) — if you already have brushes you like, bring those.

• 1 6”x8” Watercolor Block. I recommend the one from Fluid. Hot Press will be smooth Cold Press will have texture. Both are OK.

• Cup for paint water (I use an old jam jar, old plastic ice cream containers work great too) 

• Pencil 

• Kneaded Eraser 

• Ruler (a clear one from Diaso is what I use!)

• Air Tight paint container (optional) you can use a simple plastic palette for placing your paint, they will rehydrate just fine!

• Paint Colors (watercolor AND/OR gouache):

  • Light/Lemon Yellow (cadmium free often called hansa yellow)

  • Ultramarine Blue

  • Burnt Umber

  • Cadmium Red Hue (often called naphthol or pyrolle)

  • Quinacridone Magenta

  • Titanium White Gouache (optional) or Frisket (for masking watercolor, and not using white)