As I stated in an earlier post, I was blessed to be able to take two art classes this fall. This post will focus on my Monday Watercolor class. I had the great privilege to study the techniques and styles of a watercolor master, Daniel J. Slattery. You can view some of his work in a short video here.
Dan is not only a great artist, he has fabulous taste in music as well (The truth is... we're both big Ed Ames fans)
There were 9 students in this course, some have been taking classes for a couple of years.. For those of us who were new, Dan started us out with the basics. Washes, skies, clouds, trees and grass.
Each class was well planned and organized and if you want to learn to paint in watercolors this is the class for you. Dan even sent us home with a very detailed outline from each class and practice homework if we felt so inclined. "Paint every day." he told me.
Each week we learned a couple new techniques. The third week we worked on wood planks, stone fences, rocks and brick walls as we practice adding textures and layers to our artwork.
Dan and the other artists in our class were always so encouraging and helpful in everything I tried to do.
Every class held a new discovery for me and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenges. I especially enjoyed being with these talented ladies, all amazing artists.
Dee, Diane, Mary, Pam, Velma and Pat.
And they are pretty amazing cooks too. We had quite the smorgasbord at our last class.
Hello Velma!
Some of my homework... Painting a brick wall.
Halfway through the course (the 4th class) it was time to start a painting of our own choosing. I chose a picture I had taken of the light house on Tybee Island in Georgia.
I had always painted "loose" before, so painting something this tight was quite the departure for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Another technique learned.... peeling paint.
We also had technique classes in painting water. Waves, ripples, still water, falling water, etc. For my second painting I chose Multnomah Falls in Oregon. I started it on week seven of our 8 week course, but since time has come for us to move on to the next work assignment I haven't finished it. As soon as I do finish it you know I will post it on here.
Our last technique class was painting snow, fog, mist and water droplets.
Most of these techniques are so simple, but it always amazed me at how much more detailed they made each painting look. I am looking forward to practicing my newly acquired skills and putting them to use in my next paintings.
Like my other Watercolor teacher, Peter X. O'Brien, I just can't say enough good things about Daniel J. Slattery. His artwork is AMAZING!!, and he is one of the nicest and most talented men you will ever meet. I was truly blessed to meet these fine gentlemen and learn to love this art form from their expertise.