This was the second homework assignment for the last class. The idea was to draw a bunch of circles and lines over a landscape and use different styles or techniques inside each shape. I tried a bunch of stuff and didn’t worry too much about the final painting.
This was my inspo pic:
The final in-class assignment was to complete a still life of objects we brought ourselves. I brought peppers.
She was really pushing me to expand colors and contrast, including in the shadows. For example, she said quite definitively “daylight is blue” and led me towards using blue in the green pepper. And she wanted me to use purple (yellow’s complement) for shadows on the yellow one. And finally, she talked me through how to get a deeper orange by adding red, rather than it’s complement (blue) which just makes it muddier.
I feel I am learning new things from this rather demanding artist/teacher. (This wiry little woman is a bit intense, but she knows what she’s talking about!) She ran the “bootcamp” in two levels. I participated at the beginner level, but I feel I now have the confidence to join the second level. I definitely won’t be the best artist in that group, but I’m confident I could keep up.
I got pretty good feedback on my colorful still life, although the drill sergeant didn’t love the white table they were sitting on. She wanted me to have done more with the shadows. (Geez lady, I thought this assignment was about the colorful objects!) She did say that that was an “advanced” concept and that my painting was “very good.”
We then moved on to learning all the different ways you can manipulate watercolor paints to achieve different effects. Everything from rubbing alcohol to wax to salt to Saran Wrap to sandpaper was covered. It was a very long demonstration and the British lady was absolutely driving everyone nuts with her incessant questions and interruptions. I’m shocked that the drill sergeant hasn’t snapped at her yet.
This was our in-class assignment.
There are TWO major homework assignments. I just finished the first one:
She had us create these circles and lines in class and the assignment was to add black ink to certain shapes, and then fill in the rest with mini landscapes and other techniques we learned in class, trying to keep the intensity/values balanced with the pure black.
This took many hours. And I still have another very difficult assignment to do by Tuesday.
The drill sergeant has revealed a distinct bias towards realism. She feels that abstract artists who can’t draw and paint accurately aren’t “real artists.” (She’s OK with abstract art by artists who have proven themselves able to draw and paint realistically.)
Truth be told, I’m enjoying the challenge and it’s keeping my mind off other problems and concerns.
This week our watercolor drill sergeant made us copy a colorful abstract collage. The point was to recreate each color as accurately as possible. It was really hard!
I did OK on the color matching but got disapproval for using “subpar” paper which created all those streaks. (I didn’t want to waste my expensive paper on what was essentially an exercise.)
The homework was to paint a still life comprised of colorful objects, getting the colors as close as possible. Again, hard.
Here’s my homework. I’m pretty happy with it although the yellow is not right. I think I went too light on the yellow because I knew I was going to paint those flowers over it. (It would’ve been too much work to mask out that whole flower area. )
Here’s what I was looking at—a collection of objects from China and Japan that I happened to have in my house.
In other exciting news: I decided to move all my painting and drawing stuff out of the dining room and into an extra bedroom upstairs. So I guess I have a “studio” now.
Cute bedroom with nice light that nobody ever used
This is not ideal, but it’s better than the dining room. That card table I’m painting on was my parents. I think it was made in like 1960. It has some sort of faux leather covering that smells moldy. I need to get rid of the daybed and get a new, larger table.
I’m now embarking on Year 2 of my watercolor “journey” 😉
After two sessions of “loosen up with watercolors,” I signed up for something called “watercolor bootcamp.” I probably should’ve taken this class first, but the description scared me off. It’s a watercolor techniques class with heavy emphasis on color theory, color mixing, etc. We spent a whole three-hour class mixing greys. There is homework. There are in-class critiques of the homework.
The very first homework assignment was to do a monotone (one color) painting of three objects with a clear light source.
I used Payne’s Gray.
For this week, we had to do a “complementary color” painting. So two colors that sit across from each other on a color wheel. (Red/Green; Yellow/Purple; or Blue/Orange)
I used only Rose (Red) and Phthalo Green to paint these hydrangeas.
I didn’t spring for all the expensive professional-grade paints that are on the syllabus. (There’s a syllabus!) I’m using what I have and will buy new stuff as needed. Jury is out on whether I’m going to like this class. It’s a bit intense so far. Bootcamp.
1.) Set-up the coffee the night before so you only have to press start in the morning.
2.) Pre-made, roll out pie crusts, specifically these:
3.) If a British lady sits next to you on Day 1 of an adult watercolor class and announces to everyone that she has ADHD and then demands so much attention from the teacher and others that you feel like you’re being pranked, move your seat for the next class.
I’ve been enjoying participating in the arts (a lifelong love) more than ever, now that I’m retired from paid employment.
I took my first watercolor classes at a lovely community arts center in the fall of 2025 and spring of 2026. I was asked (as all students were) to submit something for an end-of-year student art show. I did not win a prize, but I got to see my painting up on the gallery wall and mingle with lots of other students at the opening reception. Also, I figured out which teacher I want to learn from next.
All photos by Gregory Ciccarelli.
The theme of the Student Summer Showcase is S³: A Moment of Reflection, which was described like this: “We are experiencing difficult times with heightened division and misunderstanding, and we believe that art is the great connector. Art helps us take a moment to be introspective, muse about our personal mission, express feelings and emotions that can’t be described in words. S³: A Moment of Reflection means to give our community a space to come together and reflect on our personal journeys as student artists, community members, and human beings.”
My husband and me checking out the art
A friend I met in class and me looking at my piece (top right)
My friend and her piece
Some of the abstract pieces were really great
There were ceramics too
There was art on two floors
Me and my piece: a portrait of my granddaughter at 9 months old
The piece they’re looking at here is titled “Have You Seen My Glasses?” 😂 It won a prize.
The Grand Prize Winner is an oil painting called “Waiting” which is very cool. Reading the judge’s comments, you can see how a good title can truly impact a viewer’s understanding of a piece.
“Martha Owen’s painting, Waiting, attracted me immediately. It seemed to radiate moonlight and mystery. It suggested a story that the viewer had to create. The power and simplicity of the stark, tight composition added to the drama. I enjoyed the fresh vision and originality of the subject matter. All the visual elements of the painting worked together to reinforce a feeling of emptiness, stillness and longing, capped off by the title.”
The judge fully acknowledged that art is subjective. She said she chose pieces that spoke to her.
I’ll definitely take another class here next year.
The whole thing felt supportive and not competitive.
I’m struggling with the idea of painting “loose” vs control. The teacher I have now at the community arts center (Sandra) is all about getting all your colors down early. A “color story” she calls it. She doesn’t care if they all bleed into each other. I think I need to paint bigger in her class to get the most out of it. This one is only 5×7 inches. If you paint loose and small with watercolors, there’s a decent chance you just get a mess.
Warning: This is likely going to be a boring post to anyone but me.
Also, don’t you hate it when people say they’re on a “journey” of any kind? My husband and I were joking that I’d much rather be on a “watercolor journey“ than a “knee replacement journey.” His journey is so much more painful than mine!
As I mentioned, I decided not to continue with another session of the paint-a-long class with Diane because it felt too prescriptive. Still, I wanted to continue learning in a class setting, so I ended up enrolling in another session of “Loosen Up With Watercolors” with Sandra (my first teacher) at the fancier, more expensive community arts center. The classrooms are much nicer there—real art studios with big tables, lots of light, and sinks.
The only problem is that Sandra gives practically no formal instruction. She considers herself your “coach” rather than your teacher, so you have to come up with your subjects yourself. She circles the room giving each person individual guidance. This is honestly hard on the total beginners. They have no idea where to start.
I spent a lot of the first class of this term struggling with my materials. I had purchased tube paints for the paint-a-long class and they’re a different brand from my old pan paints. I decided I liked working from the pan better, so tried to match up the tube colors to refill my half empty pans. Some of the colors had different names for the exact same shade.
I trashed the actual painting I worked on in favor of color identification. I think I have a better idea of what I’ve got now.
I don’t actually have “Opera Rose” in either of my sets. Sandra gave me some of hers. (That’s a color I might want to buy.)
Sandra made a big deal about investing in professional-level paints (this is new—last time she emphasized good paper), which I have not as yet done. I have two “student/hobbyist” level paint sets: Winsor & Newton Cotman pan set ($65) and Royal & Langnickel Essentials tube set ($25). I’m worried that the Royal & Langnickel paints are low quality, but whatever…I’m no Winslow Homer. I’m going to keep using them for now.
I did buy one little tube of professional-level Winsor & Newton Payne’s Grey ($15) and refilled my pan with it. It’s definitely a stronger pigment. A tiny bit goes a long way. Also, the consistency is different. It’s more like honey or syrup and takes longer to harden in your pan. Maybe my strategy will be to replace my current colors with professional-level colors, as needed.
Oh, and thank you to everyone who weighed in on my Artistic Dilemma. I decided to leave the police/ICE officers unpainted, mainly because I kind of liked them unpainted and didn’t trust myself to paint them monochromatically in a way that I liked better. (And once you’ve painted something, it’s hard to undo it.) So here’s what I submitted to the “Art for Democracy” contest:
I’m calling it “Woman in the Teal Bathrobe, Minneapolis 2026”
OK, now I have go back and get my husband at the Physical Terrorist Therapist office. He still can’t drive himself anywhere.
OK, last farm animal from my 5-week paint-along class and it’s not a baby! It’s a full-grown cock 😜
The teacher asked me point blank if I plan to return for the next session, which was awkward. I mean…I had some fun and learned a few things, but this paint-along-with-the-teacher style class is not really for me. I asked her to “please keep me on the mailing list.” Maybe I’ll return if she chooses a subject I really want help with, like sunsets.
Thank you to my very awesome WordPress blog friends who have patiently looked at all of my BFAs.
🙏🏼
By the way, “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” is one of my granddaughter’s favorite songs and I absolutely love singing it with her. It’s fun to take a long pause before you sing the next animal’s name. It adds drama and excitement!
Next week is the last week of my paint-a-long class. It’s been fun, but I don’t think I’ll take the class next session. I prefer to choose my own subjects.
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