Featured in Etsy Treasury

One of my prints has been featured in an Etsy Online Treasury! The treasury is called "The comfort of a cup of tea". The print is called "Garden Teapots".

Classes are starting up soon. If you are local and would like to learn more about my classes and workshops please visit my website:
http://watercolorworksart.com/Classes

Thanks for visiting!

Indiatlantic Art Festival

My husband, Ken, and I participated in the Indiatlantic Art Festival this past weekend. Saturday was chilly and Sunday was windy, but we had a wonderful time!

We talked with lots of people about watercolor painting, upcoming classes and I worked on two paintings during the show.

Here you can see the Coconuts painting I was working on during the show on Saturday and early Sunday morning.

Below are just a few guests looking at the artwork I had on display in the booth.

New classes are starting up in February, and I have a Beginner's Watercolor Workshop on Saturday January 30th. Please visit my website for more details and registration options.

Watercolor Works by Debbie Johnson - Website

Long Time - No See!

So sorry I haven't written in awhile! I have been really busy preparing for the Artworks of Eau Gallie show, that happened this past weekend. What a great time we had! There are so many amazingly talented people in this area it just blows me away! I feel so privileged to be a part of the show. You can see more photos of the show and see the list of award winners at: http://www.brevardartnews.com

 

At left is a miniature painting I just created last week for part of my new miniature series. It is framed in gold and measures (with frame) 6 x 8 inches.

For those of you who are just coming back to Florida from the cold north, classes will resume in January. You can see a brief schedule on my website. http://watercolorworksart.com/Classes

I do have a workshop coming up:
Beginner’s Watercolor Workshop
Saturday, December 12, 2009
From 9 AM – 3:30 PM
At Art & Antiques Studio & Fine Art Gallery
1419 Highland Ave., Eau Gallie Arts District (EGAD) - Across the street from Ralph’s Art Supply
$65.00 – bring a lunch.

This workshop is for those who are new to watercolor. We will set up our palettes together, discuss tools and materials, learn the basic washes and brush strokes, and practice together each step of the way.
In the afternoon, we will practice techniques taught in the morning session, and create a small painting together. Students will develop a a better understanding of the exciting medium of watercolor.

Art supply list on Debbie’s website:
http://watercolorworksart.com/Classes
Pre-registration and payment is required to hold your spot.
Space is limited, so register online or print registration form from website and mail to Debbie.
This would make a great gift for someone who would like to get started in watercolor!

I will be adding a new Blog Lesson just after Thanksgiving. Hope you have a great holiday!
Debbie

Student's Work of Koi Fish

October has been a crazy-busy time for me, so I haven't posted as much as I wanted to, but I felt this was something nice to share.

Mike is one of my winter students. He brought this painting in, which he has worked on in his spare time, so that the class could see it. I thought it was such a nice piece I wanted to share it with you!

Great job, Mike!

Candy Dish Lesson 6

Using the same technique as yesterday, I am painting the shadows for the "Yellow" candies. Because I don't want the candies to turn strange colors, I am glazing the yellow candy shadows with a bit of Burnt Sienna. I am again trying to pay attention to the crisp and soft edges, wetting the edges where I don't want crisp lines. If you would like a more dramatic effect, use a mixture of French Ultramarine Blue and Permanent Alizarin Crimson, very wet, to make a light purple color for the shadows of the yellow candies. Allow these painted shadow areas to dry.

After the shadows are dry, apply a nice, bright, wet glaze of Aureolin Yellow. Cover the shadow areas and the entire yellow candy. If you like, you can drop in a little New Gamboge here and there with a wet-in-wet technique.

Candy Dish Lesson 5

Today I will begin painting the candy-coated peanuts. Yum! As the colors are layered onto these little morsels, they will come to life!!!
First, it is important to understand that if I want to achieve nice dark shadow areas I will have to use relative opposites of colors as underglazes in the shadow areas. Painting a layer of the near-opposite of a color will create a deeper shade of the local color and give the impression of a very dark shadow, and thus provide the illusion of dimension! The relative opposite of the blue in my candy might be Burnt Sienna, so that is what I will use for the shadows in the blue candy. I have decided to change a few of the colors of the candy, to balance things better, so if you do the same, make a mark on your reference photo to help keep things straight.
I am using a coffee-stain of Burnt Sienna to create transparent areas of color where the shadow shapes are. Pay attention to crisp and soft edges. The crisp edges will be painted on the dry paper and left alone. The soft edges will be touched gently with a clean, damp brush. The touching with clean water will soften the edges and make the objects look more dimensional. Allow the Burnt Sienna to dry.
Now use a blue or turquoise color from your palette to glaze over the dried "blue" candies. Paint over the entire candy piece, including the shadow area. Keep this glaze very transparent and wet. Allow this to dry thoroughly.
I have gone back to my shadow colors and used the "charging" technique previously used for the shadow areas to develop the under-parts of the candy dish. Notice the application of paint around and under the candy.

Handiwork - Just for Fun!

I work a shift each week at the cooperative gallery with which I am a member. We are encouraged to bring our work and paint and draw during our shift. A few weeks ago I was prepared to paint, but forgot to bring the actual piece I had started, so I looked around for something to work on while I was there.

Ah, Ha!!! My hands are attached to me and I cannot forget them! So I sketched my hand several times on a 10 by 14 inch sheet of watercolor paper. I played with wet washes and skin tones. What fun. This is a great way for those of you who want to learn to paint people to study shapes, shadows, values and colors for portraiture.

To learn more about the Art and Antique Studio and Fine Art Gallery, a cooperative gallery here in Melbourne, Florida, click here.

I am currently gearing up for classes which start the last week in September and I am getting ready to set a date for a one-day Beginner's Watercolor Workshop. If you are interested in classes please visit my website for more information. The one day workshop will cover all the foundational information, wash techniques and brushwork that you will need to begin painting in watercolor. If you would like to participate in the Saturday workshop please drop me an email so I can notify you of the date, time and location.

New online lesson coming soon!

New Lesson for This Weekend!

This little boat will be the next blog lesson starting this weekend. My level two class just completed it and I think all of their paintings came out great! The biggest part of this lesson was the study of water.
If you would like to paint along with this lesson, go to my etsy online shop and click on the Online Class icon. For $5.00 I will send you the reference photos and the prepared drawing in a pdf file format via email. Then, you can paint along each day as I describe with photos and journaling, how to paint this little picture.
If you can't visit the blog each day, you can visit occasionally (become a Follower!) and print off the archived lessons. If there are past lessons that you would like to try, just go to the etsy shop, as above, and when ordering let me know which lesson you would like.
Have a great holiday weekend!

Scooter and Riley Lesson 14

At this stage of my painting I introduced Sepia to the palette of colors to develop the shadow areas. Sepia is a cool, brown, which creates a nice contrast when using delicate strokes around areas that have been primarily painted in warm browns like Burnt Sienna and VanDyke Brown.

I also used a mixture of Sepia and Perylene Maroon, mixed with a little water for a rich application of deep, transparent color to the areas of black around the face.

If you remember that earlier, we painted these areas with an underpainting of Prussian Blue. To make them appear very dark, almost black, I apply a dark, warm mixture of color. The glazes of cool and warm colors create a beautiful black that does not look dull, but alive.

When painting around the eyes, don't completely cover the Prussian Blue area. Only cover the small areas of deep, intense shadow around the outside edges of the eyes, outer area of the nose, the nostrils, and the deepest shadows around the mouth and corners of the eyes. This will add depth and volume. You'll be surprised at how much detail this creates, just by leaving some of the previous glaze showing!

Lemons Lesson Number 7

Here I have used the French Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna in a very thin, watered down consistency to develop some of the reflections in the glass and added more color to the shadows in the lemons. I used the colors separately and mixed together in various mixtures to add depth to the shadows.

I also used a very thinned out mixture of Aureolin Yellow with a drop of Burnt Sienna to paint the table area. I painted this mixture over the white of the table and over the previously painted shadow area under the plate.

If you would like to paint along with my blog lessons, you can get the photo references and drawings sent to you by visiting my etsy shop, clicking on the Online Lesson icon, and pay a small fee of $5.00. I will then email all the references to you.

Arches Study Workshop 3

Now I am using two blue paints to develop the initial values: French Ultramarine Blue and Prussian Blue. Using my value chart (see the entry two days ago for more on Value Charts), I try to locate the dark values from number 4 through number 6. I use these blue pigments to begin to build the values. I work very wet, use simple, light brushwork, and I try to avoid brushing in the same area with more than one stroke. If I need to add more color I allow it to dry first.

Brevard Watercolor Society Workshop

Last weekend I did a workshop for the Brevard Watercolor Society, here in Melbourne, Florida. What a fun time we had! I demonstrated my technique of painting the shadows first, then glazing colors over the dry paint. Lots of people showed up for a fun day of painting!
We worked from 10 AM to 2 PM, and I shared as many tips and tricks as I could fit in. My next blog lesson will feature the project we worked on.

If you would like to paint along with the lesson, visit my etsy shop (http://watercolorgirl.etsy.com) and for $5.00 I will send you the six page project handouts, including the reference photo and drawing. You will receive these materials in pdf format via email.

Thanks to everyone who showed up for the workshop. I really had a great time and I enjoyed many of my new Florida neighbors.

Student Work: Level 1 Watercolor Class

My Tuesday morning watercolor class has been working on mastering some brush strokes that create both crisp and soft edges. For this project we worked on morning glories from a photo reference that I brought in.

Ruth, Mike and Judy all have worked hard and the results are really beautiful paintings.

My snowbirds are leaving for the summer, so they will finish their pieces when they get home, but I am confident they will turn out great!
Nice work, guys!

Hibiscus Lesson Number 3

Time to mix up a puddle of Aureolin Yellow. Apply this wash to any areas that will catch the light in your piece. I focused on the highlighted areas of the leaves. Vary your edges and values to add interest and depth to this underpainting glaze. The flower should be all warm, red and pink tones, so don't add yellow here. We'll save the flower for pinks. If you add yellow to the flower the next layers will turn orange.

If you would like to see the initial stages of this painting, please visit the previous postings.

Buffy's Painting

Buffy is one of my Level 2 student's here in Melbourne, Florida. I wanted to show off one of the paintings she brought in. I think she did a wonderful job.

She is working hard to implement the techniques we are working on in class. I think she is mastering the washes beautifully, and I really think her composition is a nice one!

Great Job, Buffy!!!

Finished Painting - Geranium in Watercolor!

The finished painting!
To view more of my flower paintings (and other pieces in a variety of topics) visit my website: http://watercolorworksart.com/gallery1.htm.
I'll have to get busy this week and start another painting and I will take photos along the way to show you, once again, how I build a painting.
My classes are set up such that I bring in a drawing and photo reference, and paint with my students. I demonstrate every step of the process so each student can learn how to develop a watercolor painting, and begin to have their own style, once they learn the process. We have lots of fun. Hope you can join us. I also have workshops about once a month. You can register online!
http://watercolorworksart.com/Classes.

Watercolor Classes Begin This Week

My watercolor classes begin this week in Melbourne, Florida! I taught for several years in the Metro Detroit area of Michigan. Since we have moved it has taken a little time to get my classes going, but things are falling into place. Classes are still small right now. From my experience in the past I know they will grow. This is a good time to get in a class with a small number of students.
The photo here is of a past student in one of my Friday Morning Drop-In classes that I held in Michigan. We were working on a very large still life painting. Jim always did such beautiful work!
If you would like to know more about my watercolor and drawing classes you can get more information and even register online at: http://watercolorworksart.com/classes. Hope to see you soon.