What you'll learn
- How to establish the major colors and values in the landscape
- How to use watercolor or gouache in layers
- How to add shadows and details with paint
- How to finish the details with mixed media
Requirements
- Beginning art skills
Description
Whether you’re traveling to beautiful landscapes, or just sitting on your own front porch, you’ve probably wanted to capture the natural scenery around you in your sketchbook. Landscapes have always been a favorite subject of artists.
The challenge is to find a way to really make them your own.
So in this class, we’re going to work in either watercolor or gouache-your choice—and then bring in mixed media, in the form of colored pencil, markers, paint pens, or ink.
With tools like these you can make quick, playful scribbles, add layers of texture, bring in highlights and shadows, and make something that’s really fun and has some spirit and some personality to it.
In this class, we’ll focus on:
Discovering your go-to choices for blues and greens, the most common colors you’ll use in most landscapes
How to make choices about what to leave in and what to leave out.
Understanding where to place the horizon line
Distinguishing between the foreground, middle, and background to give a landscape a sense of depth.
Taking a very simple approach to skies in this class, because this time, we’re going to let the land be the star of the show.
Using mark-making with mixed media tools to let your own style shine through
And I’ll show you my favorite trick for getting over that fear of messing up a perfect blank page!
Who this course is for:
- Beginning and intermediate artists
Instructor
I'm the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen books, including The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Plants, and Girl Waits with Gun. I've been a full-time author for twenty years, and in that time my books have sold over a million copies worldwide and been translated into 17 languages.
I love talking to writers and artists, and bonding over the creative process. I started teaching so that I can inspire others to take the leap.
I believe that writing, drawing, and painting are all teachable skills. Forget about talent--it doesn't exist, and you don't need it. With some quality instruction and lots of practice, any of us can make meaningful, honest, and unique art and literature.
When I'm not writing or traveling on book tour, I'm painting and drawing in ink, watercolor, gouache, and oil. Come find me on my website or on Instagram to stay connected.