About

It is said that “The sky is the eye of any landscape painting.” But painting skies in watercolor can feel intimidating, especially if you're still getting comfortable with the medium and its unpredictability.

The good news? Skies are perfect for focused practice. Once you build confidence in judging paint consistency and experiment with different lighting, times of day, and cloud shapes, painting skies becomes far less daunting.

In this four-part intensive watercolor course, you'll learn how to control paint consistency to achieve smooth transitions and soft edges. You'll also explore foundational techniques for painting various cloud types and lighting conditions, so you’ll feel prepared to paint any sky you encounter.

In the first session, you'll paint a sky with silhouetted clouds using the techniques you've learned and, in the second session, you'll learn how to paint voluminous clouds using both wet-on-wet and negative painting techniques. Then, you'll paint a sunset sky composed of both voluminous and thin clouds.

Details

Skill level: No prior experience in drawing or paint is required. However, any prior experience with drawing and the watercolor medium will help enhance the outcome of your final painting. If you're a seasoned watercolor painter, this will still be an engaging class, to help you dive deep and strengthen your skills. 

Details

• A $10 materials fee, included in the cost of the class, covers all the watercolor paper you'll need. 
• You need to bring: 
  • Brushes: 1 large round brush of ~0.5 inches in diameter for applying wash, 1 small round brush ~0.125 inches in diameter, or rigger brush for finer details.
  • Palette, doesn’t matter how many wells, as long as it has generous mixing area.
  • 2B or softer pencil, eraser.
  • Watercolor paint set with the following basic colors: Burnt Sienna, French Ultramarine Blue, Alizirin Crimson, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red.
  • Rag or old towel for soaking up water.
  • Cup or jug for water.
  • (Optional) easel or painting surface.