Workshop: Watercolor, Interpreting Nature

Learn ways you can visually interpret nature through watercolor in this workshop through gesture, texture, layers, and more.

Plein Air Oil Pastel & Watercolor Painting
Oil Pastel & Watercolor in Southern Utah

We’ll cover how to capture the personality of nature scenes and objects with watercolor in a manner that is compelling and fulfills your goals as an artist.

Enrollment is currently closed

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“I felt like this workshop really allowed you to dive in and not be afraid of potentially making ‘bad art.’ I also think that being allowed to use whatever art supplies you got is a big positive.”

Watch a Sample Workshop

Watch a sample workshop: Gestural Portraits

How it Works

Resources

Clara watercolor painting aloe portugal banner
Lisbon Botanical Gardens: Plein Air Watercolor Painting

Before the workshop

  • Students receive access to the workshop channels in our Discord.
  • Hang out in the workshop channels so we can see your artwork and site, and chat about your goals can make the workshop more efficient.
Discord
  • Please know that if you have no experience with Discord, it does take some time to get set up and learn how Discord works.
  • Watch this 53 second tour of our Discord for a preview.
  • We highly recommend joining several days before the workshop date so you can learn the ropes, troubleshoot any problems, and get help from us to make the workshop run as smoothly as possible for you.

First 2 hours

  • Students work and take occasional breaks to post their artwork into the Discord text channel.
  • On voice, Prof Lieu continually critiques drawings as they are posted in the Discord text channel.
banner painting watercolor mushrooms
Watercolor in Utah: Goblin Valley & Mushrooms

Last hour

After the workshop

Workshop channels access

  • Students will continue to have access to the workshop channels.
  • The week following the workshop, Prof Lieu will provide feedback and follow up resources.
  • After that week, Prof Lieu will answer quick questions, but will not be providing feedback.
Discord

Written Feedback

  • Prof Lieu will write a paragraph for each student which reviews the student’s artwork made during the workshop + suggestions for how to move forward, see sample below.
Clara cartoon

It was wonderful to see your drawing evolve throughout the workshop, seeing how you captured contrasting elements (like the softness of the cheek vs. the harsher marks in the clothing) and brought them together as a cohesive composition was great.

I think it would be worth exploring the pastels further, you got such sumptuous areas of color where there were many layers of the pastel. You can experiment with using a black sheet of paper, or a colored sheet, it eliminates that grain that is inevitable with a white sheet of paper. Try increasing the layers 4x so that it almost verges on feeling like a painting!

Prof Lieu
Acryl Gouache Painting: Landscape Mountains
Acryl Gouache & Watercolor Pencils: Mountains

Student info

  • Limit 12 students
  • Enrollment is first come, first serve
  • All students are required to join our Discord to participate.

Confirmation

  • We will confirm whether the workshop is running by the Wednesday after the Friday registration deadline.
  • If the workshop does not run, you will receive a full refund no later than a week from the Friday registration deadline.
Utah Landscape watercolor banner painting
Watercolor in Utah: Mt. Pleasant

Refunds

  • All payments are non-refundable if the workshop runs.
  • Students must join our Discord at least 24 hours before the workshop starts. There are no refunds if you do not join within this time frame.
  • There are no refunds if a student is late, does not join Discord, or does not attend the workshop for any reason.
  • We only issue refunds if the workshop does not run due to lack of enrollment.

Contact

About our Staff

Prof Lieu has 15 years of teaching studio art at the college level, and was an Adjunct Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design from 2007-2020.

Watercolor in Utah: Widstoe Cemetery