Workshop Recap: Intro to Watercolor
Each Fall and Spring theCO offers a series of workshops to the public that take the form of classes and tutorials on interests in the arts, robotics, and everything in between. As ideas for new sessions are being conceived in the Winter months for the next installation, past favorites, like Intro to Watercolor, are being recalled in hopes of reproducing similar experiences for future attendees. This workshop, instructed by Jackson freelance artist Emilie Malone, surveyed the fundamental steps necessary to transform a blank canvas into a fully finished painting.
Throughout the afternoon various approaches and techniques were expounded upon and put the test. Beginners and longtime artists alike were accommodated with foundational teachings on color theory and brush stroke mechanics, along with step-by-step instructions for simple landscape paintings. All participants were provided with a set of brushes, a paint palette, and a watercolor tube set of their own so that new skills learned could continue to be sharpened after the class.
To coincide with the technical aspects, the course also offered insight into personal expression and inspiration without focusing exclusively on a formulaic approach; for Malone, a graduate of Union University's Art program, this proves to be the most important and satisfying part of any lesson she teaches. "I think when I was learning, I had a lot of self-imposed hindrances that had to do with me being worried about the 'right way' to paint. I wanted to show that there isn't one way to learn because there isn't one way to paint. The versatility of watercolors is one of the things that I love most about them."
Written by Joseph Smith.