Watercolour Workshop for Newbies

Hi, I’m Jane and I am a watercolour artist, I am retired from a long career as a Graphic Designer. I have a Bachelors degree in Computer Based Art and Design and Information, Communication and Technology. I have dabbled in most mediums and found that my passion lies with watercolours. The fluidity and transparency of the medium is what sets it apart from others. I am self taught and have been painting for many years. I originally painted for my own pleasure and then I was being asked to do commissions for others, this led me to placing some of my pieces in a local artisan shop. While setting up my display, I was talking to the owners and they were also preparing to hold workshops there. I jumped on this opportunity as there was not a great deal of watercolour workshops on the Coast. My past professional career as a graphic designer and multimedia creator left me with a lot of skills that I was no longer using. I set about creating a beginner friendly watercolour workshop where students could learn techniques alongside valuable information about material choices. I found that most were unaware of the importance of quality paper in particular. I set up a workshop where they were able to test and see the differences and learn various painting techniques. I found this was very successful and my students loved the workshops! I have taught many things over the years from IT to art and I have found that I love the feeling I get when I see somebody totally engrossed in a painting for example and seeing their own results after a little coaching. I entered two watercolour paintings in an exhibition last year to raise money for a charity and I had a very exciting experience. I was in a local framing/art store while the exhibition was on and I was talking to the owner (who is also an artist) and we were discussing the exhibition. I asked him if he had any favourites and he said yes there were two horse paintings that really caught his attention. Not thinking they were mine I asked him which ones, he then described my pieces, I showed him my paintings on my phone and we were both amazed at the coincidence. I was thrilled to have someone I considered much more of an artist than myself admire my work. I hope I can create the same feelings for you, by helping you get started in this wonderful medium!