Work in traditional watercolours or open the door to explore combinations of water-soluble paints and mediums of all kinds. You will choose weekly topics for your instructor’s presentation, followed by open studio time for your explorations. Emphasis will be on design, personal style, critiques and studio work.,
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San Miguel, as I’m sure you all know, is an artist’s colony with many Americans and Europeans living and studying there. It’s a fun town, colorful, musical, full of painting and shopping opportunities. San Miguel is rather high in altitude at 6,000 ft. It may take you a day or two to adjust to this, so don’t plan to rush around too much on your first days. This also means that while the days may be quite nice and warm, (70 degrees or better), the nights will be sweater or light jacket temperature; so come prepared.
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In this new offering, John will share his approach to painting the urban scene in watercolor. John will help participants in all aspects of painting a representational cityscape or town scene – choosing the subject, adding mood and creating emotional content, lighting the scene for dramatic effect, using photo reference in a meaningful way and most importantly, strengthening and enhancing representational painting through design. The workshop will include demonstrations, critiques and lots of one-on-one individual help.

Whether you’ve never tried painting cityscapes or are an experienced urban painter, this workshop will be an invaluable opportunity to gain new painting insights.

Forty Watercolor Paintings relating to the environment

Inspired my book, Collage Discovery Workshop: Beyond the Unexpected, we’ll delve into creative painterly techniques using household materials. After we’ve gotten our hands dirty and backgrounds worked out, we’ll put together a 3-d cigar-box collage, using the depth of the cigar box format to bring prominent elements to the foreground. I’ll show you how to use your own photos in your collages – photos of your family, friends and even pets. I’ll also show you how to become more comfortable with using your own drawing and line work in your collages along with exercises to practice and tips you can use right away.
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This one day seminar will captivate participants as Nicholas Simmons demonstrates how to use Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements) to maximize creative potential. With a computer and digital projector, the artist will take you step-by-step through his process of manipulating reference shots into ideas for amazing prize-winning paintings. Students may provide photographs for Nicholas to work with, as time allows. Even if you are “computer illiterate,” this seminar will launch your imagination to another level, and inspire you to see and paint in a new way. (no computer needed for participants)

Way beyond the basics…this workshop will change the way you see, think, and paint! How far can you go in days? Forget the “rules” and refine your personal vision for painting. Empower your palette and say “good-bye” to muddy colors. Awaken its emotive power of colors in your paintings. Dramatize without over-working! Give life to layers of distance in your images by manipulating color-value, lighting and illusion for dynamic depth. Learn Caroline Jasper’s way of painting on red canvas. Advanced color instruction. New paintings each day. Take home a head full of color theory master-concepts and your own inspired paintings.
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Unleash the spontaneous nature of watercolor in your work!

International art instructor Pat Weaver uses a direct, spontaneous approach to painting with many media including water media. During this workshop she shares the secrets and solutions to developing an exciting, direct painting style of your very own in watercolor. Inspiring, intensive and fun, water media classes are the most popular of her workshops.

This hands-on workshop is designed for artists of all levels who want to paint faster, better or looser in watercolor. Read more

In this workshop, Cheng-Khee will share all his creative experiences with participants. He will explain the philosophy and principles behind his creativity, demonstrate his various concepts and process, instill design principles in pictorial organization, help sharpen perception of abstract qualities, explore the possibility of synthesizing East and West approaches, and more importantly, guide participants to develop their own directions.

The schedule will include: 1) Traditional approach, 2) Saturated wet process, 3) Improvisational approach, 4) Crinkling technique, and 5) Marbling and Mono-printing. He will begin each day with a demonstration and then work individually with participants as they apply the new experience to their own works.

This is a special workshop to Japan for painting, journaling and touring to experience its people, traditions, color, texture and patterns. From the peace and grace of the gardens and temples of Kyoto to ancient samurai homes in Kanazawa and the ultra-modern neighborhoods of Tokyo, we will explore and record the many moods and styles firsthand.
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Three separate days of encaustic workshops to choose from! Indulge in a beginners if you are new to the medium, join Patricia for an intermedia class or jump into experimental techniques!

Come play with gesso, molding paste and more to create decorative paper surfaces. Walk in with inspiration and out with a finished journal.

Students in this class will play with a number of materials to create various decorative paper surfaces.

This class will feature some techniques with gesso, molding paste, and more. Students will then utilize their decorative papers as the divider pages in a small journal.

The journal will also feature envelopes and tags that will have a description of each process.

This little treasure will be a combination journal to use and a reference book for processes that can be used for art journals, ATC’s, altered books and more.

A good painting is a very personal statement by the artist. We will talk about the whole process of putting a painting together , from initial concept, to small idea, value or color studies and on to the finished painting. Most paintings are ruined at the start, due to lack of thought and preparation. The emphasis will not be on the finished painting, but the more important things leading up to it. Great work is not usually done overnight, but with thought and adjustments to mistakes and errors of judgment.
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In this workshop, Jacqueline lets the experimentation begin! First learn to use your acrylic paints to attain the transparency so loved in watercolor. You’ll be adding pigments and cutting up your papers. Unlimited possibilities.

In this mixed media class, students will start by learning how to work with acrylic paints so that they look like transparent watercolors.

We will try several “experimental” techniques including adding pastel dust, powdered pigments and more!

The paintings will then be cut in to strips, arranged, and woven to form the basis of a multi-level collage. This unique technique makes every painting look great!
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You’ve seen Jacqueline’s technique in Somerset Studio, now learn them from the artist herself. Combine common household items such as cheesecloth and aluminum foil with acrylic mediums to make wonderful textures for your collage. Jacqueline will cover both techniques and design principles. Come in knowing a little, leave knowing a lot. Featuring many of the techniques that are on her Creative Catalyst Productions DVD, “Acrylics: Textures, Layers and Metallics.”
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Exciting painting and cultural trip to Dali valley in China’s Yunnan province. Dali valley is an area at the foothills of the Himalayas- the ‘old China’ that is illusive to most western visitors with a year-round spring climate. Yunnan, literally ‘the Land South of the Clouds’ is rich with fabled, ancient trade routes such as the Southern Silk Route , the Tea and Horse Road and the Burma Road pass through this area.
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A fresh approach to painting better and faster with confidence. This is perfect for any artist who wants to paint faster, better or looser in watercolor. Pat Weaver has a direct, spontaneous approach to painting with watercolor. Inspiring, intensive and fun, water media classes are the most popular of her workshops.

This hands-on workshop is designed for artists of all levels who want to paint faster, better or looser in watercolor.
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This workshop will concentrate on concepts and techniques for which Simmons is noted: diversity in subject matter; large scale painting; fluid acrylic used as transparent watercolor; unusual textures such as Nicholas’ popular “batik” technique; computer-aided design (computer not required for enrollees); composition; poured watercolor; and creative photography for obtaining unconventional reference shots.
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