Finding Inspiration to Paint, Part 4

Here is another idea to get you going.... watch a YouTube video.  There are lots of free ones by lots of artists.  I have to tell you though, some of them are really boring and the end result is not what I aspire to.  So what I do is to fast forward to see the final painting and then invest the time to watch the video if I think the painting is good.  Here are a couple of YouTube videos that are demos of how to paint...

Fast video of how I paint a field of flowers:

How to paint palm trees

Here is one where I show what supplies are needed to get started with watercolor painting.

If you find a video you like, look to the right side of the YouTube page and you will see recommendations of other similar videos to watch.  Warning!  Watch a couple then go paint!  I know that I could spend all day watching other people paint but this is to inspire you to paint!

September Painting Workshop in Beautiful Maine!

Lobster Buoys in a Tree

I am excited to return to Maine this September with the focus on just painting the beautiful scenery. Join me!  I am teaching a class called Watercolor Journaling.  Using watercolors and mixed-media, we will create beautiful journal pages!  Students will explore ways to make their travel journal interesting and reflective of their Maine experience.  The workshop is held near the quaint coastal village if Bass Harbor on Mount Desert Island.  If you are interested or want more information, please feel free to email me.  I also can give you some ideas of where to stay.

From my Maine Watercolor Journal

More Color Studies

Our class continues to mix and mingle different colors together to see which are the best combinations.  I showed how to make fun color chickens where you start at the head of the chicken with one color and then switch to a different color at the body.  The goal is to have blended and mingled colors in the body part of the chicken using two different colors.
The younger students got very creative and started painting other animals like color horses and bunnies!

Learning about Color

Here are a few things that we will be learning about in my CREATE class Rainbow Studies

We will do some color mixing making these fun color chickens

Here is how I use the color wheel to pick my colors

We will make some color studies

Using the colors on your palette we will make a color wheel

Pears are a great way to do color studies

Textured backgrounds add life to the paintings

Watercolor Workshop in Italy

Are you interested in painting in Italy?  Join me for this fun watercolor travel journal workshop September 2014, THE COLORS OF UMBRIA, KEEPING A WATERCOLOR JOURNAL.  Our home base will be Orvieto, Italy.  Exploring the streets of this historic hilltop village, we will discover stone archways, quaint alleyways and Italian piazzas, the Duomo of Orvieto, Gothic and medieval designs, the local fresh food market and colorful flowers cascading from windows - every corner a possible painting.  

You will learn how to create a visual diary of watercolor paintings and mixed media as you slow down, observe and savor your time in Italy.

I love the bond that artists develop when spending time together creating art.  What a wonderful way to meet new people and share our joy of watercolor.

Happy Colorful Painting!

Jacqueline Newbold

Playing with Color for the CREATE Retreat

Rainbow Studies

Flip, Flaps and Fold-Outs

CREATE Mixed Media Retreat is two weeks away and I have been excitedly getting ready for my classes that I am teaching.  Even though the Flip, Flaps and Fold-Outs class is full, there are still a couple of spots left in the Rainbow Studies Class.  This class will focus on using the color wheel to create harmonious little watercolor painting studies.  If you struggle with color, this class will be of great value.  I look forward to meeting all the artists that will be at CREATE!

"Spring in Central Oregon" - Featured Painting

Spring in Central Oregon, watercolor by Jacqueline Newbold

The Assistance League of Bend, Oregon picked my watercolor painting, Spring in Central Oregon as their 2011 Kitchen Kaleidoscope Fund Raiser Event featured painting.  This fun event will be June 18, 2011 and will include a tour of seven beautiful homes located in North Rim and Northwest Crossing.  The Assistance League of Bend is an all volunteer, nonprofit organization consisting of a dedicated group of women with a passion for supporting the local community. Save the date for this fun event with a such a worthy cause!

A Day in Uzes, A Peek inside my Watercolor Journal

If you are ever in the south of France, be sure to spend an afternoon in the quiet little town of Uzes.  Park your car and walk to the old town center.  There you will find a peaceful cobbled stone square with a fountain, cafes and filtered sunlight sparkling through the Plane trees.  I was lucky enough to be able to sit for awhile and capture this scene in my watercolor journal. 
I am excited to tell you that I will be teaching at the CREATE Chicago Mixed Media Retreat in August.  Registration opened today!  I will be teaching a watercolor class on how to successfully mix colors, called Rainbow Studies, as well as a mixed media class on creating interactive components in your watercolor journals - Flips, Flaps and Fold-outs.  I would love to meet some of you in person!

Painting the Plants of Greece: Monkshood

Monkshood

Part of what I love about watercolor journaling is that it engages all my senses.  In order to paint a flower, like the Monkshood, I use my sight to tell me colors, shapes and value, but I am also experiencing the sounds and feeling the warm breeze along  the hillside. I also love that it takes me to new, as well as familiar, places.  I look for different ways to represent my life journey.  It a wonderful way to slow down and savor the moment.  I look forward to sharing this experience with you in Greece!  There are lots of techniques that I can show you that even a beginner to watercolor painting will return home an artist.  If you would like more information on how to join me on a Watercolor Journaling in Greece, please contact the American College of Healthcare Sciences.  The class is May 27 - June 2, 2011.

Sucessful Paintings!

Here's to successful paintings!

We have just finished up the Painting from Start to Finish Workshop held at my studio.  We looked over some of our paintings during our "happy hour critique" at the last class.
Our warm-up exercise for this last class was to paint a lily using lost and found or soft edges.  I think they turned out wonderfully!

Here are some of the paintings that we worked on:

Jan's Landscape

Kendra's Moroccan Alley

Barbara's Adobe

Rocks and Indian Paintbrush by Mary Anne

Sue's colorful Mountain Sunrise

Happy Painters

Talking about the process

Lots to learn about Color!

Ingrid making a beautiful color study

Kim showing her book with her painted cover

Comparing books

More color studies

It has been a couple busy weeks teaching classes and trying to keep up on the holiday hoopla around the house.  Needless to say, my house doesn't look at all xmas-y yet as my priorities are always with my classes.  Friday I finished teaching The Good, the Bad and the Beauty of Color Class and everyone left with a beautiful spiral bound book full of color studies.

Getting Ready to Teach "The Good, the Bad and the Beauty of Color" Class

I always enjoy getting ready for this upcoming class starting on Friday at Bend, Oregon's Art's Central.  Students will be doing lots of color studies as well as learning how to use the color wheel to help them create beautifully colored paintings.  One of my favorite parts is teaching how the temperature of colors (either warm or cool) can greatly affect the color mixes.  By the end of the class we will put our color studies in a little spiral bound book, a perfect reference for taking to future classes.  There is still room in this class if you would like to sign up.  Just sign up on line with the Art Station.  Here are some photos from previous classes: