Hello
Welcome to the FLOAT-YOUR-PIGMENT Newsletter #124, Sketching Journal
Last week I had the pleasure of teaching at one of my favorite workshop venues, Dillman's.
Like always the place and the people where wonderful. I love meeting so many new artists with so much talent. It brings me so much joy and emotion to help these artists with their desire to become skilled artists. I always tell the students who come to one of my workshops or classes that "once my student, always my student". If after one of my workshops you need to contact me to ask a question or you are looking for help, I always try to reply, it is something I truly feel I need to
do for those of you that have put your faith in me to teach you to become a better artist. Thanks to all that have taken a class or workshop from me.
Today I am heading off to my workshop on the Danube River where we are starting in Vienna, Austria and 9 days later ending up in Munich, Germany. In this workshop I will be teaching to journal the trip by watercolor sketching. This week I will be showing and telling you what I am bringing and what I am
planning on sketching. Next week I hope to show you what I have done and how I did it, stay tuned.
When I get back home in nine days I will then be heading to my Cheap Joe's workshop in Boone, NC. I hear only amazing things about this workshop venue, so I will be reporting back to you about Cheap Joe's, so it will be another newsletter to stay tuned for.
Yes to Class with my Sub, Sue
Macfarlan at the Civic Center Libertyville, Thursday Sept. 28th
NO CLASS at The Antioch Fine Arts Foundation, Thursday Sept. 28th
NO CLASS at The BeckerArt Classroom in McHenry on Sept. 30th
Last week I showed you a video of me painting on a train and I talked a little about how little you need to pack. This week I will show you what I packed for my Danube river cruise workshop.
Since
my last years overseas workshop in Greece I have learned that instead of trying to teach students to create paintings on a traveling workshop, that I should should focus my teachings more on sketching and creating a journal of watercolor sketches. This will help you so much more when creating paintings from those sketches back in your studio. It also makes a travel workshop more fun and informative.
When we as artist travel overseas we want to take in as much
as possible, taking photos, discovering new places and people. I feel a journal of quick watercolor sketches along with photographing what we see is a great way of documenting the workshop/trip. I can't see spending hours at one location, unless you have the time, sitting for hours in that one location painting a finished work of art. I would rather use my sketches and photos back in my studio at home to create a large work of art. I like giving my students and myself more time to go
on more excursions and discover new places where you can sketch and photograph along the way, creating a journal that will give you a log of your trip that will hopefully last forever.
I suggest taking with you only the things I have pictured below on your trip.
The things I take with me when I am on a tour or excursion where I will be sketching I take a travel paint palette that has a little water container attached, a sketchbook
with watercolor and sketching paper in it, some brushes, pencils, small sharpener and eraser. Nothing more is needed when it comes to sketching in an art journal. A camera or phone with camera is also taken along.
When I am back on-board the ship I have a few other things that I pack and use to do more finished sketches... a larger block of paper, a somewhat larger palette and the same brushes and the same sketching materials I use when touring.
I don't bring
any tubes of paint because I squeeze fresh Holbein paint into my travel palettes before I leave for the trip. I let the fresh paint sit out so it goes from wet to tacky. Holbein watercolors don't have the additive ox gall in them so they don't dry to hard clumps and when water is added to them they instantly become workable fresh watercolors. The paint is so highly concentrated with such bright colors that I could paint hundreds of sketches with the colors in my palette so there is no need
to bring any tubes of paint.
One thing I don't use are those special travel brushes, I like working with the brushes I am familiar with. It's all about trying to make the sketching process feel as close to how you work when you are in your studio.
What you see above is what I will be taking with to my river cruise workshop on the Danube. This is all I will need to do sketches and paintings. Items are: Brushes, 2 watercolor paper blocks, A sketchbook with drawing paper and watercolor paper, 2 palettes, 1 for sketching and the larger one for when I am painting on the ship and finally
pencils and eraser box. |
Above is what I take and put in my fanny pack when I go on excursions. I take as little as possible but
still take enough so I can watercolor sketch.
The only other thing I bring that is not pictured is my camera and my phone which also serves as my backup camera, just in case something happens to my camera.
In 2 weeks I have a workshop at Cheap Joes, there is still time to
sign-up, so click link below.
Or how about in spring 2018 I will be teaching at the Kanuga Watermedia Workshop. See links below. |
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Melinda Schnell- 6 years I have been teaching at Dillman's and I have gone to the Moondeer Gallery in Boulder Junction every year, and many of those times I also had gone to the Guides Inn Restaurant. In both places I had seen these beautiful underwater fish watercolors and Last year I even photographed the larger painting below
hanging in the Guides Inn Restaurant. This year while at the Moondeer Gallery with my students I had come to find out that one of the students in my workshop is actually the artist that paints all these beautiful underwater fish watercolor paintings. Melinda took me by total surprise and it even ends up that we were both going to the American Academy of Art at The same time and I somewhat remember her at the school. Melinda is an amazing artist and I sure hope she learned some new things from my class last week.
One thing I learned from Mindy is that she doesn't have a website showing off her wonderful work, so instead you have to visit the Moondeer Gallery to see and purchase her work. It is so well worth the trip to see paintings.
Thanks Mindy for taking my workshop, it was great seeing a fellow Academy alum doing such lovely work!
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Get yourself a BeckerArt Brush today 1 1/4" Flat Series 020, #16 Round and a #4 Rigger Holbein Gold, Short Handle, Superior Synthetic Blend Watercolor Brush set.
Made to my specifications, which were, The point of the 1 1/4" flat brush and the #
16 round had to come to a razor sharp point, along with a bounce back to straight action when applying watercolor to paper. The # 4 Rigger had to be the perfect length, the perfect thickness, and the perfect point. Click Here to Purchase the 3 original BeckerArt
Brushes
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For any other info please email me at
david@davidrbecker.com |
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