It’s always so much fun to meet new people when I host the Introduction to Watercolors classes in my studio through Mount Wachusett Community College. The first class is always my favorite because it’s all about getting to know the students, where they’re from, what they enjoy for hobbies and that sort of thing. The 3 weeks that we spend together often feels like it goes by in a blink so I enjoy getting to know them and watch them emerge as watercolorists!

Last night was the first of 3 sessions that I’ve got booked up for MWCC. Classes are small in size (about 5 students plus me) so that we can have a quieter setting and I can gauge who needs help with what. Since this class often books up pretty quickly, I’ve worked with MWCC to offer it for 3 weeks in the months of September, October and November so that we can offer it to more folks.

Our first class yesterday evening, we were able to chat and get to know each other for a bit before diving into the paints. We learned about various types of techniques that are popular with watercolorists, such as wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, blotting, etc. We also used various types of household items to create different effects with our watercolors, like sea salt, plastic wrap, bubble wrap and crayon resist. It’s always so much fun to see how the students react to using some of these materials to create the textures. It’s also a fun way to learn how much water to use, when to increase the amount of paint used and that sort of thing.

After our initial project of textures and techniques, we put that to work with creating a landscape using the various items to create textures. Some folks liked the salt while others liked the crayon resist. It’s all a matter of personal taste and like I say during every class, there are no mistakes that can’t be fixed up and it’s only paper afterall.

Next week we will be working on color stories, warms vs. cools and creating three more projects. And before you ask, yes, they do have homework to work on between classes. Not that we grade it! But to keep the practice up during the week and keep the students engaged with their watercolors and encouraging their comfort and experience.

Looking forward to the next class already!