It's Plein Air Season!!

And to celebrate, I have put my "Watercolour on Location" DVD on SALE for 50% off. Back by popular demand! From altering the scene to tell YOUR story, choosing a palette, materials, techniques, all the way to the finished painting, this professionally filmed video has it all.There are only 20 copies left, so get one while they are available. After they are gone, there will NOT be any more. To purchase one, simply go HERE  and follow the prompts.

You might notice that this email looks a bit different than in the past. Blogger has discontinued using Feedburner for their subscription service, so I have moved to Follow.It. Hope this service works even better than before. If you have any trouble, please let me know!!

Blessings

Sharon

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"The Illustrated Life: Journaling in Ink & Watercolour" online course is opening!!

I hope this finds you well and happy! I am excited to let you know that I am once again opening registration for 'The Illustrated Life: Journaling in Ink & Watercolour' online course. NOW is the perfect time to take your sketchbook outdoors to capture what you are loving. Registration for the course begins on Tuesday April 20 and runs only until Saturday April 24.

Inside the course there are SIX full demonstrations broken down into manageable sections, making them easy to follow along. There are also lessons on finding inspiration, complete supply explanations, lessons on colour mixing, and SO MUCH MORE!

In addition, there is a very active free Facebook group where you can see other's sketches, post your work, and get encouragement for the journey. I respond to every post, so you get continual access to me to help you, answer any questions you might have, and to make helpful suggestions and support you on your sketching path.

You will find out all the information on the course you need HERE. There is a video there that explains how the course works, as well as FAQ's to answer any questions you might have and more.

As well, I have decided to do a LIVE ZOOM CALL to talk about the many benefits of plein air (outside) sketching, and to take questions about the course. The call will be on Tuesday April 20th at 7pm Mountain time. If you would be interested in joining me for the live call, please click HERE to register. The call will be recorded if you are unable to join live, you only need to email me to ask for the replay.

TESTIMONIALS

I have had 75 people go through the course now and this is what some of them had to say:

Dorothy S. said " What appeals to me is I get to learn how to draw quick and simple sketches to help me capture my adventures. I am not good at retaining memories and the feelings that I felt.  Sharon's explanations of using the pen to make containers for the shapes, and what to look for as the focus of your sketch, was fantastic. The lessons on colour mixing were a wonderful thing for me. I struggle with consistent mixing and the cool/warm colour stuff.  I get and understand the instructions because her delivery is easy for me to understand. I have learned so much from just these videos." 

Beth H. said: "I think your course is a good entryway into experiencing art, the creative process, even for those who have not been creative in the past.  Participants can be surprised by what they create with line and colour, especially if their stumbling block is, "I don't know how to draw".  I'm not sure what group this taps into, but when I think about this past summer, top of mind is the afternoon spent in the backyard, being outside and painting a sketch.  It was a way to enjoy my environment, made me feel like a kid again, even though I now have some physical limitations.  I'm wondering if gardeners, would be a group?  I spend time making my yard look beautiful, I finally had a way to experience it in a new way; to keep enjoying it and take it in. There is something about the process that is very therapeutic; increases mindfulness.  Mindfulness is a popular buzzword, so somehow it creates a path to mindfulness for the super busy woman sandwiched between children and aging parents. .... like my daughter.  It's like the Calgon bath that takes them away.  Also can give them a fresh perspective on their surroundings (that they might be tired of or feel trapped in) or remind them of why they used to enjoy something..."

Finally, Nancy said "The simplification of the sketching process was key for me.  Although I have taken a sketchbook when travelling, I often got bogged down with too much detail. This method with the watercolour works so well.  I have taken other courses from Sharon and enjoy her style of painting and instruction."

 

I sincerely hope that you will join me on the call, and then to join the course. See for yourself how relaxing, meditative and life-giving pen and ink sketching can be!

Blessings,
Sharon

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Pen & Ink & Watercolour Sketch by Sharon Lynn Williams

Sketch done at Smith Rock in SW Oregon, 4x6"

I only had a chance to do one sketch so far on this trip. We found this location in a Discover Oregon book, and good thing too, we would have passed it by as it didn't look like much from the road. People come from all around the world to scale these huge vertical cliffs.

If you like the idea of making quick travel sketches for your memoirs or to get info for later paintings, why don't you join me for my upcoming Plein Air Quick Sketching Workshop on June 8. All the info and registration cart is on my website at www.sharonlynnwilliams.com under the workshops tab.

Hope to see you there!

Enjoy 😄

Pen & Ink & Watercolour Sketching Workshop by Sharon Lynn Williams

I have arranged to teach a pen & ink & watercolour quick sketching workshop at beautiful Lloyd Park (just outside Calgary) on Sunday June 8, 2014 from 10am to 4:30pm. These little sketches are done in 20-30 minutes, and are a great way to capture the form (by the pen) and the colour of the scene in front of you.
Please click HERE for more information about the workshop and to register.

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Pen & Watercolour Sketches from Arizona & New Mexico by Sharon Lynn Williams

It has been over a month since I last posted, I am embarrassed to say! I have been very busy working on my NEW WEBSITE which is now live -check it out and let me know what you think. It has been a huge labour of love by my beautiful daughter who gave it to me for Christmas. I don't think either of us realized just how much time it would take us to get it up and rolling according to my vision for all that I wanted it to be.
Also, I was thrilled to go on a 9 day art viewing retreat to Arizona and New Mexico with some of my favourite art buddies. We visited a TON of art galleries and artist studios in Scottsdale, Santa Fe and Sedona. I came back with so much inspiration that I didn't know what to do with it all!
I made several pen and ink and watercolour quick sketches during our trip, which are presented in this post for your viewing pleasure.

 I haven't had much experience with cacti, and just had to capture their wonderful forms.

 I did this one from the car and painted it afterwards. We drove through some sleet on the way to Santa Fe.

I am really impressed with the building code in Santa Fe, that all homes etc must be done in the adobe style. It really adds to the wonderful ambiance of Santa Fe, which I love.

 We stayed in the wonderful (?) Wigwam Motel in Holbrook on Route 66 -a throwback to the 60's. There are a bunch of old cars in the parking lot, and I couldn't resist this one.

Our last stop was to visit Montezuma's Castle. It is incredible to me that those folks would climb the cliffs to farm and to get water, while everything is so easy in our lives today. Makes me appreciate all that I have!

Enjoy!
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NEW PLEIN AIR WATERCOLOUR DVD RELEASED!!!

"Marsh Light", 12 x 16" plein air watercolour
SOLD

I am thrilled to announce the release of my new instructional DVD, "Watercolour On Location", produced by Whitepine Productions here in Calgary. It is for sale for the great price of $35 plus shipping and handling. You can see a preview of the DVD here.

I have sold several so far and comments coming back to me include:
"Sharon, actually watched it through twice - I think it's great! - 'plein air' painting has always been a mystery to me. Now I see how you can take a seemingly uninteresting scene and really paint your own interpretation of it. (I guess that's where the term 'artistic licence' comes in.) Really though, I can't imagine painting all those colors for those reeds wet-on-wet without making the dreaded 'mud'. I suppose they could be painted in layers, but much more laborious and not as exciting...! The negative painting was great to watch as well. I do recommend your DVD as it demonstrates how the experience of painting 'at the scene' can be very exciting and uplifting... And especially for anyone needing direction on 'plein air' composition. Also, to use your quote, "just having fun with all those colors" -Outside!"

"Great DVD, makes me want to do a watercolor."

With Christmas coming (sooner than most of us are prepared for!), why not make it easy for those looking to buy you a special gift and forward this post to them :) Or if you are one who likes to buy your own gifts, please email me and I will send you a copy which will arrive before the 25th!

You can pay via PayPal right on my blog -look at the upper right corner of the blog and you will see a Paypal box. Simply enter the Item as "Watercolour On Location", amount is $35 plus $3 for shipping and handling in Canada, $8 for US. In the delivery notes box write your address and phone number and hit Buy Now. This will take you to the Paypal site where you can pay with your Paypal account or with your credit card. PayPal will send me the notice of your purchase and I will get out your dvd right away. Easy-peasy!

Enjoy


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"The Colours Of Winter", watercolour by Sharon Lynn Williams

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"The Colours Of Winter", watercolour 18x18" image

SOLD

I did this watercolour for a demo a couple of months ago, and realized I never posted it. I hadn't painted in watercolour for a long while, and all the time I was doing the demo, I kept asking myself "This is SO cool -look at the way the colours run and puddle -why did I stop doing this???"

Sometimes I just feel the need to work in another medium, and I remain adamant that the way I have grown as an artist has been to try everything -one medium always informs the others. For instance, to learn about design, take time to do abstracts; to learn about pattern, take time to do some collages, etc

Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, commission your own painting or contact me to do a workshop in your area, please email me at williamsdotsharonatshawdotca (insert characters for the dot and at!)

"Late Winter's Afternoon" watercolour painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Late Winter's Afternoon", watercolour on 140lb Arches, 12 x 16"
$250 unframed, click here to purchase

I had a wonderful time in Kimberley, BC this past weekend, where I taught a watercolour and fluid acrylic workshop to 10 wonderfully talented women. The above painting was one of the demos that I did for the girls. This is a redo of a watercolour painting that I posted last month, that one featured the element of texture, while this one focuses on exuberant colour. Below are some photos of my girls hard at work.

And this is a class photo with us all showing our best work from the weekend.

The workshop was a blast and I really hope they will invite me back again.  And so does my dear hubby who accompanied me -and was 'forced' to ski some very deep powder at the Kimberley Ski Resort!

Enjoy!
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January Blues ii -watercolour painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"January Blues ii", watercolour, approx 12 x 16" -double matted without frame or glass
SOLD

I decided to try to do a watercolour from my plein air oil painting posted here. I was keen to try to get the feeling of the late day sun, and thought watercolour would be the perfect medium to show the luminescence of the light. I gained some inspiration from Nita Engle's great watercolor book "How To Make A Watercolor Paint Itself" -but believe me, it doesn't!!!  It was fun to try a watercolour again, it has been a while.

Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me.
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Wonderful Oooze!

 "Cle Elum Autumn", watercolour and chalk pastel, 11 x 15"
NFS

This fall I was fortunate enough to be able to take a workshop from Catherine Gill and Bob Phiney just outside Seattle. We spent 2 days painting in watercolour en plein air, and on the last day, we got to play with chalk pastels with the watercolours, which is the sole reason I took the workshop! I found Cathe via her new book "Powerful Watercolor Landscapes" and her free workshop through the Artist's Magazine. You can watch her excellent presentation here.  EVERYONE should watch this webinar as it is a wonderfully presented talk on all things compostitional -and this applies not just to watercolours! In Cathe's book, there are many beautiful paintings that combine pastel with the wet watercolour, and they feel so neat that I just had to learn how she does it. The trick is to paint into the sopping wet watercolour with the chalk pastel, keeping the values the same but changing the colour, and the pastel just melts into the wash. You build the surface up in layers, because as soon as the paper dries, you have to wet it again in order to make the pastel work properly. This adds the dimension of opacity and PLAY to an otherwise transparent and somewhat fussy medium.
        I just got an email from Cathe saying she is doing an Ooze demo at the Seattle CoArts monthly meeting in Shoreline area of Seattle. If you live anywhere near there, I highly recommend taking it in.


Enjoy!
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Still More Watercolour Florals

 "Lily Fantasy", 6.5 x 10.25", matted watercolour
available for auction here, beginning price $50

This is another free form flower form, done with out much preliminary drawing, just basically where the stamens reach above the petal edge at the top and a bit of a sweep for the direction of the petals. The demonstration point for this one was to show how to produce lost and found edges on dry paper, allowing the flower to co-mingle with the background.

"Falling All Over", 10 x 14", matted watercolour
available for auction here, beginning price $100

This was the next demonstration that I did, and NO preliminary drawing was done on this at all. I began at the large yellow flower and just made my way out from there. Composition was not the prime concern here, although I think it turned out quite nicely. I had a large bouquet of mixed silk flowers in front of me and I just allowed myself to be inspired by the shapes and colours, so not at all true to the set-up. Great freedom and fun.

Enjoy!

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More Watercolour Florals

 "Iris Power", 6 3/4 x 10 1/4", watercolour
available by auction here, starting bid $50

 Don't ask me why I cannot come up with more original titles for these paintings, any help would be appreciated! This is my watercolour demonstration from day 3 of my workshop. The idea was to combine methods from the previous 2 days into this painting. We worked on composition, trying to find good shapes, both the positive shapes (leaves and flowers) and the negative shapes (the shapes behind the positive shapes). Both must be interesting (ie: interesting edges, varying sizes) and compelling (powerful shapes) if you want to have a great painting.

We began this with doing our drawings on tracing paper, which made them easy to change without damaging the watercolour papers' surface. When the designs were good, we traced them onto our watercolour paper. Two ways to do this are#1) to place saral transfer paper under the tracing paper with its black side down on the wc paper (or make your own transfer paper by covering the back of another piece of paper with graphite) and then put the tracing on top and go over all the lines with a ball point pen or #2) hold the tracing paper design against a bright window and then put the wc paper on top -you should be able to see through 140lb wc paper well enough to see the lines, especially if you go over the tracing paper lines with marker. I used watercolour pencils to trace my drawing on the window, varying the colours as I went along (remember interest??)

Here is the painting part way in. I was careful to loose some of the edges into the white background space, bleeding them back with clear water so no hard edges were left. The colour was puddled in, at the correct values, thereby keeping things fresh and eliminating the need to wash over them again = the key to clear, clean colour! I have gone back with another watercolour pencil to define the centre left edge of the upper flower. Most of the watercolour pencil melts into the washes, so isn't a problem the way that graphite can be. This stage makes sure that you have some hard and soft edges.

In this step I have added more leaves at the bottom, and threaded one large leaf up the bare right side. I did this without drawing it first. I loaded up my brush with non-homogenized colours and let the brush make the form by twisting and turning it while drawing it up my paper. I did some scraping into it with a credit card, and drew into it while it was wet with a watercolour pencil.I dropped other colours into the bottom to suggest other flowers behind and relieve some of the green. I have gone in and separated some of the iris petals and to add some texture. Note that most of the original washes remain untouched. I also placed a bit more colour into the background at the top of the top iris to show more of its form.

There you have it! Some things done with a limited wet-on-wet method, and some negative painting. Both combine to provide interest, while the exciting purity of colour puddling lends the power.

Enjoy!

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More Watercolour!

 "Tulip Power", 15 x 11", matted watercolour
Available to bid in auction here, starting bid $75

 This is my demonstration from the second day of my Watermedia Florals workshop. The object of the lesson was to 'draw' with the brush -no drawing allowed. Following the form with a brush loaded with luscious paint and then puddling colours in and watching how they mix is fascinating, and is a key to understand how to let watercolour have its way. Some caligraphy done with watercolour pencil and brush adds a fun movement to the blast of colour.

Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me.
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Back to Watercolour!

 "Daisy Power", 11 x 15", watercolour
This painting is available at auction here -beginning price $125

Many of you will be happy to see that I have returned to painting in watercolour again. It is a medium that I have always loved, even if it is somewhat limiting for creative expression, as it requires a fair amount of planning before brush ever touches the paper. In order to circumvent this, I like to make a wet on wet chaotic mixture of sumptuous color, and then pull out shapes from it. This works wonderfully with floral forms as they are so forgiving. The form I am using is a 'daisy type' form -I have these growing in my garden, but I don't know the name of them -if you know, please tell me!  Below is a step-by-step outline of the process.

This is the first step. I have soaked my 140lb watercolour paper in the sink and then began puddling in analogous mixed of yellow through red. Make sure to put various oranges in rather than just go from yellow to red without the visual bridge of the oranges. I left a lot of white paper and into some of it I popped in a variety of greens (yellow-green through blue-green using different yellows and blues). Some of the green puddles into the yellow and some into the orange-reds, making more neutral greens. I have tried so save some of the white as well. Make sure to bring your colour all the way to the edges of the paper -you don't want white paper there as it will draw the viewer to the edges of the painting, and perhaps right out of it!

This is the next stage. I am finding some daisy shapes by negatively painting some parts of the flowers with darker mixtures of the colours in the underpainting. Don't always do the negative painting with green, if you negative paint with the flower colours, you have new opportunities to find new flowers under the top ones. I am very careful to vary my edges between lost and found around EACH flower. You don't want them to look cut out and pasted on. 

 

Further work on the painting, finding some stems and leaves as well. Notice that some of the flowers and leaves have positively painted parts as well as negatively painted ones -this adds variety and keeps the viewer intrigued. Try not to say ALL the flowers, leave lots of colourfully suggested forms. The question to ask here is, if it says flowers, how much more do you need to do to it? Stop earlier rather than overdoing it. Better to be 80% done than 10% overdone!

This painting was done as a demonstration in my current Watermedia Florals workshop. Please see my website for upcoming workshops.

Enjoy!

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"Marsh Light", plein air watercolour painting in new DVD by Sharon Lynn Williams

 

 "Marsh Light" plein air watercolour, 12 x 16"

SOLD

This is the second demonstration for my new plein air DVD. You saw the scene done in oil in my last post, and from that experience, I decided on the value pattern for this watercolour. Unfortunately, much more pre-planning has to go into a watercolour if one doesn't want it to turn to mud. It was fun doing it in oil first, making all the changes that I wanted to on the fly. Then I made a value study from the oil painting to use the next day.

 

This is the scene as it appeared in the early morning. I definitely had to use a different colour palette than I used the previous day in the oil painting (the oil had a cool dominance, the watercolour has a warm dominance). The lighting was also much less dramatic in the morning as it was front lit. To get some excitement into the painting, what I could no longer do with value, I had fun doing with colour.

This was the camera set-up for the watercolour demo. I used my old full french easel lying flat with the drawer extended as a shelf for my palette. I also put a plexiglass book-holder under the watercolour block so that I had a bit of an angle to work with. There were 3 cameras used throughout the demo so that the viewer could see what was happening in the palette as well as on the paper. The stool was so that Susan could see looking down on my work (she is a shorty like me!)

 Rex and Susan enjoying a final toast at the end of the second day of location filming. We still had to do another session in the studio to introduce the topic with discussion of my materials and plein air philosophy to go at the beginning of the DVD. Then another concluding session to discuss the changes made to the paintings after I had a chance to live with them for a while. I think it will be an excellent instructional video and I can't wait to see the first edits.

Enjoy!

To purchase this painting, or commission your own painting, please email me.

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Plein Air Watercolour by Sharon Lynn Williams

"At Ghost Ranch", plein air watercolour, 5.5 x 15.25"
$100 matted in archival matting, plus taxes and shipping -click on the image to see a larger version!!!

After our time at Moab we headed down to Santa Fe, where a good friend now has a lovely home. I was unprepared for how fantastic that town is! And the art there -all I can say is WOW. I spent a day and a half looking through the galleries gawking at fabulous art work by some of the contemporary masters, and instead of deciding to just shoot myself (which is a common reaction after seeing stunning art) I was tremendously inspired. Now all I need is TIME to paint it out!!
I have always been interested in Georgia O'keeffe's work but after going to the museum in her name, I am pumped about her. They had a show that featured her art materials and methods, and a lot of her very simple line sketches and resulting paintings were on display. I had previously only known her for her flowers and abstracts, but I was stunned by her landscapes, and how closely she relied on the actual colours and forms. I bought a wonderful book that shows her painting inspiration with the resulting paintings, and I realized that what she was doing is very close to what I want to accomplish in my own paintings (only different if you know what I mean) -kind of gave me permission to pursue that vision. Needless to say I just had to drive out to Ghost Ranch to see the place that Georgia painted so often. I did the above watercolour sitting outside the visitor centre. While it has little resemblance to anything the famous one did, I am quite happy with it. I was glad that I had taken my long watercolour block with me, as it was just the ticket to capture that landscape.

Enjoy!

To purchase this, or commission your own painting, please email me.
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New Oil painting and New Sale painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Across Policeman's Creek", oil on panel, 16 x 20"
$1,195.00 framed, free shipping and handling

I took the photo, from which this painting was made, just as the sun was setting in Canmore, AB. I loved the palette of orange, violet and green and thought it would make a wonderful painting. I have struggled to get a good photo of it, but with the light so low and fleeting at this time of year, it was very difficult. Can you trust me that the actual painting is beautiful?

I know I haven't posted in a while, but here is another Clearance sale painting:

"Remembering Home iii", watercolour on Yupo
beautifully framed in a mahogany wood frame, double archival mats and glass
28 x 34" framed, SOLD

Enjoy!
To purchase this, or commission your own painting, please email me.

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New Oil and Clearance Sale painting by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Men Hens", oil on board, 6x6"
SOLD

I did this from a photo I took in Acapulco a dozen years ago. I just love the body language on these guys, hence my title. (snigger, snigger) My painting challenge is to learn to paint well from photographs! Unusual I know, but I am such a 'life or nothing' person. It took me WAY too long (aka 2 days) to finish it. I must persevere!!!

I ended up re-photographing my entire show today -what a huge job! There will be about 68 paintings in total, along with photos and text -and I am WAY behind doing the book that will accompany the exhibition. You'all better come if you are in town!!!

Clearance Sale Painting!

"Coulee Light", watercolour, 15 x 22" image, matted in double archival mats, unframed
retail price $450.00
For a limited time only $180.00 plus GST, shipping and handling.

Enjoy!

To purchase this, or commission your own painting, please email me.

CLEARANCE SALE WATERCOLOR

"Poppy Riot", watercolour, image 11 x 14"
framed size 18 X 22", double matted and in a lovely wood frame
SOLD

It is really hard to let this one go, as it is another of my favorite watercolours, but alas, I need to reclaim some wall space in my house. I hope it goes to a good home!

Enjoy!

To purchase this, or commission your own painting, please email me.

How Do I Do It All? and another SALE Watercolour by Sharon Lynn Williams

"Iris Garden", watercolour, image 11 x 14"
framed size 18 x 22"- double mat and lovely mahogany wood frame
This is one of my absolutely favorite watercolours, but alas, no more room on my walls!
SOLD

On another note, one of my followers recently asked: "How do you paint so much and get so many paintings finished? What are your schedule secrets? It would really help me if I knew how to work so well. I want to make this new year productive as my years are sliding by very rapidly, as I’m now 73 years old and I only started painting in 2005. You see that I have a lot to cover even if I am a Grandma Moses!"
I asked Shirley for permission to post her question, as I thought it might benefit you. WOW, firstly let me say that I am really impressed at her drive and determination, and that is half of the secret, as well as half the battle. I know I have been given a great gift, and believe it is my calling in life to be an artist and a teacher. God has given me an incredible passion to paint which sustains me, as long as I am willing to do the hard work. And as you know, there is a lot of that to do. You know, it never gets easier, the bar just keeps getting higher.
As for schedule, I am really not that disciplined, and don't have a daily routine, I am sorry to say. But I do try to paint whenever I can, and I really LOVE to paint outside -so if it is nice enough out that I don't get soaked, frozen or blown away, I will try to paint out. Otherwise, I think I have to credit my teaching for keeping me in production mode. You can't teach from an empty well, and although it makes finding painting time more difficult, it is what I need to do to keep ahead of my students. I have often heard it said "if you want to learn something really well, teach someone else", and I think that is really true. Add to that a somewhat sucessful professional career which adds it's own demands, and there you have it. No time NOT to paint!! And it does help that I am a fairly fast painter, and I stick with it until it is done whenever possible.
If I could give you some suggestions that might help you, one would be to set aside some time on a regular schedule, several times a week, just to paint. Don't worry about the product, just focus on the process. You just have to get in the brush miles!! Do it when you feel like it, but especially when you don't. You will find yourself absorbed within minutes, and you won't have to feel guilty because you didn't even try. Find your bliss! This is something that you obviously are passionate about, so GO FOR IT. It might be helpful to get together with other like minded souls to paint together and encourage each other. Show your work, if you like it, so that people you have never met can encourage you as well. Take some workshops from artists you admire. And finally, try to stay positive. Believe in yourself!
Best of luck my friend

Please note that I have added my upcoming shows and workshops to the sidebar of my blog, as well as a list of post categories so that you can navigate to past posts with convenience. There- scratch off one of my New Year's goals!!!

If you would like to purchase this painting, or ask a question of your own, please email me.