About This Experience

In this two-day workshop, Angela will demonstrate her process for getting to the heart of a scene and painting an abstract landscape that sings with energy and expresses the artist's life and the beauty of watercolour. We will work with traditional and non-traditional watercolour media and learn how to use classic concepts around design in a way that speaks to each artist. 

This workshop is best suited to artists who are familiar with watercolour techniques, want to develop their design skills and become more confident in their self-expression. 

Day 1 (am): Bringing YOU to your painting process 

For artists yearning to paint more loosely, you’ve already learned that trying harder to be loose is a contradiction. Angela will choose a subject for exploration and demonstrate that the first version “shows what I don’t know yet,” exercises for relaxing into the process and strategies for strengthening the watercolour technique. 

Day 1 (pm): Getting to the heart of your subject

It’s easy to get distracted by the details in your reference photo. During this session, Angela will share methods for simplifying your subject, developing composition and design and finding ways to render your scene more playfully. 

Day 2 (am): Iteration and Experimentation 

Finding your voice in abstracting your subject means taking some risks and letting your painting surprise you! Angela will demonstrate how she experiments with materials and techniques with the goal of breaking the boundaries of what you thought your art should 

look like and make new, exciting discoveries that will speak into your art. 

Day 2 (pm): Freedom Strategies 

This day will be dedicated to abstracting your subject even further as a method of training yourself to see patterns of light and shadow as the underlying “bones” of your painting upon which the details are built. Whether you are a detail-oriented or abstract artist, learning to see your subject this way will strengthen your art and create more confident, impactful paintings. Angela will also teach you how to evaluate your work from a growth perspective and use what you see in your art to propel you to more confident self-expression.

Note: Each day there will be a 1-hr lunch break

Participant Materials

Bring the paint colours, brushes, and paper you enjoy using most. Refrain from adding new colours before the workshop, as this will increase the volume of what you need to learn and remember. Working with familiar materials will help you paint with more freedom of expression. 

Watercolour Paper: 100% Cotton CP 140lbs 11 X 15  (quartered large sheet) 

Note: Bring five pieces of paper per day of the workshop. If you usually paint small, you might prefer 9x12 inch paper. You will also need a paper support board to tape or clip paper down; a Coroplast Sheet will work. 

Masking Tape

Sketchbook 

Mark-Making Tools (Participants Choice): Pencil,  Caran d'Ache Neocolor II, Graphite Powder, Dip Pens etc.

Water Containers X 2

Paper Towels 

Angela Fehrs - Studio Favourites

Daniel Smith Watercolours: Aussie Red Gold, Carmine, Cobalt Teal Blue, Cobalt Violet Deep, Green Gold, Hematite Burnt Scarlet Genuine, Lavender, Mars Yellow, Moonglow, Nickel Azo Yellow, Opera Pink, Phthalo Turquoise, Quinacridone Sienna, Rose of Ultramarine, Sodalite Genuine, Venetian Red, Verditer Blue, Zoisite Genuine

da Vinci Casaneo Watercolour Brushes: Long Quill # 0, 2

da Vinci COSMOTOP Watercolour Brushes: Round #12

da Vinci Leonardo Silverpoint Watercolour Brush: Quill #12

Princeton Aqua Elite Watercolour Brushes: Stroke Brush ½’, Round #12

Princeton VelvetouchSeries 3950 Brush: Long Round #12

Arches Watercolour Paper CP 140lbs