Art for your Lifestyle

I’m so excited! In two weeks I am going to Whistler to take a 3 day workshop by watercolour artist David McEown. He is an amazing watercolour artist. I love how he keeps so much light in his work. Every shape is delicately drawn and perfect, yet inside the shapes he lets the watercolour melt and do its thing. It is simply wonderful. You must see his work: artistjourneys.com.

An interesting side note is that I actually found out about this workshop on Twitter! I just happened to catch a tweet from the Whistler Arts Council about their workshops at the cabin on the lake and when I saw this workshop with David McEown I knew it was the one for me. I called them right away to sign up.

I haven’t taken a workshop in quite a few years. I’ve wanted to take one but hadn’t found the right one until now. I can’t wait!

Find out more about the Whistler on the Lake arts program…

Dear Kendra,

I am a grade 3 teacher at Eileen Madson Primary school in Invermere. Over the past couple of years I have bought several cards of your watercolours. I have tried to teach your style for snowmen, flowers and winter forest scenes to my grade 3 students. I hope that this ok. Thank you so much for the inspiration.

Lorraine Holmes
Grade 3

Hi Lorraine,

Thanks for your email. I’m happy I could inspire you especially as you are passing along the inspiration to a new generation of budding artists. Teaching children to paint is so exciting because they are so imaginative. Children will push the boundaries and explore with the paint which is very rewarding when you are teaching them.

A few of my favourite tricks to show children are:

• With a wet paint mixture lay down some green paint at the edge of the page letting it pool up. Then use a kitchen fork to quickly pull grass blades out of the pool of paint onto the page. It saves so much time and looks more natural than using a small brush to paint grass.
• With watercolour paint you can create snow or stars by sprinkling salt on the paper as the paint begins to dry. You will get different results depending on how wet the paint still is.
• Use a piece of masking tape to lay down the trees. Paint your background over top. Then remove the masking tape and add some details to the tree. Works especially well for a night scene with the moon and birch trees.
• Use a white candle to draw secret invisible shapes and then bring them to life by painting bright colours over the wax drawings.

Have fun and happy painting!

Kendra

Kendra will be hosting the following workshops in her studio in downtown Kelowna, BC:

BEGINNER WATERCOLOUR – SNOW AND WINTER SHADOWS
October 20th and 21st, 2007 : 10am – 4pm with an hour break for lunch

This weekend workshop is for those who have little or some experience in watercolour. With demonstrations and easy exercises we will use the basic elements of composition, colour and light to help bring your watercolours to life. The focus of this class will be on painting snow and winter shadows.

Cost: $90
Includes: coffee and all supplies on loan for the weekend
Location: 375 Bernard Avenue in Studio #5, Kelowna, BC
The studio is upstairs from Starbucks on the corner of Pandosy and Bernard. Enter in the door beside the Momo Sushi Cafe and go upstairs and to the end of the hall.
Register: You must pre-register. Please call Kendra at 250-862-4958 to sign up. Visit www.kendraart.com

INTRODUCTION TO WATERCOLOUR – BASIC TECHNIQUES
October 13th and 14th, 2007 : 10am – 4pm with an hour break for lunch

Artist Kendra Smith will host this weekend workshop that is perfect for people who have never tried watercolour painting. Emphasis will be placed on the techniques and skills you’ll need to develop a foundation of watercolour basics. Through demonstrations, practice and individual attention, we’ll take the intimidation out of watercolour and make painting easy and fun.

Cost: $90
Includes: coffee and all supplies on loan
Location: 375 Bernard Avenue in Studio #5,
The studio is upstairs from Starbucks on the corner of Pandosy and Bernard in Kelowna, BC. Enter in the door beside the Momo Sushi Cafe and go upstairs and to the end of the hall.
Register: You must pre-register. Please call Kendra at 250-862-4958 to sign up. Visit www.kendraart.com