About the Instructor:
Artist Statement
Sketching in journals with watercolor has been an ever evolving endeavor that has given me vast amounts of satisfaction. The work in my journals has provided me with much better memory-recall of past experiences of phenomenal trips abroad as well as small, everyday moments that would have easily been lost to life’s constant onslaught. My artistic career started as a full-sheet watercolor artist while working as a graphic designer for a corporate office. The skills learned in the commercial art field have been key in creating successful journal pages, but it was not until I realized a new mindset was necessary to create in variable circumstances that I started to have success on the page.
Working in the moment while on location gives me an indelible experience regardless of my success at putting marks on the page. The very nature of pausing to sketch allows me absorb far more through my senses than if I only stop long enough to hit the shutter button on my camera. Working on location has taught me to hone my vision to what truly speaks to me and to cut away the extraneous detail. The immediacy of working on location with simple tools and color continue to challenge me to grow as an artist and has lead to a deeper understanding of my personal aesthetic as an artist.
Laure
About the Workshop:
An Impromptu Visit To (Sketch) Tampa
If not for a pandemic, we’d be meeting in person to sketch all around the Tampa Regional Artists’ location, but life seldom goes as planned and that’s when flexibility becomes one of the most important skills an artist can have in their tool box! In this class, we’ll be working from a variety of photographs from around TRA’s home base in Tampa just as we would have if not for a virus upending our plans.
Some of the topics we’ll cover is how working quickly from photos can help us to capture the charm of actually being on location, allowing our quirkiness to show in our work and how to embrace and incorporate mistakes that nearly always happen when working fast on location.
Photographs provide their very own trap as they allow us to “take our time.” How often does this happen when working on location? It’s when we take our time that a page can become too precious, mistakes can seem insurmountable and the art can look overworked because we didn’t stop soon enough. For these reasons, we’ll be working fast (and if you’re not a fast sketcher, don’t worry, we’ll be addressing that as well) to capture the essence of these locations and what speaks to us directly.
When working from photographs as if you are really on location with a limited amount of time, it becomes necessary to change the way you approach the subject, how you complete the page, and what to do about those pesky mistakes. Bring your sense of adventure a dollop or two of fun and enjoy exploring Tampa with me!
This 2 hour virtual workshop will focus on developing a successful mindset to sketch quickly on location. It is geared towards any artist who would like to begin sketching and drawing on location or an artist seeking a refresher course to update their skills.
Working on location is a completely different experience from working in the studio and there are several pitfalls the studio artist can and will fall into without advance warning to change their mindsets to fit the circumstances.
This workshop format proposes working in a journal* or sketchbook* with a focus on capturing the essence of a location, learning to suggest details and textures without becoming bogged down in the minutia. Artists learning to sketch on location place a huge amount of pressure on themselves to create something “good enough” and often feel they’ve failed as it doesn’t equal what they would have created in a studio environment. By working in a journal, the pressure is somewhat lessened as there is nothing implied that the page will ever be seen by anyone but the artist.
Areas of Focus: Accuracy is Overrated Learn to observe CLOSELY Have FUN and PLAY Basic Drawing and Watercolor Skills Wonderful Wonkiness! Embrace Your Quirk Special Touches - Color Keys, Label boxes, Weather Boxes, Splatters Adding Text to the Page - Journaling, Titles, Handwriting
*An alternative to working in a journal or sketchbook would be to work on watercolor-appropriate postcards. The cards can be mailed or kept as a souvenir.
Cost
$40 for TRA Members, $50 for Non-Members
Topic: Laure Ferlita workshop
Time: May 15, 2021 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7409862189
Supply List:
The items below are my basic kit. I may not use every item each time I’m on location, but I’ve used them enough to make it worthwhile to have them at all times.
5.5” x 8.5,” 7” x 7” or 7” x 10” Watercolor Sketchbook (For someone just getting started I recommend Canson Montval Watercolor Spiral Bound Pad, 5.5” x 8.5”) Regardless of the brand, please be sure your sketchbook plays well with watercolors!
#2 Pencil - I like mechanical pencils as I don’t need a sharpener.
White Eraser
Kneaded Eraser
Permanent Ink Pen* in gray, black or sepia in a thick and thin nib size
Uni•Ball® White Signo Gel pen in white
White Sharpie® Poster Paint Pen in a Fine Tip OR a white POSCA Paint Marker in a Fine Tip
A few pieces of Tracing Paper cut down to fit in the back of your sketchbook
A few pieces of scrap watercolor paper for testing ideas and pigments
Ruler
Large and small waterbrushes
Watercolors - A small portable kit. (e.g. Winsor Newton, Koi, Cotman)
Facial Tissues - An inexpensive brand works best!
Paper Towels
Images will be provided.
*Pen Recommendations: For the Gray Permanent Pen - Derwent Graphik LineMaker. For the Permanent Black Pen - Faber Castell® Pitt® Pens, Pigma® Micron® and Prismacolor. All brands make a wide range of permanent colored markers. Be very careful of using Sharpie® ink markers as they can bleed through your paper months after you use them. The paint markers are fine. Please do not bring any “favorite” art supplies that cannot be easily and inexpensively be replaced. Leave Great-Aunt Margaret’s palette at home along with the fountain pen that set you back a month’s pay! There are few things more heartbreaking than to damage, lose, or drop a favorite art toy.
Registration:
Click the button below to register for this workshop.
