About the Instructor — Kim Johnson:

Artist Statement: I love to capture life, to use color to express the joy of living combined with the pleasure I get from the medium. As life brings new experiences to me as a person, there’s an exponential increase in confidence to my expression of life through color. I particularly enjoy the challenge of carefully working out a composition without losing spontaneity.

Most of my paints are Daniel Smith, but I also have some Winsor and Newton, and Holbein on my pallet. My preference is 300-pound hot press Fabriano Artistico paper, but for some paintings I've used cold press and 140 pound.

Signature Memberships
American Watercolor Society
National Watercolor Society
Transparent Watercolor Society of America Watercolor West
San Diego Watercolor Society
Western Federation of Watercolor Societies Arizona Watercolor Association

Features

Splash 13: Alternative Approaches Splash 14: Light and Color
Splash 16: Exploring Texture Splash 17: Inspiring Subjects Splash 21: Capturing Mood

The Art of Watercolour Magazine (21st Issue)
Pratique des Arts Magazine (No 133)
Art Journey Animals: A Collection of Inspiring Contemporary Masterworks (North Light Books)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kim.johnsonnechtman

Email : https://www.kim@kj-art.com

Website: https://www.kj-art.com

About the Workshop:

This workshop will concentrate on painting the features and how to put it all together using interesting colors and shapes. You will learn not to be intimated by portraits and see that they can be loads of fun! And, that color doesn’t matter but value does!

From the artist:

Our workshop is coming up quickly and, I’m told, will be a full-house. To ensure we make the best use of your time, I’m highly recommending you complete the following items to bring with you to the workshop:

Prepare at least 4-portraits 7.5”x11” contour drawings in advance (more if you paint fast) on whichever watercolor paper you prefer.. We will be focusing on the portrait parts the first half of the day and starting portrait on the second half of the day. Day two, we will focus entirely on the portrait.
Please understand that this is a painting class, not a drawing class, do whatever is necessary to get your drawing on the paper in advance of the class --- use a light box, use gridlines, trace, or free draw if your comfortable. Also, use the paper you are most comfortable with as long as it is not student grade (same with the paints you intend to bring).
When looking for your reference, be sure it has a good light source... including light, mid, and dark tones.
I prefer to paint from a black and white print that’s as large as my actual painting to best see actual shapes. Again, I recommend you have a good contour drawing already on your paper (see examples)
If you don’t know how to make your reference the same size as your finished painting, here are a couple of suggestions.
- If you are an Apple user, I recommend downloading the SplitPrint app.
- If you are a PC user, use Split@Print.
  I’m so looking forward to our time together!

Watercolor Class Supply List

Following is a complete list of supplies. Kim encourages you to bring the supplies and colors you are familiar with using.

Watercolor Paper:140 lbs (Kim uses 300 lbs) Arches or Fabriano, are all good ones. You may want to try both the hot press and the cold press to see which you prefer. She suggests that you stay away from anything less than 140 lbs and papers that come out of a tablet.

Brushes: Brushes are an investment! Sable is considered the best quality for watercolor brushes; however, there are good synthetic and synthetic blends. The artist uses a number Silver Black Velvet 6, 8 10 12, and 16 round. Other brushes that are not expensive are the Simple Simons.

Paint: Kim suggests you use professional grade paint. The student grade is less expensive, but the colors can vary too much from professional grade.

Colors Used by the artist

French Ultramarine
Cobalt Blue
Cerulean Blue
Carmine or Rose Madder Genuine Cadmium Red Light
Quinacridone Violet (optional color)
Brilliant Orange or Cadmium Orange Cadmium Yellow (Kim has been experimenting with other yellows) or Azo and Winsor Yellow Deep
Raw Sienna and/or Yellow Ochre Raw Umber
Burnt Sienna (Winsor Newton) Burnt Umber
Serpentine Genuine (Green)
Mineral Violet
Other colors Kim likes to have handy are manganese, cobalt violet light, phthalo yellow green, and iridescent electric blue.

Photographs: It is best to paint from your own photos, but if you don’t have a photo to work from you can always Google for what you want, just be careful because some of these images are subject to copyright. The artist looks for good lights, mid-tones, and darks in any of her potential paintings. Please do not work with photos from any publications!! These photos are taken professionally and do not have the right kind of lighting we are looking for!

Kim likes to convert her photo to a black and white and likes to make it as large as the painting will be. This is somewhat a substitute for a value study. When your reference is as large as the painting it enables you to see the shapes much better. She uses a SplitPrint on my Mac to enlarge my image(the cost is just a few dollars) and Split@Print on a PC-which, I believe is free.

Since our time is limited, please have your drawing on your paper ready to be painted!

Miscellaneous Supplies

• Watercolor palette—John Pike, or a small travel palette is good

• Large water container
• Board (one that push pins will stick into)
• Pushpins

• A rag or paper towels • Spray Bottle

Cost
$150 for TRA Members, $180 for Non-Members, if paid by cash or check. If paid online, a convenience change has been added to the price. If you are paying by cash or check, please mail your check to TRA and email Judy Milsaps.

If you are registering for the workshop with the pay at the center option, please make sure that you click the cart that appears at the upper right hand corner of your screen and complete the registration process. The registration process will include a zero dollar payment. You must complete the registration process or your registration will not be complete, and we will not know that you are planning on being in the workshop. If you do not receive a confirmation, you have not completed the process. If you have questions, please contact Kathy Durdin at kathydurdin@gmail.com.