Linn Cove Viaduct Watercolor Painting

I think this painting is finished now!  I started it last Wednesday at Art Student Academy in Wake Forest. Steve Filarsky was the instructor for Autumn Color in Watercolors.



Linn Cove Viaduct, 2011, Jeanne T. McBrayer

I punched up the color a bit, added the illusion of a railing, and added more foliage in the foreground.  I added more dark paint under the bridge to make it pop more.  I also added a little bit of gray to the blue ridge mountains in the background.  I mixed a very dark green to make the evergreens stand out.

Here is a very cool product if you want to revise a watercolor painting without starting over. 

It is intended to prepare any surface to accept watercolor paints.  Glass, seashells, wood, fabric, metal...all can be prepared first with Watercolor Ground, and then painted with watercolors.  However, it is also good for covering up boo-boos.  In my case, I did not like the shadow that I painted on the viaduct, covered it in the white ground product, and then repainted it in black.

You can see some tutorials on this product at the Daniel Smith website.



Watercolor Painting Class

Last night I attended a two hour watercolor painting class by Art Student Academy in downtown Wake Forest at the Wake Forest Frame Shop. 


Photo by M. Theresa Brown


Art Student Academy is a husband-wife artist team with a variety of class formats and locations.  Last night's class was taught by Stephen Filarsky, but Theresa also joined us during the workshop.  Our topic was Fall Color in Watercolor.

Our subject was the Linn Cove Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway, winding around Grandfather Mountain.  We had color photo references, and started with a black and white photocopy that we transferred on to watercolor paper.  All supplies are furnished at the workshop, including brushes, paint, palettes, even water containers.



Only three of the ten of us in the class had ever tried painting with watercolors before, but every student finished a painting by the end of the two-hour class! 


Photo by M. Theresa Brown


Theresa took a photo of each participant.  Here I am with mine- complete with a charcoal smudge or two on my face.  I want to work on the bridge a bit, but I was pleased with my sky and some of the foliage.  Hmm, my evergreen trees seem to be bending in the wind.  Probably true on mile-high Grandfather Mountain!

I even liked the little abstract that emerged on the small paper that we used to try out the paints.  This might become a background for a future collage or journal page.

The session was very relaxed and friendly.  I am sure I will sign up for more classes.  The cost is only $30.00 for a two-hour class.  They offer instruction in acrylics and oils as well as watercolors.  There is even a class called Art + Wine that they teach in the Twisted Vine wine shop in Wake Forest.  That one sounds like me!