“It’s been a long time since I’ve taught a watercolor class. And I loved it!”
In January and February, the prestigious University Women’s Club in Seattle hosted “Painting Mountains with Jason Dorsey.”
In his introduction to this six week course Jason said:
One of the joys of being an artist is to see and show places we love. Growing up on Camano Island, WA, I was surrounded by mountains: the Cascades to the east and the Olympics to the west. My dad’s parents lived in a valley in the Cascades called Plain and at least once a month we drove Highway 2 through the small towns in the foothills, over Steven’s Pass, to visit them. When we moved from Indianapolis to Redmond in 2015, I began to go on monthly hikes in the Cascades with friends from my church. I’m excited to explore painting these mountains that I love with you.
In this six week course Jason shared five fundamentals to paint the grandeur and glory, the moods and mystery of mountains. He said, “Learning these fundamentals help you paint stunning watercolors; more importantly, they are steps to express your artistic voice. As a particular person, hand-crafted by God, you paintings should reflect your particularity: the unique way you see and feel and express a subject.”
The Six Fundamentals
Fundamental #1: Imagine a Compelling Design
- Choose your painting subject
- Make your design interesting by the Golden Mean
- Consider the perspective of your subject
- Practicum: Simplify and strengthen subject by a thumbnail sketch
Fundamental #2: Plan Contrasting Values
- Choose the light source
- Plan light, medium and dark values
- Decide on lightest light and darkest dark
- Work from light to dark, Push and pull
- Practicum: show values on your thumbnail sketch
Fundamental #3 Choose Color Approach
- Simplicity: choose a simple palette: 4 colors
- Transperancy: lay wash upon was of color
- Complementary: Use complementary colors
- Practicum: Map color approach on your thumbnail sketch
Fundamental #4: Capture Mood
- Ask Q’s: What is your impression of the subject? What is the mood you want to portray it by?
- Plan approach, execute and adapt
- Use Brushes and Brushstrokes to show emotion of the painting
- Practicum: Test different moods on your thumbnail sketch
Fundamental #5: Develop your Voice
- Subject: your approach
- Values: your contrasts
- Color: your color scheme
- Mood: your impression and emotions
- Practicum: how would you like to grow in your artistic voice?
Class #6: Sharing your Art
- Why share your art
- Storytelling
- Practicum: the Process of sharing your art at Sunnyshore Studio for CAA Studio Tour
Paintings by Class Participants
“It was a real joy to watch each of the class participants grow as an artist. And I’m excited for them to be able to showcase one of their paintings at Sunnyshore Studio during the Camano Art Association’s Studio Tour. Here are some of the paintings that class members did:
Each class participant gets to choose one of their mountain paintings to showcase during the CAA Studio tour!
Gift of a Painting
At the last class, Jason invited the class members to choose one of his paintings from along the Sammamish Rivertrail as his gift to them. Here are the paintings that they chose:
See The Painting Mountains Show at Sunnyshore Studio during CAA’s Studio Tour
You are invited to meet the class members and view their artwork at the Upcoming Camano Art Association’s upcoming Studio Tour. Stop by Sunnyshore Studio to see the artwork by these emerging artists!
