Flattening Your Watercolor Painting

When you get your painting, carefully take it out of the tube and out of the plastic sleeve Lay it face down on clean dry paper towels on a hard, flat, clean surface (like a table). Wet a clean sponge so that it is damp, not wet. Wipe the back (unpainted) side with the sponge, covering all the paper. Quickly place the wet side on paper towels. Place more clean dry paper towels on the painted side; then weight the painting with heavy, clean books. Leave for a day or two. Your painting will be flat and ready to frame.

Tips for Self Framing

I sell paintings unframed so that you can choose a mat and frame that suits your décor and taste. You can get your work framed professionally at a frame shop or a discount store like Aaron Brothers. Or you can self-frame. (See the Handouts listing in Tips for Matting and Framing)

Tips on Selecting a Workshop Experience

In reviewing my experience with the workshops I’ve taken from Frank Webb and Ron Ranson, Birgit O’Connor, and Vinita Pappas,  I feel the while seeing an artist demo in person is of real value, most learning comes from good painting videos and books and from ongoing painting instruction. Most important, though, is daily practice of your painting skills. When you have this groundwork, the right workshop experience will be an enhancement.

I recommend checking out the workshop presenter by using these guidelines:

1. Does this artist’s work inspire me?

2. What do others say about the presenter?

3. Is the presenter, first and foremost, a good teacher?

3. Call or email the presenter to ask:

• What is the workshop format?
• Will there be short stepwise demos that let participants paint along (the best for learning)?
• How much independent painting time is there?
• How much talk about theory will there be?
• How much one-on-one guidance is there? (This is important.)
• Is there a critique at the end?
• How is it structured?
• How much time off for lunch is there? (You don’t want too waste too much of your time on a lunch break.)

Getting this information prior to paying the big bucks will help you make a wise choice.

Handouts on Art Information

In teaching college courses on painting, I have distilled all that wordy information in the painting texts and demo books into handy, straightforward handouts. The topics are listed below. Email me at jeward@shasta.com and I will email you the attached handout document, which you can download.

Handout Topics

General Art Terms

Working from Photographs

Design Checklist

Art Quotes

Recommended Books

Art History (Impressionism to Contemporary)

Watercolor Terms

Watercolor Brushes

Watercolor Paper

Watercolor Paints

Watercolor Techniques

Matting and Framing

Painting to Standard Mat Opening Sizes