Discover your inner Van Gogh this summer by learning watercolor painting. I did it just recently and what a great experience it was. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. In as short as 3 hours, with the gentle guidance of the artistic couple Denise and Dino, you’ll be able to create your first watercolor painting that you can be proud of.
I have some drawing background so I understand light and shadow. What I don’t have experience with is working with watercolor. I had imagined that working with watercolor can be a bit intimidating. Unlike pencil that you can erase or crayons that you can color over, water flows like it has its own life! And this is why it’s fascinating to me. I’ve been meaning to try it, but just never got to. So happy to finally be able to join one of Dino and Denise’s Art classes.
The Basics
The class began with Dino giving a short introduction on watercolor painting. He also discussed the different types of brushes, brush techniques, and properties of papers used for watercolor. Then each of us were given a set of materials to be used to create our masterpieces. Materials included were paint, paper, brushes, mixing plate, and two glasses filled with water.
No amount of explanation will make you understand these theories better than when you brush paint into paper. After a few brush exercises, we got the feel of how watercolor reacts. Slowly you’ll get the understanding on how to adjust the amount of water and paint to get the effect you want on paper.
To review our basic color theory, we mixed colors to make new colors such as two primaries to make secondary colors, and one primary and one secondary to make tertiary colors. All this while completing our color wheel.
Brush Strokes and Color Wheel
The Making of a “Masterpiece”
Normally there would be an actual bowl of fruits as subject. But that day, we had a picture instead: a bunch of pears on a table. It’s good because the objective of this class is to learn the use of watercolor to create a three-dimensional picture.
And so a large clean watercolor paper was laid in front of us. We looked at it, hesitantly at first, for fear of wasting a good paper. But finally, with a deep breath, we loaded our brushes with yellow paint, and began.
With coaching and encouragements, we paint away. Dino and Denise were beside us the whole time, guiding us step by step and giving suggestions on how to achieve the colors or effect we were trying to achieve. In less than three hours, we finished our masterpiece! Interesting, isn’t it, that while we had the same photo as our inspiration, all our paintings turned out a bit different from each other. Especially the colors—our artistic signature kicking in.
Art Classes for Everyone
The class is light and fun. It is recommendable for anyone from 8 years to 80 years old, with or without drawing experience. The only requirement is that you want to try. The best example is my sister Girlie who, among us, has the least interest in art. Dino’s teaching skill was put into a hard test, but finally, I’d say he succeeded, as my sister was able to produce a reasonably nice work.
Cobi Sisters: Girlie, Lilliane, and Candie
Art and Adventure Partners: Dino and Denise
Dino and Denise Art
Dino and Denise is a lovely couple whose life together is centered around art and travels. Denise is a talented visual artist whose design, painting, and photography I’m a huge fan of. To see more of her work, find them on Instagram using the tag #saradeniseart. Dino, on the other hand, is a professional graphic artist who is also a talented painter and a leather craftsman. These art classes are born out of numerous friends’ requests after seeing their works on social media.
Learn Watercolor Painting this Summer
So when in Manila, sign up for one of the limited Watercolor Workshops offered this summer! Who knows, you could be the next artist to sell painting at 380,00 pesos. Workshop happens every Saturday of April and possibly in May too.
For inquiries, contact Denise at saradenise@gmail.com.
