Online Class: Still Life Composition in Watercolor

Inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s watercolors, this intermediate-level class will focus on creating an observational still-life painting. In addition to explaining O’Keeffe’s tonal treatments and compositional approach, instructor Sudeshna Sengupta will show the class how to practice gesture drawing and how to prepare a composition using value plans before starting to paint a still life in watercolor. Participants are welcome to set up their own still life using simple objects including fruits and vegetables, or they can follow along with the still life that will be set up for the demonstration.

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This class is suitable for youth ages 12 and up. Children are welcome to participate alongside their adults.

Space is limited, reservations required.

This program will take place via the video conferencing app – ZOOM. Details for accessing the Zoom meeting will be with your receipt upon registering and again sent via email the day prior. Please register in advance in order to access the program. Note that all program times are in Mountain Time.

Online classes are not recorded. Online classes are offered only as a live and interactive experience.

Supplies needed for this class: 

• Water-soluble graphite pencil or black watercolor pencil
• Watercolor paints: While a set of half pans can be used for getting started, watercolor tubes in these or similar colors are recommended for better results: 1. Hansa Yellow, 2. Indian Yellow or Quinacridone Gold, 3. Vermillion, 4. Carmine, 5. Opera, Quinacridone Rose, Permanent Rose, Opera or Opera Rose, 6. Purple/Violet, 7. Ultramarine Blue, 8. Pthalo Blue or Thalo Blue, 9. Viridian, 10. Sap Green, 11. Leaf Green, 12. Burnt Sienna or Quinacridone Burnt Orange. 
• Recommended brands of watercolor paint tubes: 
  • Student/Learner grade: Van Gogh, Grumbacher Academy, or W & N Cotman
  • Professional grade: Holbein, M. Graham, Daniel Smith, or Winsor & Newton
• A 12-well circular palette with a larger center to mix paints. Jones Travel Palette is recommended.
• Watercolor block (preferred) or pad (tape-bound, not spiral-bound) of Fluid, Strathmore 400 series (not 300 series), Canson, or any other brand with acid-free 140 lbs (300 gsm) sheets in Cold-Press finish that is between 9” x 12” and 12” x 16” in size.
• A 4B pencil
• A white eraser.
• Round and Flat Watercolor brushes (synthetic ‘Taklon’ brushes are fine): 4 to 5 Round brushes in the range of Size 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 Royal Soft-Grip Watercolor Round brushes or Princeton Snap brushes work well.
• An ordinary ¾” – 1” mop brush to be used as a clean-up brush after erasing pencil lines.
• Masking tape if a watercolor pad is used instead of a watercolor block.
• Two to three empty glass jars or containers for holding water.
• 9” x 12” or larger sketching/drawing pad for practicing drawing and planning composition
• Optional: Black or dark gray felt-tip marker

These items should be available locally or online from Amazon as individual items in the U.S and in Europe or can be purchased online as individual items or as a set for Sudeshna Sengupta’s class list (U.S. domestic shipping only).

About the Instructor:

Sudeshna Sengupta’s career as a teaching artist spans multiple decades, continents, and cultures that inform her pedagogy for decolonizing studio art. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1985 from Visva-Bharati, an international university founded in India, by the humanist poet Tagore, the first non-European Nobel Laureate (1913). After teaching art and design at the college level in New Delhi, Seattle, and California, she taught at NMSU-Alamogordo, where she established its first intaglio printmaking studio in 1995. Since moving to Santa Fe, she has been teaching credit courses in online studio art at the Santa Fe Community College. She also conducts workshops and short courses and presents lectures and community-based art events for various age groups with civic, cultural, and community organizations in the US and in India, often with a focus on multicultural and inter-cultural experiences that emphasize human, cultural, and environmental connectedness through creativity. To see her art please visit: notes-and-doodles.com 

This class is being offered on a sliding scale.

$10; minimal fee.

$20; covers the cost of the class.

$30; covers the cost of the class, plus a contribution to support educational programs.