Online Class: Springtime Nature Close-ups in Watercolor

Join us to capture the colors of spring in watercolor, zooming in on nature’s beauty in close-up view. Inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s depictions of magnified floral close-ups, this class will explore her compositional, color, and tonal treatments that invite the viewer to marvel at the inner intricacies of these magnificent natural forms. Through interactive demos and instructions, this class will explore the concepts and techniques for color mixing and soft blending to study and render nature close-ups in watercolor. 

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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.

Supplies needed for this class:

• A set of watercolor paints (either tubes or half-pans)
• Watercolor pad or block of Strathmore 400 series or any other brand in any size between 9” x 12” and 12” x 16” 
• A pencil and an eraser
• Watercolor brushes (synthetic ‘Taklon’ brushes are fine): 3 to 5 Round brushes in the range of Size 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 1 Flat brush of at least 1” width
• Watercolor palette with multiple wells and a larger area to mix paints. A plastic palette works.
• Q-tips 
• Sheets of paper towel or tissues, or pieces of cotton rag for blotting and lifting areas of color washes. Cut up pieces from a clean, used t-shirt work great.
• Masking tape if a watercolor pad is used instead of a watercolor block
• 2 to 3 empty glass jars or containers for holding water. Used yogurt containers or wide-mouth smaller glass jars work well
• White wax crayon or a piece of wax-candle for resist techniques
• Optional: Hair dryer if available
• Optional: A white wax crayon or a small piece of candle for optional resist techniques

About the Instructor

Sudeshna Sengupta’s career as a teaching artist spans multiple decades, continents, and cultures that inform her pedagogy of 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 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.

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.