Online Class: Vibrant Color Mixing for Painting Leaves in Watercolor

Inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s leaf-themed artwork, create color studies of seasonal hues by learning the key concepts behind vibrant watercolor mixing through focused exercises. 

A longtime educator of color theory, teaching artist Sudeshna Sengupta will share her pedagogical concept of approaching the watercolor palette as a color wheel that uses cyan, magenta, and yellow as primaries. Procuring the color palette and paints listed below is recommended for best results. 

For the color studies, participants are welcome to gather seasonal leaves and other objects ahead of time to paint from, or they can follow along with the in-class painting demonstration with the instructor.

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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. Please email contact@gokm.org or call 505-946-1000 for assistance with event registration.

Weather permitting. Registrants will be notified 24 hours in advance if the lesson is to be canceled.

Supplies needed for he class: 

• Watercolor paints — individual tubes are recommended but a box of half-pans may work as a starter set. 
• Recommended paints in watercolor tubes (similar colors may be substituted): 1. Hansa Yellow, 2. Indian Yellow or Quinacridone Gold, 3. Pyrrole Orange or Vermillion, 4. Carmine, 5. Opera, Quinacridone Rose, Permanent Rose, Opera Pink, or Opera Rose, 6. Quinacridone Purple/Violet, 7. Dioxazine Purple/Violet, 8. Ultramarine Blue, 9. Pthalo Blue or Thalo Blue, 10. Viridian, 11. Sap Green, 12. Leaf Green, 13. 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 is ideal. A Jones Travel Palette is recommended.
• A 9” x 12” or larger newsprint pad or ordinary sketch pad for preliminary warm-up drawing practice before painting.
• 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 regular 2 pencil (a.k.a. HB) or 2B 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. Optional: a 1 Flat brush that’s 1⁄2” to 1.5” wide. Royal Soft-Grip Watercolor Round brushes work well.
• An ordinary ¾” – 1” mop brush to be used as a clean-up brush after erasing pencil lines.
• Q-tips and paper towel or pieces of cotton rag. Cut-up pieces from a clean, used t-shirt work well.
• 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.
• Toothpicks and or a blunt plastic tool such as a disposable plastic knife for sgraffito technique.
• Optional: Hair dryer if available, a white wax crayon or a small piece of candle for optional resist techniques, watercolor pencils for additional details, 12″ Ruler.

The items above should be available locally or online from Amazon as individual items in the U.S. and in Europe. They can also be purchased online as individual items or as a set from 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 a few years ago, she has taught credit courses in online studio art at the Santa Fe Community College. Her etching prints are in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; Association Musée d’Art Contemporain, France; Kala Institute, Berkeley; Artists Trust, Seattle, Chandigarh Govt. Art Museum, India, Gerald Champion Memorial Hospital, NM, and more. Her etchings and lithographs from the permanent collection of the NGMA have been featured in a major exhibition on Women Printmakers of India in 2024 at NGMA, New Delhi. 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 U.S. and in India, often with a focus on multicultural and intercultural experiences that emphasize human, cultural, and environmental connectedness through creativity. To see her art please visit  notes-and-doodles.com and Instagram.

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.