Author Archives: esanford

New Classes & Show!

I’m delighted to announce that I’ll be teaching at the Franklin Recreation Center starting in October! They have big classrooms with plenty of room for everyone to spread out and have their own table. I’ll be offering a 4-week version of Practical Color Theory that starts on October 21 and a Forest Bathing and Art workshop on October 16. Since the Center is in a park, we’ll be able to do the Forest Bathing there, then head inside for the painting part of the workshop. Both classes should be listed on their website by the end of this week; then you’ll be able to register here by searching for either one by name:

https://apm.activecommunities.com/wcpr/Activity_Search

For specific links, you can also visit the Workshops and Classes page on my website next week; and feel free to email me with any questions! Here’s a view of the park; it’s right by the Harpeth River:

If you’re interested in seeing some of my art in person, come visit me at the seventh annual Art on the West Side event at the Gordon JCC on October 2 and 3! You can learn more here: http://artonthewestside.org/

I’ll be showing several watercolor sculptures, including Tales of the Understory, Part 3. Here’s a closeup:

Mystery Technique #106

Watercolor pencils are great for making subtle changes! Next month you can learn more about how I use them if you’ve signed up for email updates!

ANSWER TO MYSTERY TECHNIQUE #105:

Here are the paints I used for the tree roots, a liner brush for details, and a piece of the same painted paper:

I started by wetting the paper, then dropped in a mix of several Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus watercolors, Winsor & Newton’s Granulation Medium, and more water to make the paint flow. Tilting the paper in different directions increased the textural effects. After the paper dried, I cut out the tree shapes and added shadows and details. Here’s a work in progress with the same torn paper stencil and modified bristle brush I used last month:

The color is a mixture of Ultramarine and Daniel Smith’s Lunar Black. You can see a test of the dry brush technique on the stencil. By painting a dark value along the edge of the stencil, I created a greater sense of depth:

Exciting News & New Work!

I’m happy to announce that I’ve found a new location to teach classes, starting in the fall! Since it’s near a park, we’re also discussing the possibility of offering a Forest Bathing workshop. We’re still working out the details, so more specific information will have to wait until next month. It’ll be great to be teaching again!

My latest tunnel book is called We Are Not Alone. It’s inspired by walks in the woods and stories of the kinds of interconnections found there. What you see depends on your point of view, and each panel tells part of the story. Notice how different it looks from the other side:

And here’s a trip back in time featuring just the panels without the accordion sides: