Landscape Sketching and Watercolors

I was back at the John C. Campbell Folk School for another week of watercolor painting.  This time the workshop was on Landscape Sketching in Watercolor, lead by Marilynn Brandenburger and Carol Parks.  It was a wonderful spring week to be in the mountains.  I learned so much during the workshop, and we had such a great time painting.  Marilynn's demonstrations really helped us improve our sketches and landscape paintings.

Landscape paintings in western culture tend to be about nature.  The paintings are filled with linear perspective and expanses of fields, mountains, hills and forests.  The word 'Landscape' comes from the Dutch word 'landschap', meaning region or piece of land.  Dutch painters were influential in reviving landscapes as a subject for painting.  More modern landscape artists mix wilderness with cultivated land, or urban views.  These paintings include people (or at least the work of people) instead of being solely a view of pure nature.  The Museum Network web site includes an interactive timeline on the history of landscape. 

Steve spent the week on the other side of the campus in the Enameling Studio taking an advanced class in bead making lead by Terry Hale.  He and his class mates made some great beads using the techniques Terry demonstrated.