Diana Toma GWS Workshop Oct 2026

I recently attended a 3 day workshop offered as part of the 2026 Georgia Watercolor Society's Members Show held at OCAF.

Diana Toma was be the Judge of the show, and instructor of the 3 day workshop.  She also had an exhibition of her own on display at OCAF: Watercolors versus Acrylics, which places a painting in each media of a similar subject side by side, asking the viewer to compare.  Diana is known for her expressive watercolor and acrylic paintings, and her exhibit showcased her talent in both media.

In the morning of the first day we worked on using light and dark paint to provide shape and depth.  We used a photo of red roses for our inspiration and a large round brush (mop).  Starting by putting down  red petals.  Darkening each flower's center and shadows. Lifting some areas to provide highlights.  Finally, using a flat brush to add swipes of greens for the background leaves.  The large strokes of color give the painting a spontaneous feeling which I liked.

In the afternoon we painted small bouquet of flowers. This looked like a tipical still life. Not my best flower painting, but it did give me the opportunity to work with more colors from the Paul Rubens Watercolor Paint Set of 24 half pans of Vivid Colors Water Colors I purchased for the workshop. For this workshops I used the same paints as the instructor.  You can see the paint set in the photo on the left above.

           

Day two we played with an experimental technique that was new to me and so much fun.  It required: plastic wrap, dish soap and a straw.   First the watercolor paper was taped down to a water proof board.  Next a piece of plastic wrap the same size as the paper was placed next to the paper.  Several splatters of different colors were put on the plastic wrap.  A few drops of dish soap was added to a small cup of water.  We used a straw to blow bubbles, letting them overflow onto the watercolor paper creating a mound in the center.  The plastic wrap was carefully placed on top ot the bubbles, pressing down the edges to the paper (photo below left).  The paint slowly migrates around the bubbles to the paper creating a unique bubble pattern.  When the bubbles have popped, the plastic wrap is removed and the paper is left to dry (photo below right).  

I did a second bubble paper using a limited palette of brown, orange and blues.  Once dry, the paper was used as a background tor a painting of a rocky beach with a starfish (photo on the left).  I shaded the larger bubbles to look like rocks, and added a starfish.  I could have added shells, fish or waves to the bubble painting (photo on the right).  This technique can be used to create rocks for a waterfall, a path or just an interesting background.

 

Day three we worked on portraits.  In the morning we did quick 2, 5 and 10 minute loose watercolor sketches of the same photo (photo on the left below).  We spent the rest of the morning finishing one of our sketches.  I finished my 5 min sketch (photo on the right below).

In the afternoon we worked on a second portrait (on the left below).  We dd a rouch pencil sketch, marking divisions of shapes and highlights.  Then painted working from large loose areas to small precise areas.  I don't paint portraits, but I rather liked how this one turned out (on the right below).