Saturday, the 4th day of an excellent workshop

But I am tired. . . . and energized, all at the same time! I can hardly wait to get home and start painting some new paintings based on what I've learned this week. I have no doubt they will be stronger in terms of design than before, so I am very eager to get to work on some new pieces! My plan is to to figure out some sort of a real schedule and plan to be IN THE STUDIO a certain amount of time each day. I've said that before and not followed through on it. Although I am fairly fast and quite productive, I think I could do a lot more if I was really serious about painting every single day. (And practicing every day. . . .and exercising every day. . . . and. . . .and. . . . !!)

Today, we continued working on the paintings we started yesterday. Karen demonstrated and we followed the steps in the process that she described. At the end of the day, she critiqued the new piece and the ones we did earlier in the week. We all were pleased with what we did, but we realize we have a lot of room to grow, in terms of incorporating really strong design into our paintings.

The photos today show some scenes during the critique time and some other shots of the classroom/kitchen area. San Diego people have NO idea how lucky they are to have such a wonderful set up and location and also to have the caliber of nationally recognized artists that they contract for demos and monthly workshops.


I am so glad that I went and was able to be part of Karen Knutson's workshop! I certainly debated about it because of the expense (hotel, registration, gas, food) but it was well worth it. Thank you, Karen, and thank you to all the San Diego artists for your warmth, hospitality, and friendliness! It was greatly appreciated all week.

Tonight, I am staying in Pasadena so that tomorrow I can go to a Bead and Design Convention before I go home! No work to this one, just fun looking at all the beads, embellishments etc.

Thursday/Day 2 of the San Diego Workshop

Whew! I barely made it--"it" being writing today to keep up with my commitment to write something in my blog each and every day. Day 2 of the Design Workshop was outstanding. After class, I went to the Dick Blick store in San Diego and spent a little money and came back to work on a painting I started in class and an assignment for tomorrow. I just finished and am only saying "hello" here today. More tomorrow, hopefully--along with some photos, too.

I want to tell you about the San Diego "Promenade" area where the San Diego Watercolor Society Gallery and classroom is located. It is all part of the renovation effort involving the old Naval Training Center. It's a fabulous project that looks wonderful and is part of a huge community effort in the Point Lomo area of  San Diego. More about it all very soon. Ta Ta for now!

Off to San Diego tomorrow. . . .

. . . . for a Karen Knutson workshop hosted by the San Diego Watercolor Society. I took her "Painting With Metallics" class a couple of years ago and loved every minute of it. This four day class is on design so I can hardly wait! Even though I dislike the long drive from home to San Diego, I have really enjoyed the 2 workshops I've taken there before. Plus, I've learned SOOOOO much and come home really motivated to paint. Tonight, I'm packing and gathering supplies so this will be a short post. During the week, I'm hoping to capture some of the process with my camera and share it in my blog each evening. That's the plan, at least, but I also like to paint in the evenings. I'll try my best to keep up with my commitment to blogging every day, even if it's just a sentence or 2 or a photograph. More again very soon!

Think about past workshops you've taken and how you've felt before them, during them, and after them. Anything you'd like to share about your experiences in the comments section would be valuable. Do they motivate you and inspire you to move out of your comfort zone? Do they depress you? Are they too competitive? Too fast paced? Too slow paced? I look forward to hearing from some of you about workshops you've taken, in whatever media. And I look forward to sharing some of my thoughts, as this workshop progresses.

PS. I just discovered that the San Diego club has a nice blog! Check it out at sdws.org/blog