KICK-OFF
My most recent 2-full day workshop was in beautiful southern Indiana – Brown County Art Gallery, Nashville, IN. Abstract Paintings of Nature in Watercolor was finally a go – because of COVID19, this workshop had been rescheduled! But things started to come back to some form of normal and Jeanne Bennett, Gallery Manager, and I were bound and determined to have it happen. Last years' workshop was so enjoyable I wanted to build on it.
As you can figure all of my events had been canceled earlier this year​. Marilee and I were incredibly organized this year with scheduling teaching, workshops, shows, and demos This was the weirdest thing to see it vaporize before our very eyes.  
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WELCOME TO THE "LITTLE SMOKY MOUNTAINS"
Brown County, IN is a mecca for artists. Known as the Little Smoky Mountains Indiana's beautiful artistic hill country, The drive into Nashville never ceases to amaze me. According to WGN 9 TV in Chicago, Brown County has more artists per capita than anywhere else in the Midwest. Once you visit this area its easy to understand why artists are drawn to its beauty. The rolling hills, lush forests, and winding roads along with picturesque cottages make for a perfect canvas. ​

HISTORIC BROWN COUNTY ART GALLERY 
Here's a little history about the historic Brown County Art Gallery. The gallery has a rich background. The gallery was established in 1926 by the early members of an important regional art colony who began exploring rural southern Indiana in the 1890s. These early artists had been trained in the best art schools of Europe and America and were attracted to the rolling hills of Brown County because it offered both dramatic landscapes and interesting people to serve as subjects for their work.​

,BRUSHES
My third must-have is real hair brushes if you can afford them. Otherwise a blend of synthetic/real hair. If you take care of them you will keep them for a long time. The real hair loads a lot of paint and doesn't wear out like synthetic. My 1" 202 ​Morrilla is over 40 years old. Unfortunately, it's not made anymore but you may find a used one on eBay. I got a three brush set last year made by MEEDEN, Cat's Tongue Shape Paint Brushes-3 Piece Set for Watercolors  At that time when I purchased them they said they were made with sable. Later in the year they said they were made of squirrel. Today it reads horse but at this time like so many other things made in China they are out of stock. I haven't tested the horse hair brush to see how they load and flow onto the paper. if you want to try these reasonable priced brush set CLICK HERE. Remember they are currently out of stock.

MY TEACHING STYLE
I have a selection of my own personal photos that I gather for a specific workshop. I handout 4"x6" prints of the subject matter to the students. I  normally select the reference material because I want to teach specific techniques plus my workshops consist of paint-alongs.

I like instructing as a paint-along because it gives the student bitesize amounts of information. Then they go back and recreate my techniques.

Depending on the complexity of the reference there could be 3-7 steps in my paint-along. Here's my methodology:

• In some cases I start with the pencil sketch
• STEP #1: The Watercolor Block-In
• STEP # 2: Establishing Secondary Masses
• STEP # 3: Final Details
• STEP # 4: Step Back, Take a Look and Yes, You can Make Minor Corrections

I also encourage my students to take notes, photos, and videos if they wish. I share so much information that it's hard to retain it all. I also encourage them to recreate the watercolor painting at home and send it to me for a critique.  

,​​MASKS ON, SOCIALLY DISTANCED IN PLACE, SLEEVES PUSHED UP TO WORK, LEARN, AND HAVE FUN! 
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DAY 1: MORNING: I started demonstrating right away working from my iPad.
I begin with a limited pencil drawing on the paper. With this 6-color, full palette snow scene I talked about temperature value, color, and intensities of their paintings. The morning painting was a snow scene of the beginning of the Wisconsin River (Land O' Lakes, WI) which has been one of my favorite sites to paint, whether it's spring, summer, fall, or winter. The levels of water change as does the foliage, colors, textures, and the influence of light. I call this river home. In this exercise, I wanted to teach how to handle snow and paint anything white. evaluate temperature and not copy the photo. ​

I gave them an oversight on atmospheric perspective so they could create a good depth of field. We finish this painting in three steps as a paint-along. Through my years as a professional teaching of watercolor painter, I have found this technique works well with the student. They go through the process which helps the student retain what was created.

DAY 2: MORNING: The morning painting was of a cabin tucked into the woods. This painting was a limited palette of 5-colors – remember 6-colors is a full palette. In this demonstration I wanted to share my techniques regarding how to keep your edges as soft as you can while painting a highly textured background. This allowed the cabin to emerge from the wooded background. 

DAY 2: AFTERNOON: The afternoon I demoed a 5-color limited palette painting was a freeform swamp scene. In this exercise I wanted the students to painting without a drawing.

I started with my usual block in method by painting from background to foreground and large areas to small. I washed in the cool gray down colors in the background working forward two more intense and darker color.

Painting the large shapes and values. to form the finished picture adjustment of the values and shapes. Working smaller values with details. When everything was in place and the painting was dry I began placing the masses of trees. To finish up I added details to the trees and a few accents of color.

One of my students suggested a unicorn in this "Lord of the Rings" looking painting. As you can see the unicorn slipped away before I could add him. ;))

IN CONCLUTION
During these two days of instruction, I shared my knowledge with my students on a multitude of things including composition, focal points and how to keep the eye moving.

We covered fall, winter, spring and summer scenes and how to handle the temperature changes through the seasons. This gave the watercolor paintings a more pleasant, authentic look.  All the demonstrations were done with limited pencil work and the majority of drawing was formed with the brush.

​People ask me why I like smaller classes and workshops. Well, having a small class or what I like to call mentoring workshops gives me an opportunity to focus on each individual student. Working with the student for one, two or four days allows me to gather the exact insight on each student's individual needs in a concentrated manner. I enjoy teaching to truly see, overcome fears and find joy in painting. We all had a good time learned a lot and experimented a lot.

WORKSHOP ALBUM 

Feels so good to have a busy day like last Wednesday, July 29, 2020.
Started off by teaching my weekly watercolor studio class at MainStreet Art Center in Lake Zurich. It's a drive from Highland, IN but this passionate group of artists is worth the trip. This energy starts from the top and that's because of the care and passion Frankie Johnson, Owner, and Master Artist shares with her students and faculty. She inspires and has the ability to unlocking talents from folks who come to the center.

I've taught watercolor at Mainstreet for six years and just finished a 3-full day workshop earlier this month. www.dalepopovich.com/best-3-full-day-watercolor-workshop

​In my class, you will learn to implement key concepts and watercolor painting techniques that will allow you to have a deeper understanding of the medium, with a focus on the top principles of creating a solid painting.

As you understand these elements through painting pictures you will have better control of the medium and gain a deeper understanding of the creative process of transparent watercolor painting. I have to let you know my studio watercolor class has a waiting list so call Cathy and she will help you out. www.mainstreetartcenter.com

From there I went to Elmhurst Art Museum to judge the Elmhurst Artists' Guild 2020 Member’s Show. The EAG is a charitable and not-for-profit offering up shows and exhibitions, workshops, lectures, classes, and other similar activities. The purpose of this organization is to encourage, promote, advance, and assist art education and instruction, and the advancement and development of the arts.
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EAG has its own gallery at the Elmhurst Art Museum. If you have a chance to stop by and check out the show or if you have any concerns regarding COVID-19 you can view the entries and video of the winners on their website. The show runs through Friday, September 4, 2020. www.elmhurstartistsguild.org

While in Elmhurst I stopped off at a friend and his wife's to say hi keeping social distance top of mind. Spent a few hours enjoying the afternoon chatting about art, family, and everything in between in their beautiful garden under the shade of a stately maple tree.
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Got home for a little dinner and prepared for a two-hour Zoom meeting with the Plein Air Painters of Chicago. Met Virginia Ferrante, moderator of the Zoom event and PAPC member. I was invited to critique 30 pieces and let me tell you the time flew by reviewing amazing talent in this group.

The PAPC is affiliated with the Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago where I teach Watercolor and The Fundamentals of Drawing and Painting. The PAPC offers paint-outs April thru October. This prolific group schedules three Saturday paint-outs, one Sunday morning paint-out, and one Friday night paint-out.

Paint-outs feature cityscapes, nature in the parks, the Lakefront and Riverwalk. At least one paint-out per month includes a demo and members-only critique with an experienced instructor/guest artist. I was asked to be their July guest artist.

PLEASE NOTE: Between the current increase in cases of Covid-19 and the difficulty in physical distancing, the PAPC Steering Team determined to cancel future paint-outs until they can see a two-week decline in cases. They will assess the situation again, August 2, 2020. www.papchicago.com