by Dale L Popovich IWS

SEPT 29-Oct 4, 2025
(Four Teaching Days)
Returning for the 7th year in 2024 • www.dalepopovich.com
Description

Are you ready to elevate your watercolor skills and capture the true spirit of the Great Northwoods? Join Dale L. Popovich for a transformative 4-day workshop that will deepen your understanding of transparent watercolors. Through a methodical, step-by-step approach, Dale will guide you in recreating the essence of northern Wisconsin’s everchanging landscapes on watercolor paper. Whether you’re painting the vibrant colors of fall
or the quiet stillness of winter, you’ll gain the confidence and technique needed to create stunning works of art. This is your opportunity to push your watercolor skills to new heights and become the artist you’ve always aspired to be. Sign up now and let your creativity flourish!

Furthermore, Dale will demonstrate how to seamlessly integrate pastel or gouache into your watercolors, elevating them to new heights of expression and depth. This approach brings a fresh, compelling voice to your work, adding richness and vitality to every brushstroke.

​Before the workshop, Dale will send you a specially crafted PDF workbook to set you up for success. He recommends printing it out and placing it in a ring binder, with some of his students even using protective sleeves to keep everything in pristine condition. If you prefer digital, you can easily upload it to your tablet for quick access during the workshop.
This workbook includes:
• Reference Photos for each demonstration, giving you a clear visual guide to follow.
​• Pencil Sketches to recreate before the workshop, so you're ready to dive right in.
• Value Photos to help you understand light and dark in your compositions.
• Color Lists for each painting, ensuring you have the right palette at your fingertips.
• Supply List so you’re fully prepared with everything you need.
• Subject Descriptions that break down what you’ll be painting and why it matters.
• Techniques for Each Demo to give you step-by-step guidance.
• What You’ll Walk Away With—a clear understanding of what you’ll achieve by the end
of the workshop.
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• A Note-Taking Page in each section to capture key ideas and insights.
• Recommended Reading to further your learning.
Additionally, Dale will personally call you before the workshop to address any questions
you may have, ensuring you’re fully prepared and ready to make the most of the experience.

The Workshop
Teaching through a paint-along method allows the student to follow each step as it unfolds, observing the brushwork and techniques in real time. It offers a rare opportunity to pause, reflect, and recreate what has just been demonstrated—a powerful way to internalize the process.

​Dale encourages his students to ask questions freely as he paints, understanding that curiosity is the foundation of growth. He believes that every inquiry, no matter how small, deepens the connection between artist and craft.

And don’t forget to bring your camera. Capturing key moments along the way provides a valuable reference as you build your understanding. For Dale, the act of teaching is as much about sharing his insights as it is about fostering a spirit of exploration. In his view, knowledge shared generously leads to mastery—and that is the essence of excellent
learning.

Dale Will Show You:
• The Symphony of Seasons
Each season has its own voice, expressed through unique colors and temperatures.
- Spring: The tender greens of awakening earth and cool breezes.
- Summer: The heat-soaked vibrancy of midday light and shadow.
- Autumn: The richness of ochres, russets, and fading greens.
- Winter: The cool austerity of snow, softened by diffused light.
Understanding these nuances will guide us in painting the year’s cycle with truth
and feeling.
• The Atmospheric Perspective of Winter: Offers lessons in subtlety.
- Learn how light behaves differently in the cold season.
- Observe the softened edges of snow-laden trees and hills.
- Explore the interplay of warm and cool tones in a muted winter palette.
• Planes and Their Values: Nature reveals itself in planes, and mastery of their values brings depth and realism to your work.
- Sky: The lightest and most luminous of the planes.
- Slanted Planes (Mountains): Transitioning from illuminated to shadowed, they give structure to the landscape.
- Vertical Planes (Trees): Strong and upright, they balance the composition.
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- Horizontal Planes (Ground): Anchoring the scene with the weight of shadow and light.
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• Building Depth with Gouache and Pastel: Discover how gouache or pastel, when applied with balance, enriches watercolor.
- Techniques to enhance the interplay of light, texture, and detail will be
demonstrated.
- Samples will reveal how these mediums can integrate seamlessly into your work, creating depth without overpowering the transparency of watercolor.

With an eye on nature’s truths and a brush ready to translate its beauty, let us explore these principles, seeking to refine not just our technique but our understanding of the landscape’s poetry. Please join me this fall at Dillman’s.