Dale L Popovich IWS watercolors and art teacher blog

Winter’s Quiet Light: A Two-Day Watercolor Workshop in Wisconsin

11/19/2025

Discovering
the Language of Winter
in Watercolor

Winter has its own kind of silence—one that settles into the bones of the land and slows everything to a thoughtful pace. That’s the spirit behind this two-day watercolor workshop in Wisconsin, Winter’s Quiet Light, held November 17 and 18 at LOLA, Land O Lakes Area Artisans lolaartswi.com, where painters gathered under that same hush to study the subtleties of snow landscape painting, shadow, and the fragile way light bends at the edge of cold. The goal wasn’t just to paint winter; it was to understand it—to see past the white and into the undercurrents of winter light in watercolor that give the season its pulse.

Day One:
Structure, Color,
and Value

Began with discipline. Before chasing the poetry of winter, everyone learned the structure—the language of the cool color spectrum in watercolor, the tempered touch of warmth needed to gray a passage without deadening it, and the fundamental truth that value leads while color follows. Morning studies were done on a smoother, indigo-toned sheet, allowing students to focus on how washes move, how pigment dries, and how light must be protected at every step.

By afternoon, the class shifted to Shizen handmade watercolor paper, a surface that refuses to behave politely. Rough, thirsty, and full of character, it pulls rich color out of every stroke. The Wisconsin River—chosen from a deliberately lackluster reference photo—forced students to strengthen composition in landscape painting, elevate color, and carve out confident value patterns. Cobalt blue, ultramarine, raw sienna, burnt sienna, sap green, manganese blue, and a whisper of white gouache created a world brighter and more honest than the dull snapshot that inspired it. Each painter stepped up, learning that strong work comes not from the photo but from interpretation.

Day Two:
Imagination and
Winter Forest Scenes

We broke with reference entirely. No photo. No drawing. Just the courage to trust imagination—precisely the kind of lesson that separates copyists from painters. A winter forest scene in watercolor unfolded through purples, red-violets, blues, and sienna accents, guided only by memory and instinct. Everyone worked on hot press watercolor paper, a surface sharp and unforgiving, perfect for carving crisp passages of winter light. The palette expanded across ultramarine, cobalt, and manganese blues, anchored with raw and burnt sienna, sap green, and touches of brown madder to warm the distant glow. Students explored new techniques—including the humble toothbrush, scattering snow textures with the same randomness the wind offers on a still day. Pines rose from the paper with warm bark against cool shadows; the land carried the same quiet weight you’d find in a Wisconsin winter landscape painting.

The Workshop
Workbook:
A Field Guide for Artists

Threaded through both days was the Workshop Workbook for watercolor techniques—not just a packet, but a true field guide crafted for this winter journey. It carried reference photos, value studies, detailed paint lists, color charts, and the core techniques that would anchor each lesson. Space for notes and observations turned it into a working journal, something alive rather than static. Any drawing required for a project was completed together in class, step by step, so no one drifted into uncertainty or guesswork. Like every good field journal, it became part map, part memory—something to return to when the workshop was over, when the studio grows quiet, and winter’s light in the Northwoods starts whispering again.

Participants explored the contrast between papers--Arches hot press watercolor with its crisp precision, high reflectivity, and seamless gradients; Shizen handmade with its rough vigor, luminous absorbency, and the soul of recycled cotton rag. Both carried the stories of their making. Both became part of the painter’s vocabulary for painting winter landscapes in watercolor.

Beyond Paper
and Pigment

What they carried home went beyond pigment and paper. They left with the stillness of the Northwoods, the hush that settles between pines, the glow of raw sienna rising behind a winter stand of trees, and the understanding that snow isn’t white at all—but a symphony of watercolor values, temperature, and subtle color. Two small studies opened the door; two quarter-sheets completed the journey. And through it all, a more profound lesson emerged: winter rewards those who learn to see, not just to look.

Step Into Winter

This is where the stillness begins.
This is where light reveals itself.
This is where a painter learns to truly see.

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LOLA Workshop Scrapbook

6/7/2021

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A Great Turnout for My Workshop:
Watercolor Waterfalls and Rapids of the Great Northwoods
June 3 and 4, 2021. 10:00am-4:30pm est

THANK YOU EVERYONE.
I want to share with you what an honor it was to teach this enthusiastic group. I crafted a two-full days workshop for LOLA. They are located in God's country – Land 'O Lakes, WI. I hope my students had as much fun as I did. Like I told them it was a pleasant learning experience for me to see the various interpretations of the demos. I am always thrilled to help artists truly see.

MY WORKSHOP SCRAPBOOK.
Here are a few images and comments posted on Facebook I want to share with you. FYI I have been giving watercolor workshops at LOLA since 2014, I always have a great turnout and this year was no different. I was so thrilled to see how well the group did with this difficult subject.

If you have a few moments visit LOLA's website. This enthusiastic group of artist offers fun events throughout the year. https://lolaartswi.com.

Here's some comments from my students on Facebook

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Chesterton Art Center 2021 2-Zoom Day Workshop

3/19/2021

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Painting Water Reflections and Nature in Watercolor

Dale L. Popovich IWS will be offering a two-day Beginning/Intermediate Watercolor Workshop on Saturday, April 24th and Saturday, May 8th from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. In this Zoom workshop students will walk away with a better understanding of transparent watercolor. He will be teaching his personal step-by-step process of how to start and finish a watercolor. Dale will concentrate on reflections of water. Students will acquire an understanding of how reflections of the shorelines reflect into the water, and how to interpret them. He will also give participants an understanding of the values, temperatures, intensities, and hues, and how they react as a reflection.

A better understanding of how to cross mixed colors that best capture the reflections in the water will be demonstrated. In this process, he will illustrate how to block-in and build a painting properly. Students will experience various applications of watercolor, color palette, properties of watercolor, tools, and techniques. Dale’s objective through the step-by-step instruction will show how to avoid watercolor problems and grow as a painter.

You will be painting this image – water reflections and nature in watercolor – this is from Dale's personal library

Workshop #1, April 24th,
Dale will conduct a 2.5-hour painting workshop on Zoom stopping between steps and answering questions along the way. During the painting process, photos will be taken of each step. The photos will be added to the original packet creating the Popovich’s Start-to-Finish packet.

Workshop #2, May 8th,
Dale will lead a Zoom Group Critique sharing his screen with students. During this time, he will walk artists through two paintings and answer any additional questions.

Tuition is $115 for members and $135 for non-members. Supplies are not included in this workshop. After payment is received, a supply list will be provided. In addition, a full reference packet will be sent prior to the workshop which will also include the Zoom links.

Students must register and pay before the first class. To register stop in, call, or visit the website at www.chestertonart.org or Eventbrite.com (search Chesterton Art Center).

For questions, please call the Chesterton Art Center at 219-926-4711. The Chesterton Art Center is located at 115 S. 4th St., Chesterton, IN 46304.
For a list of all classes being offered at the Art Center, please see the website www.chestertonart.org.

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CRUSH-IT: The Best 3-Full Day Watercolor Workshop

7/13/2020

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My 3-full day workshop at MainStreet Art Center, Lake Zurich, IL, Abstract Paintings of Nature in Watercolor was finally a go! I had a wonderful time getting back in the teaching "saddle". Because of COVID19, this workshop had been rescheduled several times. But Frankie Johnson, owner of MainStreet and I were bound and determined to have it happen. As you can figure all of my events had been canceled. 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.

Besides demonstrating the beauty of watercolor I shared my thoughts about materials and the importance of buying the best products you can afford. One of my students was using a mix of Winsor and Newton Cotman and Grumbacher watercolor paints. Needless to say, she was struggling so I let her try my QoR watercolors and she said "WOW! What a huge difference." I can't stress enough the importance of using professional-grade watercolors. In addition, the same goes for watercolor paper. Only buy 100% cotton. You are asking for trouble if you buy a cheaper grade that contains wood fibers. The paper will pill when you scrub it. 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. My series 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. If you would like to see my supply recommendations and list CLICK HERE.

Masks on, socially distanced in place, sleeves pushed up to work, learn, and have fun!

DAY 1: 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.

My personal photo reference – Demo 1

My personal photo reference – Demo 2

My afternoon demo was a fall scene full of autumnal colors where my students learned the spontaneity of no drawing and following the light and dark patterns. Two paintings completed and so proud of everyone’s first day of work.

DAY TWO: The learning and fun continue! Two more were paintings completed.

The morning demo was T.C .Steele's house in southern Indiana. During this demo, I wanted to share the ease of drawing a structure and how to incorporate it into a landscape in a simple way. I also shared how to make a very dark subject interesting.

The afternoon demo was another scene from the Great Northwoods of Wisconsin. The tranquil water scene was a perfect example to show how to achieve an atmospheric perspective. Pushing the background back and look believable. I also get quite a few requests for the secrets of painting water. I shared my approach to water with just a few brushstrokes. So proud of everyone’s second day of work.

DAY THREE: the last day of my 3-full day watercolor workshop. In the morning study, I wanted everyone to learn how to work with high-contrast and minimal drawing. I also wanted to share my techniques of dry-brushing in watercolor.

The afternoon was the student's choice. I shared two different subjects and the vivid green forest won. Once again this demo was without a pencil sketch on their watercolor paper, freehanding light and dark patterns. Working with a close color palette of greens and blue-greens and how to use one complementary color to gray down your shadows. And finally, be fearless about pushing the darks especially at the beginning.

I want to thank everyone for signing up and attending including the owner, Frankie Johnson, and Kathy Clouse who is MainStreet's Girl Friday and more. The three days went by too fast. I was so impressed with everyone and I’ll let you in on a little secret — half the students never painted in watercolor before which made it that much more thrilling for me because my goal is to help people truly see. Also thank you Frankie and Jay for your hospitality.

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Watercolor Escape Saturdays #2

4/2/2020

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Well, I had my second Watercolor Escape Saturday last weekend on March 28th. If you are new to this my wife, Marilee and I are committed to broadcasting a Facebook Live every Saturday at noon EST till our lives kinda get back to some type of normal. We want to offer an escape even for an hour or two.

In this week's blog post I have included the video now on YouTube (edited as a paint-along) and my demo notes. Here's what you will find:

Photo reference
The pencil drawing on watercolor paper
Supplies
Three steps as a paint-along
Additional painting examples

I am asking a favor would you please like my Facebook page and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Thank you.

Click Here: Photo & Pencil

Materials
This Facebook Live demo I used the following watercolor paints:

Brown Madder
Sap Green
Cobalt Blue
Naples Yellow
Mars Orange Deep
Cadmium Yellow Deep

Watercolor Paper:

300 lb Indigo

To learn more about my brushes and tried and true supplies head over to Supply List & Library page. And here's a link to my personal supply list.

The Video
We have edited and added more visuals to the Facebook Live video. Click on the button and head over to my YouTube page. Don't forget to subscribe to my page.

Full Supply List Click Here

You Tube Paint-Along Video

Gallery of Work
Highlighted in Video

Below are several demos I did playing with composition and value studies before the final painting titled Walking in My Father's Footsteps. I also share additional paintings in the video. Click on the painting to see a larger version.

Gift
Every year I paint a special birthday card for Marilee. I remember once a long time ago we went to the Terra Museum to John Singer Sargent watercolor show. Sargent would paint special gifts for his sister with tender words and well wishes. They were touching and moved both of us.

This painting is of one of our favorite walks in spring up not far from our cabin. The silver light and tender greens you only see during this time of year.

Marilee's 2020 birthday card. It's a tradition.

This study was painted on handmade paper containing seeds, leaves, and stems. The paper had very little sizing so planning my brushstrokes were essential. Could not rework once the paint was laid down.

Final studio painting
I promised myself I would experiment with new color combinations during this down time. Here is an example a new color combination palette. And don't think you can't find painting reference material. This was taken by Marilee while we were driving north through Wisconsin to our cabin. The sun was setting, the sky was on fire and the earth was rich with color. Here's my 6-color full palette:

cadmium yellow deep
brown madder
ultramarine blue
burnt sienna
cobalt blue
cobalt violet

The Master
I have enjoyed Winslow Homer watercolors long before I ever picked up a paint brush. My father admired his work and would share his paintings with me. He would break composition rules and make them work.

I suggested a Homer book that looks like it's out of print but you may find on Ebay. There are other Homer books at Amazon (CLICK HERE) like this one. If you rather go to your library and check-out a book. Also here's a website to view. CLICK HERE.

Poppy
Incase you didn't here we got a new puppy this year. Her name is Miss Poppy, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and she is such a joy. It's a blessing to have her and an additional heartbeat in our house.

Well that's it for now. I hope we will see you next Saturday at noon EST on my Facebook page for another Watercolor Escape Saturdays.

Remember Leave a comment below, tell me what you think and what you would like to see in the future.

Wash your hands and your brushes,
Dale

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURES
Amazon: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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PROFESSIONAL Watercolor paints that made me STAND UP AND say WHOLLY COW!

4/4/2019

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Click on the image above to see my YpuTube video review of QoR watercolors. Below are all the links pertaining to this video. If you have any questions please leave a comment.

My wife, Marilee and I are trying something new. Some of you know the Popovich household is 100% artsy-fartsy. I am a fine artist while Marilee is a graphic designer and marketing geek. She has been working behind the scenes creating videos and developing my marketing brand and strategy.

We are combining our talents to bring a more in-depth and more vibrant body of information. Like before I will bring everything watercolor - all of my 40+ years of observing, painting, and art teaching experience. While Marilee will be asking me questions on our videos and presenting additional information from an artist’s marketers point of reference when it applies. She has to help me promote my watercolor paintings and watercolor classes/workshops so I can spend more time painting. In fact, in the last year, art leagues have had her share her knowledge about getting an online presence.

WATERCOLOR SOCIETY OF INDIANA
Sunday, March 17th Marilee and I drove 2.5 hours to Indianapolis for the Watercolor Society of Indiana meeting. It’s quite a large group of passionate artists from all over the state and beyond with a round 200+ members.

Valeria Allen - Golden Artist Colors

GUEST PRESENTER FROM GOLDEN ARTIST COLORS
Their guest speaker was Valerie Allen http://valerieallenart.com from Golden Paints. Valerie is a working artist who lives in Michigan and gets to play with and present all of the Golden products. She walked the group through their products but of course I wanted to hear more about their relatively new to the playing field watercolors called QoR (pronounced core.)
Prior to Valerie’s talk the group had a raffle with plenty of swag. Lucky Marilee! Or should I say lucky Dale? She won a a six-tube set of Qor Modern Watercolor paints.
As you know I’ve been professionally painting for 40 years trying every watercolor brands out their. If you have taken classes from me you know my opinion about each brand. I’ve been very pleased with my recommended paint brands — they are like old, comfortable friends. And it would take a lot to to get me to stand up and say WOW!

A LITTLE ABOUT GOLDEN ARTIST COLORS
Golden Artist Colors, Inc. began on June 16, 1980 by Sam Golden. Here’s their link to read more about their history . www.goldenpaints.com You can learn about all their lines, amazing technical information and a link to their newsletter and social media.

Like I said earlier QoR is new to the watercolor world. Here’s what they say about their paints:

QoR MODERN WATERCOLORS
The unique formulation of QoR Watercolors accentuates the luminosity and brilliance of pigments even after drying. QoR provides the subtlety, transparency and flow of a great watercolor, with colors that have as much vibrancy and fire as the best acrylic or oil paint.

Choose from 83 high-intensity colors, including three Iridescent colors. The addition of QoR Mediums and Grounds can increase gloss, improve flow or wetting and provide different textured surfaces, to expand the creative opportunities in watercolor painting. www.qorcolors.com

Sam Golden – Photo courtesy Golden Artist Colors

To see the full line of Qor Watercolors click on color chart above

BACK IN MY STUDIO – VIDEO REVIEW
I was quite excited to try out our six new tubes of paints. I was quite excited to try out our six new tubes of colors. I wanted to see how they perform, so I recreated a demo I did for one of my weekly classes. PLEASE NOTE: The demo used Talon watercolors, was a full palette and a finished painting (1-1/2 hours) where the QoR is a study that took 20 minutes. But I still feel I could give an accurate review.

COLORS
QoR MODERN MODERN WATERCOLORS
QoR Paints I'm Testing Today:

Burnt Sienna (Natural)
Pyrred Red Light
Hansa Yellow Light
Permanent Alizarin Crimson
Ultramarine Blue
Phthalate Blue (Green Shade)

If you are interested in trying these paints yourself I am sharing the Amazon Link with you on the right. Leave a comment below with your painting experiences.

BRUSHES
I prefer real hair watercolor brushes if you can afford them.

1” flat brush
#10 round
#4 or #6 round brush

PAPER

Indigo Artpapers https://indigoartpapers.com
Handcrafted 100% cotton rags
Cold press sheet
Four deckle edges
Produced using an environmentally friendly process with no chlorine, bleaches, or harmful chemicals, these sheets are acid-free, internally and externally sized, and watermarked
22" × 30" (56 cm × 76 cm) sheets
Weight: 640 gsm (metric: GSM = grams per square meter) Here’s a handy chart ekaterinasmirnova.wordpress.com.
Indigo Artpapers is based in Canada, milledq in India

THE SCENE
October 5, 2018: the Presqile River near Marenisco, MI on old route 2. Marilee and I spent our 33rd wedding anniversary doing what we love most – hiking the Northwoods during autumn. Here's a place we spent a lot of time capturing it from every angle. The golds of the leaves and the black water was a bewitching place that left us speechless.

Click on the image above to see my YouTube video review of QoR watercolors. If you have any questions please leave a comment.

THE QoR VIDEO DEMONSTRATION
As I stated earlier, I planned on doing an interruption using the Golden paints’ QoR watercolors. I compared their watercolors to Talens watercolors which are paints I’ve used for over 40+ years. The video is around 20 minutes start to finish.

I started this painting like all watercolors paintings using three basic steps.
Step #1: The Block-In

Painting large to small areas.
Painting background to foreground.
Painting values light to dark. Putting down values to represent something for the lights and something for the darks.
Painting colors intense at the beginning to less intense as you move through the painting. This first step is quick and all encompassing and will take the least amount of time to paint.

In Step #1 I slightly wet the paper where I painted the sky to get a fluid felling. From there I dove into the autumn leaves as a mass. I started by mixing the Hansa Yellow Light with the Pyrred Red Light to get an autumnal orange. Which was quite vibrant, so I mixed in more yellow to get the color I was looking for. Remember to change up your color every five or six brushstrokes. I added Burnt Sienna (Natural). So far pretty good color. QoR says there is more pigment in the paint, and it appears to be, but we will see once it dries.

This is a question I get all the time:
Q. Why don't I use my dried paints?
A. I covered this subject in the video. I also share how I extend the life of my paints for a day or two.

STEP # 2: Establishing Secondary Masses

Working in smaller masses your painting process slows down. Follow the block in process previously stated.
This step takes twice as long as the block-in.
Remember background to foreground in a painting is a repetitive process till finished.
You begin working your darks darker. This will allow your lights to start to appear lighter.
What to anticipate when a watercolor is drying comes with experience.

Note: Usually darks dry much lighter -- lets see what QoR does in this test.

Now I wanted to see how the QoR watercolors handled a dry brush technique. I saw no difference in the paint from others when dry brushing. Also ever so slightly spraying the paint. I'm checking the flow. So far I was able to keep the vibrant color. You have probably noticed I keep the painting reasonably abstract. It will all pul together at the end.

I used a lot of water and QoR watercolors maintained its vibrancy. These paints are reacting very well. I was impressed so far – remember I have never used QoR paints before.

STEP # 3: Final Details

Slow your process down to a crawl. This last step takes three times (or longer) than block-in.
Every three to five brush strokes step back and take a look at what you have done and what you need to do.
Never paint a painting from start to finish with your nose on the paper.
Always step back.
Squint down for the values.
Open your eyes for the color.
Take your time, this is not a race.

I'm in the final phase of this watercolor study or sketch. When I do a sketch I want to lay the paint down fast to get a feel for the paint colors and composition. I don't labor the details on a sketch.

I see positive results from QoR.

AT THE END OF THE VIDEO
I shared this same painting I created in one of my weekly classes as a demonstration. Now I have to admit there were some differences. The larger piece was painted with Talens watercolors, the painting was a full palette of colors and took me 1-1/2 hours. This was an actual demonstration while the QoR painting was just a 20-minute study. But I felt I got a good read on the QoR paints in 20 minutes.

Side-by-Side Test
I compared Burnt Sienna by QoR and Talens. The colors were slightly different but I expected that. Both brands were in the acceptable Burnt Sienna family. The Talens was more granular. and because of that I preferred the QoR

On the flip side I sampled Ultramarine Blue by QoR and Talens. The colors were also slightly different – QoR is a touch warmer and Talens was a little cooler – a slight variation, both paints are good. No gramulaton.

Well, the QoR watercolors are looking very good.

BRANDS - Left: QoR Right: Talens Royal. COLORS: burnt sienna and ultramarine blue

IN CONCLUSION
I tried Golden Artist Colors line of watercolors called QoR. I found that the intensity, luminosity, and flow of the watercolor on Indigo watercolor paper was quite impressive.

The QoR watercolor colors are more vibrant even when diluted. Remember you can grey down your colors, but you can not make more vibrantly directly from the tube.
I like the cleanliness of the colors
The colors are saturated (a lot of pigment), mix well, flow beautifully and when dry shows the vibrancy of what you should expect from professional watercolor. They don't dissipate - colors hold true when they dry!
Excellent transparency while keeping its vibrancy. This is hard to achieve.
Did some dry brushing, scrubbing, and lifting with positive results. Reacts positively to all techniques.
Overall positive results
While some said on the online reviews that their tubes weren't full, I did not experience that.
I would definitely be interested in employing a full-color palette using their watercolors paints.

The difference was remarkable. Yes, I'm saying WHOLLY COW! I give this two paintbrushes up. I'm placing an order today.

UPDATE: Got my shipment from Dick Blicks today!
I'll let you know in a future vlog what I think as I start painting with QoR watercolors in a full palette.

AFFILIATE DISCLOSUREAmazon: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Winter’s Quiet Light: A Two-Day Watercolor Workshop in Wisconsin

Discovering
the Language of Winter
in Watercolor

Day One:
Structure, Color,
and Value

Day Two:
Imagination and
Winter Forest Scenes

The Workshop
Workbook:
A Field Guide for Artists

Beyond Paper
and Pigment

Step Into Winter

LOLA Workshop Scrapbook

Chesterton Art Center 2021 2-Zoom Day Workshop

CRUSH-IT: The Best 3-Full Day Watercolor Workshop

Watercolor Escape Saturdays #2

PROFESSIONAL Watercolor paints that made me STAND UP AND say WHOLLY COW!