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.
SEPT 29-Oct 4, 2025 Dillman’s fall 2025 2 of 3
• 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.
SEPT 29-Oct 4, 2025 Dillman’s fall 2025 3 of 3
- Horizontal Planes (Ground): Anchoring the scene with the weight of shadow and light.
​
• 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.

 This past Wednesday, November 13th, I had the joy of leading a Fall demo for the Annapolis Watercolor Club, and let me tell you, it was such a meaningful experience. They’re celebrating their Golden Anniversary this coming year, and their request for a painting filled with autumn golds couldn’t have been more fitting. There’s something so inspiring about blending the season’s richness with the significance of their milestone.

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

​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. ​

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. ​

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. ​