WATERCOLOR & WATERCOLOR PRINTMAKING
Teacher:  Karen Norman 

Homework for our last day, April 8th:
1. Finish your painting. Bring it to class.
2. If you were one of those who did not turn in your five favorite paintings, bring them in as early as possible on Thursday. I will be hanging them up at 8:30 in the gym!!! Bring your sketchbooks which I will collect and give back on orientation day, so that I can give your final grades.

Homework for April 1st:
1. Finish your in-class painting and paint another painting using the texture techniques we used in class.
2. Bring your five favorite watercolors and/or watercolor prints to class on Thursday.

Homework for March 25:
1. Paint a still life with good light and strong shadows.
2. Continue to work on your paintings and get feedback from others for the 5 best prints and paintings for handing in on April 1st. If you can't find 5 that you love, I will give you some good paper so that you can work at home. The more you paint the more you improve!
Work x Time = Improvement

1. Homework for March 18th:
1. Paint a watercolor of your choice.
2. Go through your work up to this point and if you have unfinished paintings, work on them. We will be having a critique on the last day and your paintings will be posted on the walls for the day. Your best five watercolors MUST be handed in on April 1st, for me to hang on April 8th.

Homework for March 11th:
1. Finish the still life that was started in class last Thursday.
2. Paint a little landscape of your choice.

Homework for March 4th:
1. Finish your painting that we worked on in class.
2. Paint another still life painting in your sketchbook and bring everything to class on Thursday.

Homework for February 25:
1. Paint a little snowscape. Don't take more than 15 minutes. Time yourself! Plan and paint. (You can put this in your little sketchbook.)
2. Finish your shape overlap painting. Keep your colors clean and bright, without a lot of heavy pigment or too little water.

Homework for February 11 and 18:
Wow, what a snowstorm!! I have gotten the internet back!
1. First, take time to look at the snow and the reflections and shadows. Your shadow colors are blue and/or purple shades, right?
In fact, this shows that where shadows are there are blues and purples, not just on snow but anything! You can SEE this on snow because of the whiteness of now.
2. Now paint what you see in your sketchbook. It can be a scene from a window or from a walk that you take a picture of. Enjoy the incredible beauty and enjoy your painting!

Homework for February 4th:
1. Paint a landscape of your choice in your sketchbook.
2. BRING A PHOTO OF A LANDSCAPE FOR PAINTING IN CLASS ON THURSDAY!

Homework for January 28th:
1. From the Rembrandt drawing we worked on in class paint a watercolor in your sketchbook.
Some of you will be adding finishing touches to your print.
Please bring your print to class this Thursday!!
2. Bring a PHOTO OF A LANDSCAPE TO CLASS ON THURSDAY!
3. Questions? Email me at waterkart@gmail.com

For January 21st : Paint a still life in your sketch book. This time it can be whatever you want as long as you have strong values.
See you on Thursday to finish the painting we started in class.

Here is the photo that we worked from in class:

Finish your painting and bring it to class next Thursday!

***Bring a favorite photo to class on Thursday the 7th***
Homework for January 7th:
1. In your sketchbook, paint a still life or landscape painting IN STRONG LIGHT with a split complementary color scheme. Refer to your handout on the color wheel for this information. It is important that you have strong values to paint and the sunlight or bright light will give this quality. There should be shadows to paint as well, BECAUSE OF THE LIGHT. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!
2. check back to this website for what to bring to class on Jan. 7th!!!
3. email me with any questions: waterkart@gmail.com.

Homework for December 3rd:
This is our last class of the semester!
If any of you has a "mug picture" of Mrs. Smith's, please bring it back!
1. If you have any unfinished paintings (particularly the master painting) you have two weeks to finish them. ALL PAINTINGS FROM THE ENTIRE SEMESTER MUST BE BROUGHT TO CLASS ON DEC. 3!!!
2. YOU MUST ALSO BRING YOUR SKETCHBOOKS (WITH the DATE) FOR EACH OF YOUR ASSIGNMENTS.
3. A painting of your choice is this week's assignment for your sketchbook. Pick something you would love to paint!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! BE THANKFUL TO THE LORD!!!

Homework for November 19th:
1. Finish your master watercolor. Take your time on this, because it is all about observation! Make sure that you use enough water so that your colors are not too heavy and opaque.
Bring this painting to class next Thursday!!!
2. Next week we will be making a print.

Homework on November 12th:
1. We will be working on the watercolor masterwork on Thursday.
2. COME TO CLASS WITH YOUR PHOTO OF A MASTERWORK WATERCOLOR PAINTING. Some artists to consider are John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt, any of the English Countryside painters, such as Cotman, Girtin, JMW Turner, Constable, Lorrain, Cozens, Sandby, Cox. This should NOT BE TINY because it will be too hard to work from!!!
3. A painting of your choice in your sketchbook.

Homework for November 4th:
1. We will be making a print on Thursday.
2. Paint a black and white landscape (black watercolor paint, various grays on white paper)
3. Keep looking for you masterwork in watercolor.
See you on Thursday!

Homework for October 29th:
1. Paint a landscape in watercolor in your sketchbook either from a photo or life. Look for the lights and darks!
2. Look for a watercolor by a master painter that you would like to study to make a copy of in a couple of weeks. You MUST have a good quality photograph to work from. Please bring this to class.

Homework for October 22nd:
1. Finish your little leaf paintings that we started in class.
2. Do a "leaf composition" in your sketchbook for homework. This should be an arrangement of leaves outlined or traced in pencil then painted in watercolor. Choose any leaves that you wish!
3. Don't "leaf" your paintings at home!

Homework for October 15th:
1. Paint four small sketches (four rectangles) in your larger sketchbooks. These are four "planning color sketches" which concentrate on composition, values, and main shapes and forms.
You can draw the outline for the four sketches with a ruler. Each one should take no longer than 15 minutes and can be a landscape, still life, figure or animal. They should be fun to do!!

Homework for October 8th:
1. 1. Paint a landscape from life. This is called Plein-Aire. The days are warm and you can paint outside. For texture try a small sponge as well as brush marks for your vista. - OR -
2. Paint a story without words like you did in class last Thursday.

Homework for October 1st:
1. Read the article on atmospheric perspective.
2. Practice 4 sky washes on one page in your sketchbook. Try different colors and let them mix on your paper. Use enough water to make the paint move (without the paper being dripping wet!)
3. In your sketch book paint a landscape from a photo. Do a light pencil sketch then use 3 colors for your painting.



Homework for September 24:
1. Paint an object in VERY STRONG LIGHT with good shadows. This should be a simple object. Use some of the colors you discovered on your page of labeled color mixes but keep it simple. Use only 3 colors. Paint in your larger watercolor pad.
2. read the article: www.artistsnetwork.com/article/atmospheric-perspective/



Hi Class!!
Homework for September 17th:
1. complete your 2nd gray scale waiting for your washes to dry
2. do a page of color mixes or "swatches" using two colors to do your mixes. LABEL your color swatches!
3. Find a watercolor painting that you admire in a book or magazine and bring to class.

Hi Class!

Now I can put the homework online for each of you.

Week one:
1. name page in your sketchbook
2. experiment with combinations of colors, write names of colors used under each swatch - you can get at least 30 color mixture swatches on a page.
3. a page with sky washes

Week two:
1. still life with grays

Week three:
1. find a landscape photo
2. paint a watercolor sketch of your photo in your sketchbook.
Concentrate on your basic shapes, warm and cool colors
and focal point.

Week four:
1. Paint a watercolor still life (with 2 or 3 objects) in strong lighting or sunlight.
Look at the VALUES (lights and darks) and paint your still life in
COLOR with the same emphasis as the still life that you painted in week two. Try squinting to see the color differences or holding a 3x5 card in front of one eye while the other is closed and look at one side of an object and then look at the other side of that same object in strong light. You will see a color VALUE change. This should be reflected in your sketchbook painting.

Week five: The forecast is for a great weekend and Monday. Your assignment is to paint a plein aire painting! This is a French phrase for open air painting. So go outside with your sketchbook and paint a landscape as you view it. Try to do this in sunlight so you get (you guessed it) strong values (lights and darks). Enjoy the beautiful weather and your painting!

Week six: This weekend should be a wonderful one for crisp fall weather and changing colors. Finish the two that we started in class and then paint two more from your own collection of leaves. Study the leaves, look at all the colors, veins and spots. When you paint, remember to dampen, not waterlog paper, and DROP your colors in, make veins with a credit card while the paper is damp, and spatter the "freckles" on the leaf when the paper is dry. Have fun!

Week seven: Set up a still life with 2 or 3 objects and make a wash
as we did in class using a neutral color. Build your values using the same neutral color. Let areas dry before you add another wash.
Don't be afraid to leave white on objects. And add your darks!

Week eight: Paint a watercolor landscape in your sketchbook. Keep it simple with your focus on values and basic shapes and not on details. Bring in a landscape photo of the changing autumn trees and colors. We will be working on a painting in class from your photos.

Week nine: Bring a landscape photo to class on Thursday. Paint a SKETCH of the photo in preparation for our class. Remember to focus on lights and darks, warm and cool colors.

Week ten: Finish the painting of birch trees that we almost finished in class. Remember to use your small brush with long bristles (called a rigger, script or liner brush) for painting the small branches on the trees. Then paint a tree "sketch" in your sketchbook. Again use your liner brush for little branches extending from the trunk and large branches.

Week eleven: Finish the painting that we started in class on Thurs., Nov. 20th. Also paint a watercolor sketch in your sketchbook of trees. Remember, focus on the big shapes and lights and darks. Make sure that ALL homework assignments are in your sketchbook. Bring ALL paintings from the whole semester. Pick one that is your favorite. See you December 4th. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Hi everyone!!
So sorry that I didn't already post the homework!
1. Each of you was handed a good sheet (11 x 15) of watercolor paper for your homework. This sheet is for a watercolor painting of your choice over the break.
2. But before you begin, paint a watercolor sketch in your sketchbook of your proposed subject. Your sketchbook should become the place where you work out your composition and colors before going to work on your finished piece.
3. Bring everything to class on January 8th!

Homework for January 15th:
Clear cold January days. The light is unusual at this time of year.
Look around you. Pick a scene bathed in sunlight. Paint it in your sketchbook. I know it will have to be something you can see from a window or set up in the sun shining into a window, but try and catch some of the long shadows that are part of this time of year and the sun's particular slant on our earth. Look carefully and paint joyfully!

Homework for January 22nd:
This week's assignment is a painted sketch of whatever subject matter you choose. Pray for the Lord's guidance and work with gusto!!

Homework for January 29th:
1. Paint your little sky wash painting on the good paper that I handed out. Remember to wet (not saturate) the paper, then with your brush and a fair amount of pigment, paint the sky. Try not to go over and over the paper with your brush. Let the paper dry a bit then paint the
land, water, or mountains at the bottom. If you need a photo to help you: google a picture on the internet. THE ACTUAL PAINTING SHOULD TAKE NO MORE THAN 10 MINUTES.
2. Find a GOOD PHOTO with strong values (those wonderful lights and darks) for our class watercolor for next week.
3. Paint a 10 to 20 minute sketch of the BASIC SHAPES and VALUES in your sketchbook in preparation for your finished painting which we will begin in class next Thursday. Make sure that you come to class with THIS SKETCH and YOUR PHOTO!!!

Homework for February 5th:
1. Bring in your landscape photo! (don't come to class without one!!)
2. Paint a sketch in your sketchbook blocking in the basic shapes and lights and darks.
3. If you finished this last week, you can paint whatever you like in your sketchbook. If you didn't like the first photo you chose, pick another one!

Homework for Feb. 12th
1. Paint your little sky painting. Remember this should take only a couple of MINUTES. Plan out your colors and mood and then paint!
2. Finish your watercolor that we started in class.
3. If you finished your painting in class, and a number of you did, paint a watercolor sketch in your sketchbook (your choice of subject).
4. Even if you are not finished, bring your landscape painting to class.

Homework for Feb. 19th
1. Google Rembrandt's Prodigal Son. Look at the lights and darks in the painting. Look at the way he handled the warm colors in the foreground. Look at the indistinct way that he painted the figures in the background. Look at the composition.
2. Paint a flower or flowers in your sketchbook.

Homework for February 26th:
1. Google the landscapes of John Constable.
2. Paint a landscape in your sketchbook. Keep working on basic shapes and forms with good values.
3. You are all painting masterpieces in class!!
4. Does anyone remember what I said I would bring in to class??
email me: waterkart@gmail.com

Homework for March 5th:
1. go to www.artistsnetwork.com/article/atmospheric-perspective/
read the short article
2. finish stained glass watercolor for next week & BRING TO CLASS!!!
3. paint a quick sketch of a landscape with pale cool background colors
and darker warmer foreground colors. (Be sure to read the article!!)

Homework for March 12:
1. Finish your painting that was started in class last Thursday. Make sure to spend a few minutes looking at the basic shapes in the photo.
2. We will be spending the next two weeks on watercolor printmaking.
This week will be a still life in class.
3. Please bring in a landscape photo that you will make a print from for next week in class, March 19.

Homework for March 19th:
1. Bring in your photo and watercolor sketch for class on Thursday to print from!
2. Next week will be our last week of working in class
3. Start preparing your portfolio of work, from the BEGINNING of the school year through next week. We will be having a critique of all work during the last class in April.

Homework for March 26th:
1. Our class this Thursday will be a print of an animal.
2. Therefore, you must come prepared with your watercolor sketch in your sketchbook (can be drawn from life) and photo (if needed) to work from!
3. Bring your portfolio of ALL your work on THURSDAY, March 26!!

Homework for April 2:
1. Bring your portfolio of work to class. Have your five favorite paintings and/or prints for hanging in the gym. I will be there at 9:00 to start hanging.
This has been a great class. You have demonstrated a lot of hard work while having fun and experimenting with techniques and composition using two different methods!!  

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