Workshops are Really Funshops!

Recently, I had the great pleasure of taking my first, 3-day watercolor workshop with a local watercolorist, Wes Waugh. It was held at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum (BRAHM) in the nearby town of Blowing Rock, NC. I’ve been working with the workshop community, for years now at Cheap Joe’s, placing orders, and providing promotional material for hundreds of workshops around the country every year.  Workshops with artists, from Joe Miller to Cheng Khee Chee, Linda Baker, Janet Rogers, Eric Wiegardt, and too many more to count, and all the while, I secretly envied all of those workshoppers while I watched from the sidelines. Finally, I was getting my chance to experience what being a workshopper was all about!

The excitement began building the minute I registered for the class. I received my supply list and started to gather all of my stuff! Wes had a very efficient supply list as he suggested many choices in quality and cost of paints, brushes, and paper. This allowed everyone to choose how much they wanted to invest in the materials. I gathered the items  I needed for the workshop; a few Legend natural kolinsky brushes, some Kilimanjaro™ paper, and tubes of American Journey™ watercolor paint, which just happens to be Wes’ paint of choice! In addition to the basics, there was a Gatorboard, lots of paper towels, water buckets, stapler, a hairdryer, white terry cloth towels, and several other items too many to mention. As I compiled all of the stuff in the middle of my living room floor, I noticed one thing I was missing! A dump truck to carry it all in! Wow, this looked like a lot of stuff to transport to the workshop. Ok, I didn’t actually need the dump truck, but an Alvin Tote Express, which, surprisingly, provided a place for everything! Well, except for my supports and paper, which I placed in a sturdy portfolio. The tote has a large roomy compartment on the bottom with wheels! How, convenient! Then a separate shoulder tote that stacks on top or can be used alone.  As the old saying goes, “A place for everything and everything in its place.”

So I had all of this stuff and off to the art workshop, I went!  I was going to paint for three glorious days, six whole hours (including lunch) every day!   I just couldn’t wait to get to the classroom where I imagined that I would be pumping out masterpiece after masterpiece with all of the great art stuff I had for the workshop.

The BRAHM classroom was wonderful and spacious and provided everything we would need for the three-day workshop. Every student had their own workspace and we each had the best seat in the house at the demo area. A teaching mirror gave us all a great view of the demo table. We were sure not to miss a thing!

Wes conducted demos every morning, where I took really great notes! I snapped a few photos of the projects to better understand the process after the demos were over. During one demo, Wes talked about achieving the True North. This was his analogy of creating the perfect conditions to paint wet into wet. The True North, a profound direction for success.  After the demos, we were instructed to go back to our tables and paint. Everyone took out their watercolor paper and prepared to reproduce the technique that we had watched Wes complete so successfully just minutes before. As I looked around, I noticed everyone was beginning their masterpiece! They were sketching and planning and beginning to create. I stared at my blank paper and contemplated doing the same. But, I decided, instead, to practice. Practice what I had just learned and try to be successful at just one small piece of the puzzle that is the wet-into-wet painting process. So I applied some strokes to the wet surface, watched as the paint danced over the page.  When the front was full, I turned it over and started again. Wes walked around to see how we were progressing and noticed that I was seemingly playing. He leaned over and pointed to one of my marks and said, ”You have your True North.”  True North! I did it! But, could I do it again? Was it an accident?  Well, I’ll just have to try it again! And I did, and ok, it worked but not as well. Guess I’ll have to practice some more!

The three days flew by and Wes presented a wonderful workshop with plenty of new techniques to try, lots of great ideas, and the perfect advice to practice, practice, practice! I learned so much about wet into wet painting,  saturated lifting, achieving my Truth North,  as well as, negative painting, painting rocks and trees, and beautiful skies!  It was an incredible experience that also brought some enlightening discoveries that would be useful when I returned to work! We (at Cheap Joe’s) help workshoppers select and purchase the items they are required to bring to their class, every day.  This means by taking a workshop, I have been placed on the other side of the conversation. I was faced with the same apprehensions as most beginners. This experience has helped me to be more aware of the needs of those workshoppers placing orders for their very first class and also to better understand their questions and to give them good advice on how to select their materials.

Here are my thoughts:

1. I brought everything that was listed on the supply list but used a lot less of the suggested materials than I anticipated. The initial investment in any workshop for supplies can be from 100.00-300.00. That is a major investment! Not to mention, having to carry all of this stuff into the classroom without a hand truck and moving van.

Observation: Students will bring everything on the list for fear that they will be without some vital item that was used in the workshop. I did! But I only used a small basic selection of items from the list.

2. I enjoyed the demo time the best. I got the most out of this aspect of the class because of taking notes and taking pictures. Every night I reviewed the notes I had taken that day as I took them so fast that I had to decipher what I had written. (I would love to learn shorthand for this very purpose! Joe uses pharmacy shorthand when taking notes at a workshop!)

Observation: The demos did not produce a finished painting, only the pieces of the puzzle were used to achieve the technique.  I feel that the reason most people take workshops, is they want to paint like the instructor.  I think if the information is presented as a puzzle with a finished painting at the end, then it would be easier for a beginner to absorb.  Although this workshop was considered Beginner to Intermediate, it was focused on the elements that create a painting not on producing finished work. Wes gave basic information about watercolor without going into great detail. He allowed us to bring our own subject matter instead of providing us with a pattern. A beginner might have found this a little intimidating as choosing what to paint can be one of the most difficult tasks. I feel the way he presented the information just made me thirst for more. I now had the tools to create a puzzle that would finally become a painting. I wasn’t satisfied with just what I had accomplished in the classroom, and I simply wanted to race home to paint once again. Interesting! Another workshop, perhaps?

3. I really like the interaction between the other students and myself. There were so many different personalities, different views, different experience levels, different techniques, different interpretations of the information, and different reasons for taking the workshop.  I was able to observe the successes of my neighbors, as well as all of the attempts. It was like being in the middle of a science lab! You learn from each other’s experiences. I made some new friends as well!

4. I liked having the opportunity to assist those around me if they didn’t quite comprehend the concept in the same manner as was intended. Do you know how sometimes you just don’t get it? And then you have an “Ah-Ha!” moment when someone explains it in a slightly different way. Or perhaps you just needed to see the process step by step for it to make sense to you? I am the same way. I think sometimes students learn from students more effectively. Some people feel they don’t want to “bother” the instructor once the demo is over. Or they feel like they should have understood but didn’t and everyone else did.

Wes was very attentive in helping everyone throughout the room. Fifteen people wanting your personal attention all at once can be a lot of pressure.  But I would not imagine that anyone went away without learning something new.

5. Some students had questions about art materials that I was able to help them with. Years of experience and research at Cheap Joe’s were put to good use. It felt natural to explain that the quality and investment of fine art supplies is what will make your success easier. They seemed relieved that even though they hadn’t bought the most expensive supplies on the list that they could still have success during the workshop.

6. I took the workshop just because I wanted time to slow down and paint. Not even paint, just play. I didn’t come out with anything that could be framed or that I would brag about, but I was able to be successful with the technique because I wasn’t focused on anything but the technique and absorbing the information that was presented.

Insight:  I was like everyone else that took the class. I brought several beautiful landscape pictures to paint that were challenging for even a professional like Wes.  So my first thought of producing at least one, if not, many of these ideas during the class was shattered, because I didn’t. But I did have some success with autumn trees, controlling my wet into wet washes,  I played with color combinations and really observed the way watercolors work, and…  I found my True North!

Joe once said a workshop should be called a Funshop because it is really lots of fun. Meeting new people, learning new things, getting a new perspective on the way you paint, are all benefits of taking a funshop!  I certainly can profess that I will take another workshop in the future. It was a wonderful experience and I think it was a great investment in ME! As with a lot of experiences in life, you are never quite the same person once you have experienced a workshop. Doors have been opened, ideas have been presented, a whole new world has been revealed. I hope everyone who takes a workshop will have as much fun as I did! I would highly recommend the experience to anyone who is curious or wants to learn more about creating art.

Workshops require time and money to participate in but are an investment in yourself worth making. You can find a complete Workshop Schedule for Cheap Joe’s at www.cheapjoes.com.  These are week-long workshops held in Boone, NC that feature some of the most notable instructing artists around the country. Our workshop facility has been quoted as being the “Cadillac” of workshop venues by participants as well as instructors. The retail store is just next door so you will never run out of fine art stuff! If you are interested in signing up for a workshop, your best bet is to contact Edwina@www.cheapjoes.com for more information or just sign up online! But you better hurry as the workshops fill up fast and there is usually a waiting list for the most popular instructors.

Although I totally enjoyed my workshop experience, I must say in conclusion, though, there was something I didn’t like at all about Wes’ workshop…. That it ended!

Have a Happy Funshop Day!

For more information about Wes Waugh check out his website at Weswaugh.com.

You can also find videos featuring Wes Waugh demonstrating his wet-into-wet process on Cheap Joe’s YouTube Channel. (https://www.youtube.com/user/cheapjoes?feature=watch)

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