Brenda Swenson In-Person Art Workshop: Negative Painting with Watercolor, October 6-10, 2025

Discover the exciting results of negative painting with watercolor! Discover the exciting technique of painting around a subject (the negative space) to define it in the compostion. Build your confidence in handling glazes, wet into wet, underpaintings, and painting into wet passages. Strengthen your understanding of pigments and how they directly relate to the complex medium of watercolor. During the workshop you'll learn how to create interesting shapes and depth of color with transparent glazes. Strengthen a painting with overlapping, interlocking shapes and linkage. Students will benefit from daily demonstrations, friendly critiques, and one on one help.

• Monday October 6, Tuesday October 7, Wednesday October 8, Thursday October 9, 9:00am - 4:00pm EST, Friday October 10, 9:00am - 1:00pm EST

Please see Downloads Tab for Important Information.

Pre-class instructions and/or specific details will be emailed 1 week prior to the workshop.

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Workshop Terms and Conditions

 Level 3: Intermediate (and up) - Assumes the student already has a basic knowledge of the medium. Average paced with individual help for all students.

Brenda Swenson is the artist author of two books, Keeping a Watercolor Sketchbook (Finalist, Award of Excellence) and Steps to Success in Watercolor. An active participant in the arts community she is 1st Vice-President of the California Art Club and has served on the board of directors for the National Watercolor Society and Watercolor West. She’s a Signature Artist in WW-M, NWWS, SDWS and CWA. Her artwork has been featured in several volumes of Splash: Best of Watercolor, An Illustrated Journey, Creative Freedom, Complete Guide to Watercolor, Watercolor Artist, Watercolor Magazine, Watercolor Highlights, Plein Air Magazine and numerous other publications. She participates as an arts juror and demonstrator, and offers workshops both nationally and abroad.

 Being a painter is more than mastery of techniques. My desire is to communicate how I feel about my world and my response to it. What do I look for when I judging a show? It’s much more than mastery of techniques that brings a viewer back again and again. First of all, it’s the artist’s ability to communicate. I look for the artist to have an emotional connection to their work. I want to feel what is being said in the piece. Second, I look for the artists ability to utilize design, value, edge quality, color and technique.

  Cancellation Policy - By completing your purchase transaction, you agree to accept the following cancellation/refund policy: A $30 cancellation fee applies if you cancel at least 8 days in advance. Cancellation requests need to be emailed directly to meghann@cheapjoes.com. There is NO refund, for any reason, less than 8 days prior, during, or after the class.  You cannot transfer to a different workshop. There are no refunds or discounts for missed sessions or no-shows. If the instructor allows the workshop to be recorded, the videos are only available to enrolled students. If you cannot attend the live sessions but want to receive the videos, please notify Meghann in advance of the workshop. No-shows, without prior notification, will not receive video access. If Cheap Joe's or the instructor cancels the class, you will receive a full refund of tuition, but not other related expenses.  Please do not combine supply purchases and workshop purchases in the same order. (policy effective 11/15/2023)