Watercolour Workshop

I'm sharing a few of my favorite tools and techniques at a little watercolour workshop at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium today.  My tools are usually quite basic, like paper (or in this case a moleskine watercolour pocket sketchbook), a brush, watercolour palette (I've fallen in love with the vibrant colours of the brights...I got mine at Michaels), water, salt, plastic wrap and facial tissue.  I tend to prefer using a palette of dried pans rather than tubes (easier to travel with) and I find that using different types of tissue, napkins and paper towels create beautiful patterns.  Like everything I tend to be drawn to in visual arts, I tend to keep my brush strokes quite loose, and also love layering vibrant colours both wet on wet and wet on dry.  Splattering with a toothbrush is also fabulous.  I just like to get a little messy, I guess.  And I like to keep my tools simple so that I can travel with them or work basically anywhere...my kitchen table, on my lap, in a cafe, in a park.  This way I'm sure to paint as the less preparation required makes me very happy.