Watermedia Riverside Painting

Imagine the ecology of a river created by your vision. The conceptual approach explored in this workshop is derived from Helen Shafer Garcia’s countless hours hiking and painting. Often on major trailheads we encounter signs that indicate the ecology of notable wildlife and plants we might see along the trail. As part of this workshop and journey, each participant will design and carve a stamp of a tree and everyone will share their stamped images, creating a shared shoreline and forest of trees and reflections in our paintings. Grid designs will be explored to give directions, indicate narrative and point out ecological features. We will experiment with ways to draw and paint indigenous flora and fauna. We will also work with gesso layers to bring back lighter values and create beautiful transparencies on shapes.

Helen Shafer Garcia is a painter, mixed media, book arts, ceramics artist and illustrator. Helen holds a BA degree in fine arts with an emphasis in illustration and ceramics. She is a signature member of San Diego Watercolor Society and teaches watercolor and mixed media workshops internationally and across the US.

• Hot pressed Watercolor paper

• Print blocks

• Printing inks

• Gesso