Realistic Painting in Watercolor with Todd Zalewski
Realistic Painting in Watercolor is a six-week adult class led by award-winning artist and Marblehead Arts Association member Todd Zalewski. Designed for beginners through advanced students, the class covers the tools, materials, studio setup, sketching practices, and painting methods needed to create realistic watercolor work. Instruction is adapted to each participant’s skill level.
Students will explore still life, landscape and cityscape, animal and bird, portrait, and botanical subjects. Demonstrations will include dry-brush, wet-on-wet, gouache on toned paper, and the use of masking fluid or tape to restrict paint.
When: Saturdays, November 7 through December 19. There is no class on December 5.
Showtimes: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Venue: Marblehead Arts Association.
Format: A six-week, multi-session class for adults.
Skill level: Open to beginners and advanced students, with instruction tailored to each participant’s ability.
Instructor: Todd Zalewski is a freelance artist with more than 20 years of experience and is nationally recognized for realistic bird and wildlife art. He has exhibited through the Society of Illustrators and has created bird, wildlife, and prehistoric-animal illustrations for books and publications, including the Field Guide to North American Mammals. His commissions include work for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the New Jersey State Aquarium, and the Philadelphia Zoo. He also collaborated with Lenox on an original Black-capped Chickadee artwork.
Class objectives: Participants will learn watercolor techniques; become familiar with painting materials such as paints and papers; understand the value of sketching before starting a finished painting; and learn how to arrange a painting studio, including the desk, lighting, and use of reference material.
Techniques: The class covers dry-brush, wet-on-wet painting, gouache on toned paper, and masking fluid or tape used as a paint restrictor. The instructor will also discuss considerations involved in choosing and developing subject matter.
Supply list: Recommended materials include Winsor & Newton Sceptre Gold II brushes in sizes 6, 4, and 2; Winsor & Newton Series 1A Artist’s Watercolor tube paints in Vandyke Brown, Indigo, Payne’s Grey, Carmine, Sap Green, and Cadmium Yellow; white metal butcher pans or small glass or ceramic bowls for a palette; a short, wide glass jar for water; Strathmore Mixed Media Paper Vellum Surface 400 Series paper in 11-by-14-inch sheets; 8.5-by-11-inch white bond or copier paper for masking and protection; one-inch blue painter’s tape; an Exacto knife; a kneaded eraser and, if available, a white Hi-Polymer eraser; an HB or B pencil or a No. 2 Ticonderoga pencil; and paper towels. Supplies may be purchased through DickBlick.com or Amazon.
Tickets: MAA members pay $225, and non-members pay $250.
Registration: Participants can register through the class registration link. Those unable to enroll online may reserve a spot by calling (781) 631-2608 or emailing info@marbleheadarts.org.