John Salminen Abstract Workshop

Last week I attended a 4-day workshop sponsored by Mid-Southern Watercolorists given by John Salminen, built around creating a full-sheet abstract watercolor.  I'd never tried to paint my own abstract, so I thought this might be a worthwhile new experience.  In addition, the workshop got very high marks by others who had taken it.  Using some of John's methods, we designed an interesting white space, and then enhanced the overall design with brushed watercolor, watercolor sprayed from a mouth atomizer, collage, and acrylic.  John and his wife Cathy helped us continually apply design principles as we developed our paintings.  The step-by-step approach resulted in striking paintings by everyone in the class.  I've posted an image of mine here.

EPCOT World Showcase

In January, we spent a few weeks in Florida - Orlando and Sarasota - to remind ourselves what warm weather is like.  One day we went to EPCOT, and I took some photos of some of the "country areas" there.  I'm always on the lookout for new urban type scenes to paint, and EPCOT provided several picturesque settings with plenty of pedestrians.  In the last two weeks I painted two of them, Morocco and France, which are shown here.  Next week I'll be attending the John Salminen workshop at Mid-Southern Watercolorists, and I'll probably be painting another urban scene or two.