A Little Bit of Magic: Day 2 Watercolor Live Highlights

On Day 2 of Watercolor Live this year, we saw full-length painting demonstrations from six artists, including two live on-camera sessions. It was incredible to watch each painting come to life, and everyone felt the excitement when Eric Rhoads announced Watercolor Live 2024 and the upcoming Plein Air Live in March 2023.

We also saw special sessions from today’s generous sponsors, including Royal Talens featuring Jeff Olson and Kristen Olson Stone; Cheap Joe’s; Blick Art Materials featuring Ashley Nordin; Fabriano featuring Matthew Bird; Hahnemuhle featuring Vladislav Yeliseyev.

There’s even still time to purchase art from the 3rd Annual Watercolor Live Faculty Auction. Keep scrolling to see what you may have missed from Day 2…

Watercolor Live faculty and presenters

Yong Hong Zhong - watercolor live
From Yong Hong Zhong’s session

Joining us from Portland, Oregon, Yong Hong Zhong began his presentation by going over his selection of brushes, why he chose his photo reference, and the trick he did to help him focus on color and value before starting to paint.

Linda Daly Baker at Watercolor Live
Linda Daly Baker at Watercolor Live

“Capturing the extraordinary light that transforms a subject almost to abstraction is a main objective in creating my watercolors,” says Linda Daly Baker. She gave a demonstration that used “a little bit of magic” to use a pouring technique for watercolor.

From Iain Stewart's session
From Iain Stewart’s session

“You don’t have to let reality get in the way of a great painting.” Iain Stewart gave us a live on-camera demo on painting a scene, with a focus on how to “suggest” and “indicate” your scene without “explaining” it in too much detail. He said he uses his reference photo, study, and sketches as his guides while he paints.

From Matthew Bird's session - Watercolor Live
From Matthew Bird’s session

Matthew Bird joined us again at Watercolor Live this year from his studio with a lesson in realistic watercolor. He painted a small still life of apricots in a bowl, applying techniques that can be applied across any subject matter.

From Vladislav Yeliseyev's session
From Vladislav Yeliseyev’s session, with comments

From Vladislav Yeliseyev's session - Watercolor LiveVladislav Yeliseyev presented to us live from his studio in Florida, energetically (and entertainingly) painting a scene from a trip to the Czech Republic

“The energy of the room has become so wonderfully cheerful. We CANNOT NOT absorb some learning while enjoying the process!” ~Sylvia L.

From Stan Miller's session
From Stan Miller’s session

Stan Miller began his painting demo by going over how to use a photo reference; in this case, it was of his godson. After cropping the image, he showed us how to transfer the photo onto paper to have as a guide for the drawing. During the demo, he flipped the photo and painted it upside down as he continue adding detail.

There’s still a little time left to join us for Watercolor Live 2023, so visit WatercolorLive.com now and be a part of the moment-to-moment learning!

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