From Russia With. . . Watercolor

 From Russia With. . . Watercolor

Whaat an interesting experience! I signed up for a free 5-day watercolor class and was fascinated by the fact that Elena Vavilina, the artist, was based in Togliatti, Russia. The audio was, of course, in Russian but translated. She offered some very good tips on techniques. Impressive. I only wish my work looked like hers!

The first lesson was painting a lily. I had a great deal of water control issues with this painting, but I learned a lot. For example, it helps to sit back and squint at a painting to determine the balance of color tone. Also, it was interesting how she adds some of the flower tones (burgundy) into the leaves, which creates a lovely harmonious overall effect. 

Lesson two was a ripe physalis, a plant in the nightshade family like tomatillos. I’ve always known them as paper lanterns. This one was quite challenging, but I love the drawing. 

Next up was a tulip. The color on my iPad screen was reddish, whereas the true color should have been pinkish. Oh, well. 

Be still my heart . . . I love poppies!

A white poppy - total fantasy on this one!

Funny thing: These lessons were two and a half hours long . . . EACH! Within each lesson, the instructor announced a “secret letter,” which, if all were collected, unlocked a bonus lesson. Tricky to FF these lessons AND unlock the bonus, but I did it. Will I do the bonus lesson? Not sure. It looks difficult. Watercolor is difficult enough as it is, so doing a complicated painting might not appeal to me. We’ll see. And finally . . . 

Good thing I finished all the floral lessons by today since almost all lessons disappeared from my dashboard tonight. That’s how these free courses work. “If you want lifetime access to these lessons, buy my course for just $399 US dollars!” But the sole lesson that remained was the Bonus lesson. My secret letters came in handy! Here she is: “Girl with a Bouquet.”