Jana Howell

I came into this class looking to broaden my artistic horizons, so to say. I like to draw, but have never tried painting. I decided to go with watercolor, because I like the way that they look, and quite honestly they were the most affordable to begin with. In the beginning of the week I found myself struggling with the transition, but by the end I think that I started to find my way and definitely had learned a whole lot of technical strategies. I’m more used to the detail involved in photography and drawing, but I found that the simplicity of watercolor could be extremely beautiful in its own way.

Day 1: Saturday, July 30^th 2011

After class, I decided to go exploring around Old Mission Peninsula to see what kind of landscapes we would be painting throughout the week. The one word that could describe this experience was just, “wow”. Everywhere you look is beautiful around here.

Day 2: Sunday, July 31^st, 2011

Our first day out on the field as a class, I decided to try my hand at watercolor painting out on Carroll Road. I definitely learned a lot about technique and “what not to do”.

watercolor on paper, 10x14 inches

Day 3: Monday, August 1, 2011

Our second day at Carroll Road and I decided to take on the task of painting grapevines. This proved to be much harder than I had anticipated. I also think that my small brushes were aiding in my tendency to get caught up on too much texture, so I went out and bought a bigger brush after critique.

watercolor on paper, 10x14 inches

Day 4: Tuesday, August 2^nd, 2011

It was raining when we got to the Old Mission Lighthouse this morning, but we toughed it out anyways. The rain subsided for a couple hours, giving me just enough time to try my hand at the wet in wet technique. I loved it! My paintings turned out much better today. The fast approaching rain also urged me to move a bit more quickly than I normally would, so I ended up with three paintings, all much looser than my previous ones.

all are watercolor on paper, 10x16 inches

Day 5: Wednesday, August 3^rd, 2011

We painted at the Chateau Chantal today. It was a very cold and windy day, but it brought with it some very dramatic skies and gorgeous views. I ended up doing five painting stoday, half of which were just experimental to get myself to loosen up. Not only were they fun, but also I could tell that they really helped with the final product.

all are watercolor on paper, 10x16 inches

Day 6: Thursday, August 4^th, 2011

Today was the final day of painting, as well as our last chance to tie up any loose pieces for the final critique tomorrow. I woke up early, went to a few beaches around town, and painted quite a few pieces. I’m really starting to feel more confident in my artwork and feeling like I learned a lot in this class, even in such a short time!

all are watercolor on paper, 10x16 inches

For my homework assignments, I decided to do a study based off of photographs that I had taken a few summers ago in Oregon because I just love the photos and I figured it would give me the chance to figure out how to deal with different landscape issues such as clouds, water, sand, trees, etc. I also kept them the same size, 7x14, because I think they’ll look pretty good all mounted together at the end of the week. I really love the way it turned out! I’m glad I chose to do that.

all are watercolor on paper, 7x14 inches each

On the evening of our final day, I added a few final touches to my paintings from the previous days, and laid everything out to see how it looked. I was very surprised by my final pieces considering that I had never painted before this class! This was an amazing experience and I would definitely do it again.

If anyone wants to get in touch with me for any reason, my email is jhowel14@emich.edu. Have a great rest of the summer everyone, it was nice working with you all :)