Learn to paint water that looks wet, reflective, and splashy! With a stunning waterfall as your model, paint water as it falls, then splashes around and over the rocky stream bed. Techniques will be demonstrated to address the various puzzles with which the artist is faced.
Immersing ourselves into and truly experiencing the landscape through “light” plein air, i.e. sketching, watercolor-sketching using minimal supplies, or simply taking photos. This workshop is dedicated to the idea that the joy of a plein air experience should be accessible to all. With that in mind, the amount of equipment recommended for this workshop is of a minimal nature, very much on the light and portable side. The demos will be based on this. Nevertheless, the amount of equipment you take is your choice. There are lists of suggested supplies available for levels of activity at both ends of the spectrum. Our overriding goal is to enjoy the experience!
On our plein air day, you will be encouraged to find several scenes you would like to spend more time with later, in the studio, and doing simple studies for that purpose. Naturally, if you should decide to stay with one composition and develop it further, that would be a great option – the choice is yours.
There will be lessons that lead you through a process of simplifying the scene and the painting process.
Indoor studio sessions will use material gathered during plein air excursions by using reference photos. Other things covered will be basic anatomy of a waterfall, painting rocks that look solid and hard, keeping the painting process manageable, watercolor methods and techniques that apply to the subject matter, negative painting, and creative use of color.
There will be demos, instruction at all levels, critique and lots of painting time. Class time will be structured, yet open enough to accommodate the artistic spirit within us all. All levels are welcome and encouraged to attend. The only prerequisite is an attitude of joy in the act of painting!
About Julie Gilbert Pollard
Phoenix artist, Julie Gilbert Pollard, paints in oil and watercolor in a fluid, painterly manner. Her painting style, while representational, is colored with her own personal concept of reality. “The eye may see as a camera ‘sees’, but the mind’s eye sees an altered, imagined image, what it wants and hopes to see. It’s that illusive image, uniquely mine, that I try to express in my paintings. This amazing world of ours is often a mysterious, sometimes frightening, place, but filled with scenes and subjects that excite my eye and imagination! The magical allure of the natural world, and my reverence for it, compel me to attempt to capture its essence on canvas or paper.”
Enjoying an extensive career in art, Pollard is the author of three North Light Books: Discover Oil Painting (2016), Watercolor Unleashed (2013) and Brilliant Color (oil & acrylic, 2009), plus nine videos for ArtistsNetwork.com (three Watercolor Unleashed, four Oil Painting Unleashed and two Acrylic Unleashed). Additional publications include various articles and book inclusions including Watercolor Artist, Summer 2024 Issue-Painting Spot Column; Splash 23 (June 2022); The Art of Watercolour Magazine, Issue 36 (2019); Watercolor Artist Magazine (2021, 2018 & 2013); Splash 18 (2017); Acrylic Works 3 (2016); Art Journey America Landscapes (2012).
She has given instruction in watercolor and oil since 1985 in numerous venues such as Art Travel Italy, in Tuscany, La Romita School of Art, in Umbria, Italy; Cheap Joe’s Art Workshops, in North Carolina; Saanich Peninsula Arts and Crafts Society, in Sidney, B.C., Canada; and Vale do Lobo, in Portugal. Current 2025-2026 venues include online and in-person with, among others, Madeline Island School of the Arts, West, Santa Fe Campus (March 2025), Scottsdale Artists’ School, Hudson River Valley Art Workshops, in upstate New York, (September 2026).
Rates & Enrollment
Day Student Tuition: $920.00
Full 5-Day Package*: $2,351.54 – $2,529.74
*4-Day Workshop Package includes: Tuition for 4 full class days, 5 nights of dinner, lodging, breakfast, daily cookie and fruit breaks, unlimited coffee and tea, and welcoming wine and cheese reception. Your choice between a room to yourself (single occupancy) or bring a friend and split a room (double occupancy).
Get more information about your options to enroll here.