Color of Snow: The Process in Photos

With some projects, it's easier to show than tell, and our current lesson, The Color of Snow by Birgit Snodgrass, is one of those. Here are the steps in photos--it's absolutely no substitution for the workshop, and the actual lesson is much richer, but maybe the photos can serve as reminders of the sequence.

1. Draw in simple trees with pencil and fill in the trees with Maskoid:Remember to say it clearly: Maskoid is the product we're using. "Mastoid" is a part of your skull. ;)

2. After the Maskoid has dried a minute or two, wet your whole page with a sponge, quickly add watercolor (be sure to leave some lighter "misty" spaces), and before that has a chance to dry, add a generous amount of coarse salt:

3. Let that dry a little (time will depend on how wet the paper is). Then (this is the fun part) peel off the Maskoid:

4. Next, use brown watercolor on a dry brush or old gift card to make the tree-bark texture, and to make the trees more dimensional. Birch trees have horizontal dark marks in their pale bark:5. All done! The salt should stay on the painting until it falls or shakes off--don't try to wipe off the salt or you may smear the painting:

Support your fellow docents this weekend!

Some ways you can support other Hands on Art docents in their various artistic pursuits--we're not just teachers, many of us are also musicians, dancers, crafters, and visual artists too. Why not learn more about them?

Erika Snow Robinson (docent at Tulita, a past project presenter, and a Chalk it Up co-chair this year) will be performing with the Beach Cities Symphony Orchestra this Friday, November 6, in a FREE concert at El Camino College ($2 parking). Every ten years, the orchestra performs Beethoven's 9th (Ode to Joy) with full chorus--so this is your last chance to see it before 2019! Kids are absolutely welcome. Concert starts at 8:15pm at the Marsee Hall auditorium.

Works by several Hands on Art docents, present and past, will be for sale at an Artists Holiday Boutique, to be held Saturday, November 7, from noon to 9pm at the home of Georgette Gantner, 327 North Gertruda Avenue, Redondo Beach. If you attended the Power of Art, you know there are some wonderful local artists, and this boutique gives you a chance to buy local and buy direct. Good stuff you can't get at the mall!

Got more announcements? This is a good place for them. We love to support our docents, but we also like our workshops to run on schedule, so we're encouraging more online notes for outside activities.