“I am really enjoying your classes. I enjoy painting the flowers and the format is perfect for me as it gives me lots of time to work on the paintings. The interactive online sessions are fantastic!” Lynn

Purchase Birgit O’Connor – Backgrounds & Shadows Special 6-week Interactive course courses at here with PRICE $150 $40

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Birgit O’Connor – Backgrounds & Shadows Special 6-week Interactive course

Backgrounds & Shadows Special 6-week Interactive course

All levels

What students say

“Love the bonus material. What a bonus :)” Loree Landry

“I am really enjoying your classes. I enjoy painting the flowers and the format is perfect for me as it gives me lots of time to work on the paintings. The interactive online sessions are fantastic!” Lynn

“Thank you for the brilliant lessons. You are easy to listen to and you are so thorough with your explanations.Your approach is so rewarding. Thank you so much.” Wendy McLennan

Birgit is an excellent instructor who is organized, informative and thorough in her presentations. Also she is very supportive and helpful in her comments on the painting submissions. I felt strongly that she really wanted me to learn and improve and produce a painting that would make me feel that I had achieved a result that would be worthwhile. I would take another class from her in a heartbeat. Sincerely, Trish Kuncewicz

I never would have had the courage to put such a background on a painting before taking your lessons, but I can see now how much of an improvement it makes”.<span “=”> Jeanne Hall

Thank you, Birgit. YOU make learning fun, accessible, a DREAM come true! Your fine instruction makes it possible, Frances Gill-Turano

Take a Peek inside

This content rich course will help expand your skills, give you techniques, inspire new ideas, along with helping you create some really beautiful paintings

6- Week Interactive Course

Do you paint the background first, or leave it for last, keep it the white of the paper or add lots detail and color. These are just of a few of the questions we will be covering. In this course, I’ll help you find new ideas and different approaches to apply into your paintings using a push-pull affect to create more depth. Course includes two full step-by-step paintings “Apple Blossom” & “Quince” learn how to how to change and rearrange reference photos and transform them into more pleasing compositions.

• Lifetime access
• Live group meetings
• Go at your own pace
• Paint anytime day or night
• Ask questions
• Downloadable PDF reference photos and sketches
• Learn how to create your own reference material for future paintings.
• Understand how to change the feeling of a painting to brighten it up, make it moody or intense and dramatic.
• Why values are important
• Learn more about the water to color ratio
• The full course opens on the specified date and runs for 6 weeks.
• After the end date of the course, you can still participate with limited interaction.
• Learn how to fix and recover from a dreaded bloom in the middle of your painting and use it to your advantage.
• Course is rich in content
• Free Bonus Course Included

Your Instructor

Birgit O’Connor

Birgit O’Connor, is a signature member of CWA-M, LWS-M, NWWS, and is an award winning artist, judge, juror and author of the top-selling North Light books “ Watercolor in Motion”“Paint Watercolor Flowers” and “Watercolor Essentials” along with being included in three other titles. Known for her original paintings and inspirational teaching style. In 2019, she is expanded into portraits which have been well received into international shows. Currently Birgit has reduced here busy traveling schedule so she can continue to develop and build her online courses. She has been included in over 60 national and international publications, the New York Times, SF Gate,Artist Magazine and Watercolor Artist Magazine INK in New Mexico, in the United States, Dobry Zank, (publication in Poland) “L’Art de l’Aquarelle in France. Her memberships include Cambridge Who’s Who, Who’s who in America and Who’s who in American woman. In 2018 she launched a Podcast “The World of Watercolor Painting” to help support and encourage artists from around the world (available on your favorite podcast app). www.birgitoconnor.com

Course Curriculum

Backgrounds & Shadows Special 6-week Interactive course
Welcome to class

Welcome (3:41)

Material list

Material list

Palette set-up

About the Materials

Resources & Private Facebook Group

Reference photos & FB Groups

FQA

How to login (3:36)

Light, Medium Bold Primary colors

How to keep track of where you are in the course

How to print and download PDF files (8:28)

How to make your own quick line drawing (1:19)

Reviewing Basics: Bonus Course

Watercolor Painting terms

What you will need

About brushes

Setting up the Palette

Tearing paper

About Paper

Paper type affects your painting

Make your own pad of paper

About Watercolor Paint

Color Charts

Warm, Cool, and Transparent Color

Values and Water-to-color blends

Where and when to sign a painting

Common painting mistakes

Gathering background material

Background Introduction (2:59)

1 Backgrounds Getting Started (17:39)

Assignment

2 Backgrounds: How to use your camera (5:49)

3 Backgrounds: What to look for (3:01)

Take a Quiz or Print the Worksheet

Background techniques / Section 1

1 Background techniques wet-into-wet and wet-on-dry (14:18)

2 Background techniques: Dropping in water & Negative painting (12:29)

3 Background techniques: Texture (5:07)

4 Background techniques: Circles (12:30)

How this can be applied into a painting

Take a Quiz or Pint the Worksheet

Apple Blossom reference photos & line drawing

Reference photos in PDF and Jpeg

Reference of the original painting

Update- Line drawing update 15×22

DUPLICATE colorized 15×22 line drawing

How to assemble and transfer the line sketch to watercolor paper

Apple Blossom Getting Started

Introduction Values (3:50) (3:50)

Lesson 1: Mask the Stamens (2:37)

Lesson 2 Tint the background if needed (2:34)

Lesson 3: Shading (7:28)

Lesson 4 define the petals (6:25)

Apple Blossom Complex Shadows

About Shadows

Lesson 5 Complex shadows (9:11)

Lesson 6 complex shadow (8:34)

Lesson 7 complex shadows (3:26)

Lesson 8 complex shadow (2:19)

Lesson 9 complex shadows (8:16)

Lesson 10 complex shadows (5:49)

Apple Blossom Branch, Buds & Center

Lesson 11 the center (6:20)

Lesson 12 Buds (7:38)

Lesson 13 Branch (2:59)

Apple Blossom Background

Lesson 14 Let the painting tell the story (3:23)

Lesson 15 background (9:06)

Lesson 16 final details (9:48)

Post your painting / Questions or comments

Quince fruit & Background reference material

Reference photos

Quince reference photo _ quarter sheet painting (11x15inches)

Quince reference photos _ fits half sheet painting (15×22)

Quince fruit & Background lesson

Material List – Quince

Quince Intro (2:18)

Quince Getting Started (6:58)

Quince 2 The underpainting (9:47)

Quince 3 Layering color (9:12)

Quince 4 Shadow & Problem solving (4:46)

Quince 5 How to fix a blossom (5:35)

Quince 6 Adding the background (13:52)

Quince 7 Layer Color (5:49)

Optional half sheet (15×22) painting

Quince optional 1 – Half sheet painting (10:45)

Quince optional 2 – half sheet painting (10:58)

Archive

May 14 – recorded introduction (64:30)

May 28 – assignment review & getting started on the apple blossom (104:56)

June 11 – painting review (98:12)

June 25 final review (110:43)

Bonus – Meeting Archive

Recorded meetings June – July 2019 (337:53)

Recorded meetings Nov – Dec 2018 (302:02)

Recorded meetings May-June 2018 session (210:54)

Previously recorded meetings Jan – Feb 2018 (401:25)

Questions or comments

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Purchase Birgit O’Connor – Backgrounds & Shadows Special 6-week Interactive course courses at here with PRICE $150 $40