Workshops

Back to School: Watercolor Class at JCAS

Last Sunday was the last lesson of six in a Watercolor class with John Duval at the Jersey City Art School. As some of you might know I have taken two printmaking classes already there and I really love being able to do something different over several weeks, and just being able to walk there.

This was the first time I took a Sunday morning class and I have to say, despite my first hesitance of getting up early on a Sunday it was really awesome – having my friend Mary join helped ;)

What drew me in taking the class were several factors – I really suck in painting with watercolors and I love John’s loose expressionistic style depicting urban landscapes. Here are three gorgeous samples of John’s work- check out his website for more or follow him on instagram!

John started with explaining and showing the different applications of watercolor he uses for his watercolor paintings- from very wet application (wash), to medium wet and sticky watercolor application, to dry brush application.

He talked about the importance of planning a painting and how to not shift your plan. You can imagine that was a tough one for me ;)

Above one of my first attempts …gosh …sigh …but hey- it was fun and I learned a lot

One of my favorite aspects of the class was his usage of a limited color palette (yeah I know guys- awkward right?) and how to play with alternating warm and then cool colors and vice versa in the layers.

Me trying out the one tone approach – there are areas that I like and some I am like “WTH”?

I loved seeing his demos of painting from start to finish and talking through his process as well as how he chooses a subject to paint. At first I was really itchy to get back to the easel and paint myself, but I realized very soon that a lot of what he talked about and went through sticked in my head and was helpful for my own process. Very dear to my heart was his approach of not being afraid of changing up the scene so that it looks interesting or reflects how you feel rather than the actual depiction of the place.

John about to start after sketching a rough scene from a photo.

John’s finished piece piece from one of the demos- you can actually see a bit of the original photo on the left.

As we progressed in the class we picked our own images and I loved seeing what everyone was doing and talk through it.

I focused on the house and the water …as you can tell trees and foliage …not so much ;)

Love the beach scene of one of the fellow students- especially her shadows.

Such a great water texture here and I love the color scheme.

And I really loved the mood in this one- so gorgeous!

John is a great teacher, he is very good in explaining what he does and why he does it and he is good showing students why and where things work and where not. I loved taking a class from him and I will def. do so again …yes in watercolor —gasp ;)

If you are in the Jersey City – NYC area- take a class with John Duval – I am sure he sends out class informations through his newsletter !

What I learned in this class:

  • Watercolor is fun and sometimes you just need it to let it do it’s own thing
  • “Never say die until it’s dry” – John Duval – meaning once it is dry you cannot fix things so be quick
  • think about warm and cool colors more and how this can create visual interest and contrast
  • The watercolor consistency is defined by the water in the brush not on the palette – so don’t dip your paint brush all the time into the water (I only learned this so far in theory- still working on it)
  • Don’t give too much visual information – our little brains do a lot to fill in the gaps

What I take away for the future:

  • Why not add some “people” into a painting to make the scene more lively
  • Change scenes up – you can take a photo if you are going for reality
  • Have the wash or underpainting in my acrylic paintings look through a bit more often
  • Work with a limited color palette or even just one color and play with the tones, tints and shades for a study
  • Why not paint a bit more in watercolor – it is quick and it is just paper and I can actually only improve ;)
Nat

Comments (2)

  • Sue Clarke

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    What a fun post! I love the limited colors that you used in that first piece that you did (I do bet that it killed you to use limited colors).
    The beach piece is delightful.
    He really is talented and I just don’t know how artists can do so much with watercolors.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      ha. you know me well -yes it was really challenging to only use a limited palate but it was really good to do so . :)

      Reply

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Workshop at Nat’s Place – Transfer, Trace, Transform Art Journaling Oct. 13

Come to my place for the day!

I’m super excited to announce that I will be teaching an extra special workshop right here in my home in Jersey City, NJ on October 13th, 2018! I invite you to my home for the full day Transfer, Trace, Transform art journaling workshop.

Join me for a fun day of exploring different ways to trace and transfer images into your art journal pages. The imperfect look of transferred photos can serve either as a building block of your layering process or as a stand alone focal point of a page. Tracing techniques provide just as many creative choices, and we’ll learn loose tracing techniques based on different image sources to give you a variety of options for your art journaling. Not only are there many ways to actually transfer or trace images, there are also many ways to transform those images in your art journal into something personal and unique.

AND we’ll do it all in my home in Jersey City, NJ so you can bet it will be a one-of-a-kind experience, with new friends and old, and lots of laughs :)

Space is extremely limited, sign up today!

Nat

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Workshops at A Work of Heart in San Jose

Last week I taught two workshops at A Work of Heart in San Jose. I taught in Andrea’s old studio last year and was excited to come back and to check out Andrea’s new place – a gorgeous huge new studio with ample of room for creative fun. It’s a dream!

Also – this mural in progress on the side of the studio – love! And …note the cats in the picture ;)

The first workshop day was my “Mono Print Painting” Class and we explored the basics for mono printing and then took it a notch further.

Using a gel plate, lots of fun colors and tools.

We made collage paper

using stamps, stencils and brayers

and moved way up to some more thought out prints.

so much fun…

And of course- the most important thing “Don’t overthink”

We worked with different paint media on top , made our own stamps and tools

and there so many fun and colorful patterns – Loved it!

Oh and then there was Bob “Bobby”…he was being fostered with two siblings at A Work of Heart and he was asking to be taken home with me….and since hubby said “well if you figure out the transportation problem” …

Here is the group from Sunday!

On Monday I taught my “Art Rules – Art Journaling ” Class – always love the exploration in color theory part of it and see what the students create

 

We looked at artwork from different Modern Artists and let us inspire for different techniques and methods.

Loved seeing my new Circle Jumble Rubber Stamps in action too.

as well as the other rubber stamps, foam stamps and stencils.

I had such a good time with my students and Andrea – well and …the little kitten will always remind me of the workshop as well ;) Yes- of course we figured out the transportation problem ;)

BTW there are still two adorable sisters waiting to be adopted – so if you are in the area (Andrea would even bring them a couple miles!) and want your heart be melting by kitten cuteness overload….contact Andrea ! They are total studio artsy cats, super cuddly and used to people and other cats

Thank you for a great time and lots of laughter, creative play, and inspiration. I love teaching and spending time with students is always a treat. Thanks Andrea for having me once again and for being such a wonderful host (and also thank you for this bundle of joy – LOL). I hope I will be back again :)

If you want to take an In-Person-Class with me- check out the schedule for the rest of this year. I will be teaching in Germany in September at an Ostsee Scrap Retreat, as well as a workshop co-taught with my friend Julie Fei-Fan Balzer in the UK,  and I will be adding a workshop in my own space soon.

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Julie b

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    What a great recap of your 2-day workshops! I can relive them over and over again here. LOL! Thank you for a fabulous time filled with learning……about various artists, so many techniques, playing with your fabulous stamps/stencils and of course, laughter. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to do in-person workshops here and glad that your trip with “Bob” was a success. He seems to have adapted to life in New Jersey well…..loved to see him scampering up and down the stairs. YIKES!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      It was so wonderful to see you again Julie- always so much fun to be with you! Hahaha- yeah Bobby Pretzel is a handful -LOL but brings much joy :)

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    That mountain page and the one with all that blue and the house on the left…swoon!
    Congrats on your new fur baby and what does cat #1 think of kitty #2?

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Yeah- those pages were superb!
      Hahah- cat #1 is curious, playful and peeved all at the same time …it takes a bit of time…

      Reply

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Workshops in Oregon, Cali, & Online

Hello my West Coast friends! I am coming to Runaway Art & Craft Studio in Salem, OR in October to teach 2 workshops: one that is all about getting the most from your Gelli Plate and a second one that is a NEW art journaling class.

Saturday October 13th, 2018: Uber Gelli Plate Printing

Join me for a day long class, diving into the basics and beyond of gelli plate printing. We’ll play with pattern making and we’ll discuss color theory and design. I will introduce you to the Mono Print Painting technique inspired by H.N. Werkman and we’ll learn different ways to create elaborate and layered mono printed paintings. Using self made tools, stamps and stencils, we’ll take your gelli plate printing to a whole new level. This is the ultimate in uber fun and easy printing techniques.

To register: call Runaway Art & Craft Studio at 503-881-6270 or email christy@runawayart.com

Here are some fun photos from when I taught this class last – so many beautiful prints, happy faces and great memories!!!

And the next day a brand NEW Art Journaling class that you will love…

Sunday October 14th, 2018: Transfer, Trace, Transform

Get ready to transform your art journal!

Join me for a fun day of exploring different ways to trace and transfer images into your art journal pages. The imperfect look of transferred photos can serve either as a building block of your layering process or as a stand alone focal point of a page. Tracing techniques provide just as many creative choices, and we’ll learn loose tracing techniques based on different image sources to give you a variety of options for your art journaling. Not only are there many ways to actually transfer or trace images, there are also many ways to transform those images in your art journal into something personal and unique.

To register: call Runaway Art & Craft Studio at 503-881-6270 or email christy@runawayart.com

This is a brand new workshop that I am super excited to share with you. Here are some of my own art journal pages that use techniques that we will be learning in the class:

I hope to see you there and maybe you make it a full out Artsy Weekend and join me for both :)

Also don’t forget if you are in Northern California I am teaching in July workshops at A Work of Heart in San Jose, CA:

July 29: Uber Gelli Plate Printing – Take your gelli plate printing to the next level with this one day workshop on mono printing and layered printmaking.

July 30: Art Rules- Art in  Translation Art Journaling – A one day art journaling adventure where we take inspiration from the techniques of master artists and then translate it to our own unique style.

Sign up for these workshops in San Jose by July 8th for Early Bird pricing!

And finally, maybe you cannot see me on the West Coast and maybe you LOVE taking an online workshop and still learn something new:

Art Journal Summer School is just for you – Join me and 12 other awesome teachers for a 10 week online workshop to keep you art journaling this summer. This workshop is designed to fit in your busy summer schedule – no big commitments here! There will be 21 fun, short downloadable videos and 1 e-book, and all of the teachers will be using similar materials that can fit in a small travel bag, so you can take us with you, wherever you go this summer!

Hurry Up: AJSS begins July 1!

See you here, there, and everywhere this summer :)

Nat

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Art Journal Summer School – Early Bird Sale

Now is the time to sign up for Art Journal Summer School! Early Bird pricing ends May 31st and class begins in July – Woohoo! This will be the Art Journaling party of the summer :)

Here is a little preview of the fun we will be having:

I’m loving the lineup of teachers and I know they will give lots of new ideas to try, in whatever setting you find yourself this summer. Even the supply list is designed to go anywhere you do – travel, beach, back porch – and be super no-stress and super lots-of-artsy-fun. That’s the whole idea with this workshop: Summer can be busy but if you love creating as much as I do, you know you want to carve out a little time for arting.

To register and check out all the info just go HERE.

See you in Summer School ;)

Nat

Comments (2)

  • julie

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    Just saw this…..I tried to sign up and wonder with the time change, did i miss the early bird pricing? this looked like a great class. Thank you.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Hi Julie the time for the sale was on European Standard Time midnight- which is 9 hours ahead of you. There is still another Lucky Bird Price on there right now that is still 20 EUR less then the normal price. So if you would still like to join- go and hurry- it is going up again in two days.

      Reply

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Photos of my Workshops at Ephemera Paducah in Kentucky

Last weekend I taught three days at Ephemera Paducah in Kentucky. It was so much fun!

We started off with my Mono Print Painting Workshop and worked our way up with some basics. Kathy and Valerie did approve – no, really :)

After some basics we were ready for some fun and more and more elaborate prints.

Lot’s of cats :)

and beautiful happy colors.

And of course Elephants :)

It was easy to be inspired in this wonderful classroom! Rebecca and Gwen are totally in the zone

Such a cool space!

Cats and Dogs- fun!!! Allison did the one on the left and Kristen was like- hey – I am a dog person ….

and Lisa thought, cats, dogs, I do abstract ! All at one table- cool, right?

Saturday and Sunday I taught a two day Artful Adventures in Art Journaling class

I loved meeting all those wonderful students from 11 different States ..yes 11- isn’t that amazing!

It is my favorite thing of a class – getting to know the students and spending some extended time with them.

Look at all the yummie pattern – Art Foamies were used left and right :)

Those patterns and colors- yummie!

How can you not get in a good mood seeing this.

Here are some different pages – can you see the Elephant Stencil was quite the star LOL.

Lots of mark making and color play and layering.

And here is Jackie – she drove 11 hours – WAHHHH -thank you so much for coming from so far !

Mhhh that bird better watches out! ;)

City scapes – here with one of the Midtown Stamps.

and some Chicago love and Batik love as well :)

Some serious easy peasy sketching :)

And hey lots of smiling faces

in those gorgeous city scapes created with the help of my RubberMoon Stamps.

Just looking at those pages makes me all smile – I hope my students had as much fun as I had.

I really love Karen’s grid ! And do you see John Travolta below …well I did and I showed my Travolta imitation …you have to take a class if you wanna see it- LOL

Claudia smiling at us  and Kristen, the owner and wonderful host of Ephemera , checking what shenanigans I am up to now-

Tana and Dana smiling beautifully and no …I did not rhyme their names during class- this is a coincidence here !

Oh looksie !!!

It was just so so cool how all those pages came together and incorporated techniques and materials we used throughout the workshop.

I want the the funky pants on the top left , the skirt on the top right and the dress on the bottom- woot woot.

Dana and Laura from Memphis

and here are cool collage of some more pages.

Thank you so much Kristen for having me – I truly enjoyed my time in Paducah! And thank you to all some of you traveling so much -and for your super sweet help!!! You were awesome and I hope I will see you some time again!

You missed this class? I am teaching a couple more classes this year which you can check on my In-Person Class here- but the next one is in San Jose at A Work of Heart. I will be teaching my Mono Print Painting Class there on July 29

and an Art Journaling Class on July 30th

there are still spots available and I would love to see you there. Let me know if you go !!!

Have a wonderful day!

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Lisa

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    Great post!! We had so much fun with you in class. I enjoyed every minute of it. Ephemera Paducah is an awesome place to take classes! Thank you for making it fun. I’m obsessed with drawing people now thanks to you. ?

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      It was so so good to have you! Thank you for coming and thank you for bringing me to the airport at this terrible time :) You are the best!

      Reply

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Art Journal Summer School Online Workshop!

It’s time for Art Journal Summer School! How about some creative fun for your artsy summer?

Join me and 12 other awesome teachers for a 10 week online workshop to keep you art journaling this summer. I love the whole idea of this workshop because it is designed to fit in your busy summer schedule – no big commitments here! There will be 21 fun, short downloadable videos and 1 e-book, and all of the teachers will be using similar materials that can fit in a small travel bag, so you can take us with you, wherever summer takes YOU!

Enroll TODAY! Sign up by May 31st, 2018 for Early Bird Pricing. Class begins July 1st.

Here are the teachers:

Summer is a great time to get inspired by new activities, adventures, vacations, family time and whatever else you have planned. You can add Art Journal Summer School to the mix for some fun learning and make sure you stay creative even if you’re at the beach or on your back porch.

For all the details, teacher bios, and everything you need to know about Art Journal Summer School, please click HERE.

I hope you join us this summer!

 

Nat

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Back by Popular Demand: 21 Secrets – Online Workshop

I’m happy to announce that you can now purchase “21 SECRETS The Best of 2014 & 2015” downloadable eBook!

For those of you who don’t know, 21 Secrets is an Art Journaling workshop where the focus is to showcase a variety of approaches, techniques, and ways of integrating art journaling and creativity into one’s life.

This is a “Best Of” eBook featuring 37 workshops by 38 teachers from the 2014 & 2015 Spring or Fall editions. You get a 150+page downloaded eBook, packed with links to videos (downloadable), full color photos and templates, and clear, inspiring instruction. You will receive immediate and lifetime access to all content, plus membership to a private Facebook peer group to share your work and receive support. This is a great resource to inspire your art journaling!

Early Bird Special

The price of 21 SECRETS The Best of 2014 & 2015 is $128 but…

…sign up by Friday, May 4, 2018 and you can save $21 using the coupon code: BESTOF at check out!!!

Join me and 37 other awesome art journaling teachers!!!

…And for even more fun, join Birgit Koopsen and me in Toronto on July 20-22 for our NEW 3-day workshop: Stroll Around the Block

This workshop will be held in the lovely Old Mill facility, where we will spend time seeking out inspiration, mastering new mixed media techniques, and translating it all into gorgeous art journal pages.

Each full day of creative fun will run from 9am – 4pm. Included is: continental style breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks. Toronto is an awesome city to visit with loads of great restaurants, museums, and nightlife. This event is also great if you are nearby in the US as the exchange rate from US to Canadian dollars is very favorable. Make it a long weekend and treat yourself :)

For more information and to register, visit the Stroll Around the Block website!

Class size is limited to 35 so sign up asap to reserve your spot.

Nat

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Photos of my Workshop in Oklahoma

Last weekend I taught my 3-Day Splash of Color Workshop at My Heart’s Fancy in Oklahoma. We started out with blank papers, filled them with lot’s of pattern, and imagery and then bound them into art journals.

We did a lot of gelli printing/mono printing the first day- look at those colorful pages

Love all the texture – yummie!

We used tons of my stencils and stamps- always tickles me to see a wall of my designs :)

And we had a ton of fun – I love spending a whole weekend with a group of sweet talented students!

Look at Marcia colorful gelli plate :)

Time flies when you play with paint and colors – the three days went by in a breeze

Creating the covers was a big hit too  – happy faces

and thinking faces ;)

Now how can you not enjoy a weekend with all those smiling peeps :)

And it was so much fun to see how everyone loved their newly bound book on the second day and working in it.

 

yummie patterns with my ArtFoamies – I always love seeing the color combinations my students choose. So inspiring.

We also did some transfers and they looked fabulous!!!

And we created some funky clothing and city scapes with my RubberMoon stamps.

And here are all the beautiful bound art journals – 78 pages thick- such a happy colorful sight!

Thank you to all the wonderful students – I loved spending time with you, creating, laughing, chatting, eating …and eating delicious homemade cake (thank you Lynda!) and sharing supplies and ideas. Thank you also to Maura and Lisa for having me once again – I always love coming back.

If you would like to take an in-person class with me, I am teaching in May two classes in Kentucky at Ephemera Paducah which will be super fun. I will also teach in Toronto (Canada), San Jose (CA), Boltenhagen (Germany) and Coventry (UK) this year. For more information check my In-Person Workshop page I would love to see you.

Nat

Comments (6)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Looks like a fun class and an awesome store to shop in!

    Reply

  • Maura

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    I must say that this was such a wonderful workshop. Fun, inspiring…. in one word – delightful! Thank you Nathalie. You taught us such wonderful things and we enjoyed having you with us again!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Maura- it is always such a pleasure to come back and teach for you!!! See you soon again!

      Reply

  • Donna B.

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    Looks like it was a wonderful class!!! I envy those lucky students!!

    Reply

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