So you want to learn watercolor painting?!

Awesome! I've designed this course for you!

The complete online watercolor class is designed for the curious creative looking to go from a complete beginner to a watercolor enthusiast. Learn step-by-step everything you need to know to get started painting your own modern watercolor pieces easily and right away!

Enrolment opens again October 6, 2020

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If you've always wanted to try your hand at watercolor painting

but not had the confidence or know-how to start,

Probably looking for something that will help you get painting, to become comfortable with watercolors and have success at it! You’re probably thinking, “Yes! but I have no idea where to start.” or even what you need to get painting. Watercolor painting can be intimidating. I know what it’s like to watch all the beautiful posts on social media and be in awe of the flowers, leaves, and abstract pieces that people are sharing. The truth is, everyone starts somewhere. That somewhere is the beginning. While it may seem like everyone else been blessed with natural talent and lots of experience, the truth is, everyone starts as a beginner. Learning what tools to use, how to mix the paint and create brushstrokes that seem effortless and beautiful - the important things to have in place to paint watercolor pieces with confidence.

Here's the thing...

We often convince ourselves that art and painting were things we never thought were even possible for us. I bet you've told yourself one or more of these false statements!

  • I’ve always thought wow, I’d love to learn to do that! The truth is, not everyone who is painting and exploring watercolor has an art degree. Most of us start painting later on in life when time is more available and we can dedicate that extra time to exploring things we love. It’s never too late to try!

  • Looking at all the pretty pictures are inspiring. You gather the courage to try most often from others doing exactly what you aspire to do. Finding images of pieces you would like to paint or to use as color references are great ways to enjoy all the pretty pictures.

  • You don’t need a fancy watercolor kit to get started. Although you don’t need to have a professional watercolor kit to get started, knowing what brushes, paints and watercolor paper to start with can cut down lots of frustration, save time and even have better success with painting.

  • You don’t consider yourself to be artistic. The exciting thing about watercolor painting is you don’t need to know how to draw in order to paint. Forget about the need to be “artistic”, that’s a myth. Paint strokes are often just lines and shapes that we learned to do when we were kids.

So you want to learn Watercolor Painting? Awesome!

But I've never done this before, where do I even start?!

Everyone’s starting point is the same. We all start with zero experience, knowledge and skills. But as you start to mix watercolors and practice the movement of your brush to paper, you will soon see how easy it is to make beautiful marks on your page. If you are committed to start, that in itself, is the biggest hurdle! Perhaps you’ve dreamed about learning to paint beautiful flowers or lovely leaves and thought it’s not going to be easy. Knowing it’s going to be a journey is actually empowering! Because that means you are prepared to try, practice and grow your painting skills as you learn to fall in love with this one of a kind medium. Here’s where most watercolor painters will tell you once you start… it’s all worth it! The more you learn about how to work with watercolor and how to move your paint brush, the more your confidence will grow with each step you take. Each page of watercolor paper that is transformed from plain white to beautiful shapes and strokes, will encourage you to continue on your painting exploration. Here’s the thing, once you understand the basics of watercolors and your tools, everything else starts to unfold. As a creative, exploring your creativity means you push yourself to try, explore, grow and enjoy the process that watercolor painting offers. But knowing where to start and how to start is what you NEED to get your dream out of your head and into practice! The best part is, once you have everything you need to get started, you can practice and grow as slowly as you like or as quickly depending how much time and effort you put into practice. The practice of watercolor painting is priceless. The moments spent with brush in hand while working on lose, colorful brush strokes will help you realize that YOU CAN DO THIS. Imagine this, there are many people who don’t even start, you are one of the few with the courage, and tools you need to turn your dreams into reality.

What you can expect!

Inside this fun and in-depth, online watercolor class, I’ll personally walk you through the entire course.

  • 1

    The Complete Modern Watercolor Painting Course for Beginners

  • 2

    Supplies and How to use them

    • Welcome to Class

    • Don't forget to join the student community here!

    • Supplies and tools Video Lesson

    • Watercolor Paints and how to work with them

    • New! Video for Mixing Watercolor for the Perfect Consistency

    • Brush strokes video lesson
  • 3

    Let's Explore Color and the Color Wheel

    • Color Wheel

    • Painting Transparencies

    • Painting wet-on-wet & dry-on-dry

    • New! Painting Wet-on-Wet Tutorial

    • Painting Color Stories

    • You just finished the first section!

    • Share a pic of your color wheel or wet-on-wet practice so we can cheer each other on!
  • 4

    Painting Abstract Watercolor Pieces

    • Let's practice painting abstract pieces!!

    • Abstract Practice Lesson Number 1

    • Abstract Practice Lesson Number 2

    • Abstract Painting Lesson Number 3

    • Abstract Painting Lesson Number 4

    • You've completed the Abstract Painting Section of the class!

    • It's time to post a pic to our community and let us know how it's going so far!
  • 5

    Painting Single Stroke Stems and Leaves

    • Using your brushes to paint leaves, stems, and botanicals

    • Painting Single Stems & Adding Variety

    • Dry-on-Dry Painting on Leaves

    • Painting Stems and Adding Depth & Dimension

    • Painting a Stem Adding New Elements & Color

    • Paint a Full Page of Leaves

    • Variegated Leaf Part 1

    • Variegated Leaf Part 2

    • I want to see your leaves! Painting leaves are one of my favourite things to do. Snap pic, post and let us know how it's going!
  • 6

    Painting Modern Florals

    • A Look at Floral Watercolor Examples

    • Painting an Open Flower & Bud

    • Painting a Second Style of Open Floral

    • New! Easy Watercolor Flower Tutorial

    • Painting a Grouping of Peonies

    • Three different ways to paint a peony

    • Use a Filbert to Paint Violet Shaped Florals

    • Adding Detail to a Flower using Dry-on-Dry

    • Painting flowers can be a challenge, so let us know if you have any questions at all!
  • 7

    Painting Typographical Lettering & Fonts

    • Explore Lettering with Watercolor

    • Painting Block Lettering and Adding Details

    • Adding Serifs and Painting Happy Birthday (I misspelt birthday!!!)

    • Painting Be Kind & Using a Variety of Typography

    • Painting a Very Loose Wreath & Adding the Word Love

    • Did you practice some lettering with your watercolor brush?! We want to know how it went!
  • 8

    Final Tips

    • Some Final Tips to Try

    • How to transform a piece that you don't love

    • Adding some mixed media to existing pieces

    • A few last things to try

    • Not every piece you paint will be a favorite, let us know what you've learned from a mistake that you may have made!
  • 9

    BONUS! Playful Mixed-Media Abstracts

    • How to paint an Abstract Mixed Media piece
  • 10

    Thank you!!!

    • Thank you!!!
  • 11

    Watercolor Floral Bouquet: Learn about composition, placement & painting

    • Introduction and what you can expect

      FREE PREVIEW

    • Studying Composition

    • Picking your color story

    • Mixing your colors that you chose

    • How to plan out composition using a Pencil Sketch

    • Sketching in watercolor

    • Painting the Bouquet

    • Watch as I paint the same bouquet in a different style

    • Final thoughts

Join the class again on October 6th!

Add your email to the mailing list to get the latest updates and special offers when Modern Watercolors for Beginners opens again!.

Testimonials

Here's what students are saying about the course

“OMG I highly recommend this course! I got it during the pre-release period and I'm so glad I did. I used to be so afraid to even pick up a paintbrush, and now I am so excited to paint when ever I have some free time. I love every single Module in NIcki's course, and highly recommend it. It's been an amazing outlet and break away from the kids”

Leslie

“Nice, relaxed pace, encouragement offered regularly, a great beginning to watercolour!”

Trudy

“Really enjoyed this class and learned so much!”

Laurie

“”

Ask me anytime!

Not sure if this course is right for you?! Send me a quick message nicki@lifeidesign.com and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about this modern watercolor class for beginners!

Meet your teacher!

Nicki Traikos

Artist|Calligrapher|Designer

Life I design was born out of passion to live a creative life and from a desire to design things that suited my personal taste and what I wanted to have around me. I am a work-from-home Mom-preneur! My kids are now 18 and 16 and I am blessed to have the freedom and flexibility to pursue my love for all things creativity and art while I teach others to do the same! I am a huge fan of online learning and it's how I've built life i design these last 7 years so I'm excited to help others learn new skills, fall in love with creativity and start their own home-based business! I hope you join me for a class or two! I am excited to be a part of your personal and creative journey!

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