Today I attended a free event at Manassas Battlefield, for a Nature Journaling class, taught by their first Artist in Resident, watercolorist, Roxanne Steed of Connecticut.
Although I’m not an artist, I’ve longed to learn, and the class was open to all, even beginners. Why not?
EN PLEIN AIR – LATE 19TH CENTURY
Further, if I can learn, I thought it would be great to add to my interpretation, since ladies of the past also took art lessons.
Another thing that excited me about this opportunity, is that we would learn art outdoors…which became popular in the late 19th century, called en plein air which in French means “in open air.”
WATERCOLOR INSTRUCTION
This morning I met everyone in the parking lot of the infamous Stone Bridge at Manassas Battlefield, where we were all quite chilly.
Although the suggested focus for our nature journaling were the bluebells, most of them were sadly waiting for warmer weather to bloom.
{A week later the bluebells were blooming profusely at Broad Run, below my house.}
Before walking down to the bridge, Roxanne stood at the back end of her van to access teaching materials while beginning her fabulous overview of watercolor nature journaling.
Surprising us, she featured water color pencils due to their ease of use, especially for us beginners!
WATERCOLOR DEMONSTRATION
After walking to the Stone Bridge, we gathered around Roxanne while she demonstrated all she had discussed in the parking lot.
On the days previous to this class, she spent time water coloring various scenes from around Manassas Battlefield, which is showcased in these photos.
Showing us her portable paint studio, she taught us lots of clever and practical tips.
Even though she invited us to begin painting, we preferred to watch her paint the Stone Bridge.
Encouraging us while she painted, she explained we don’t have to stress every single detail.
As she showed us her current and past work, we saw that she was right.
Thankfully a few bluebells were found in their colorful array of blues, pinks, and purples.
INSPIRATION
MY FIRST ATTEMPT
I settled on this…here is the watercolor pencil part…to which I later applied water. (see header photo)
Perhaps not bad for a first try? How do I improve? By lots of practice. (sigh) That will take a while.
In May, there will be another Nature Journaling class led by the second Artist in Resident for Manassas Battlefield, who happened to be a student in this class.
Stay tuned for that, because I hope to attend!
