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"I specialize in this
temperamental medium
because I enjoy contrasting
soft-edged, luminous
background areas with
delicately detailed birds and
animals. My paintings don't
attempt to duplicate what I see
in nature, but rather to capture
a fragment of the wildness and
beauty ."
    Capture the magic of nature and
    create beautiful effects in watercolor.  
    Susan will teach you how to combine
    your photo references to design
    original nature compositions,
    beginning with inspiration, design and
    correct preparation.   Through step-by-
    step demonstration and practice, you
    will learn to use her wet-into-wet
    background technique, methods of
    building up forms, and use of values
    for the effect of light and shadow.  
    Susan and Arleta will be sharing their
    approach to painting and their
    techniques with each others class
    during the week.  She is the author of
    Painting the Magic of Light and
    Painting the Allure of Nature.

"Painting the
Allure of Nature"
Susan Bourdet

Catching Nature's Essence
Two Views: with Arleta Pech

September 8 - 12, 2009
(Tuesday - Saturday)
Portland, OR

Cost $595

Beginning to Advanced

    SUSAN BOURDET  grew up in western Montana, learning early to love nature.  Her luminous watercolors combine
    realistically detailed birds and animals with soft, impressionistic backgrounds, a technique that has evolved through her
    twenty years of painting.   She discovered watercolor at age twelve, being captivated by a local artist’s demonstration.  
    Susan majored in art and biology, her two great loves, while at Montana State University.   After graduation, she struggled to
    find a way to combine her two interests, working as an artist for a ceramics company and later as a pharmacy technician.  
    For years, she taught watercolor at a local community college in Oregon, where she moved in 1974.

    Susan’s career as a professional artist didn’t really begin until 1980, when she was raising her two children and needed to
    work at home.  Trying to find her place in the art gallery scene, she joined a support group of nature artists and began to
    show her work in local galleries.  In 1989, her paintings were discovered in an Oregon gallery by Wild Wings.  She now has
    over sixty limited editions published by Wild Wings since 1980 and her work is featured in 3 annual calendasr published by
    Lang: Songbirds, Hummingbirds, and Cats in the Garden.  She is the author of Painting the Allure of Nature and Capturing
    the Magic of Light both published by Northlight Books. Her newest instructional venture is are two videos entitled Bold and
    Beautiful, Backyard Wildlife in Watercolor and Inspiration from the Garden produced by Creative Catalyst.  Her paintings
    have been featured in shows and exhibitions all over the country, including the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum’s Birds
    in Art and the Society of Animal Artists’ Art and the Animal.  

    Susan lives with her husband Jim and children Rachael and Dan on several acres of wild woodland, which provide settings
    and subjects for her artwork.  She is an avid gardener, so she combines this interest with her art by planting her yard with
    favorite flowers and creating a pond and waterfall to attract wildlife.  She enjoys sharing her unique methods and insights
    with other artists and nature lovers in watercolor workshops and seminars.

    Raised in a family that loved the outdoors, I have always sought wild places, feeling that nature is central to my way of life.
    No piece of my art has ever seemed complete to me without an element that could fly or dart from the page. I moved with my
    family to Oregon in 1974, where I discovered watercolor. I specialize in this temperamental medium because I enjoy
    contrasting soft-edged, luminous background areas with delicately detailed birds and animals. My paintings don't attempt to
    duplicate what I see in nature, but rather to capture a fragment of the wildness and beauty we could so easily destroy.

Class Outline
    You can take either Susan or Arleta's class to experience this unique Two Views class. Susan and Arleta will be sharing our
    techniques with one another classes with short DEMOS on their backgrounds and Glazing techniques, and talking about
    how they approach their paintings.  Plan to bring one painting for the TWO views critique on the last day of class, where
    Susan and Arleta will bring the classes together for this final sharing of information. Susan and Arleta are good friends, so
    don't delay this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get double the learning for the price of one class.

    In this intensive 5-day workshop, students will use photo references to create original nature compositions, beginning with
    inspiration, design and correct preparation.  Susan will cover her essential techniques, from drawing on the design to the
    final details that make the painting sing.  She will explain her wet-into-wet background technique, demonstrating and
    instructing to give each student a sound foundation with this method, which is one of the most beautiful effects watercolor
    can create.  She will also demonstrate and instruct students in her methods of building up forms to depict realistic birds and
    botanical subjects and in techniques for creating believable natural textures with drybrush, spatter and glazing. Particular
    attention will be paid to using values for the effect of light and shadow.  Over the 5 days, students will complete 2 paintings,
    gradually building their arsenal of tecniques.  With the first study painting, they will learn to do the basic wet-into-wet wash
    with a simple subject.  They will then do a second painting combining wash techniques with live forms and textures. This
    main class project will be completed over the last part of the week and will combine all of the techniques introduced and
    practiced during the week.              

    DAY 1 Background Demo Susan and Arleta 30 Min
        AM  -Introduction to wet-into-wet technique, drawing on, masking. Teacher demonstration
        PM - 1st  study painting by students

    DAY 2 Glazing Demo Susan and Arleta 30 min
        AM - other essential techniques: small area washes, glazing. charging, drybrush etc.
            Teacher demonstration. Student preparation for afternoon painting
        PM  - Painting #2, sampling combined techniques

    DAY 3 Painting talk- by Susan and Arleta 30 min.
        AM -Starting main class project, larger painting
        PM - teacher demo of large background wash - students do background wash on main class project

    DAY 4 NO DEMO so classes can finish paintings
        AM - Teacher demonstration - painting forms and light in main class project with underwashes and building up.     
    Students begin painting forms in class project painting
        PM - Teacher demonstration - painting textures  -  Students paint textures

    DAY 5 End of class Critique by Arleta and Susan.
        AM - Teacher demonstration - light and shadow, values and details
            Group evaluation of paintings. Finish work on class project, correcting problems defined by group    
        PM - Paintings completed  individual request demonstrations and final evaluation