Welcome!

In this beginner-friendly class, we will dive into the world of nature poetry and art to create a unique piece with a watercolor illustration and a hand-lettered nature poem.

For the class, I will use Mary Oliver's poem "When I am among the trees" as inspiration, and a reference photo to paint a watercolor tree.

I will take you through all the steps of painting a loose oak tree with basic watercolor supplies and hand-lettering the poem in the background with just a simple black ink pen, using your own handwriting as a starting point.

The focus of this class is on getting inspired by beautiful words and images of nature, mindfully exploring your creativity and most of all enjoying the process! No need to have a lot of supplies, or experience with painting or lettering. No pressure to create a perfect piece, just be present, relax and embrace the experience!

In the bonus lesson, I will show you how I create a similar piece, based on the classic poem "Mushrooms" by Sylvia Plath.

Materials needed:

Watercolor paints in pans or tubes. Colors for the tree: Sap green, Pale yellow or Lemon yellow, Payne’s grey, Burnt umber, Ultramarine, Yellow ochre. Colors for the mushroom: Alizarin crimson, Payne's grey, Sap green, Burnt umber (plus any opaque white such as gouache or poster paint)
Round watercolor brushes: a large one (appr. size 10) and two smaller ones (appr. sizes 4 and 2)
Watercolor paper: Cold pressed, 140 lbs/300 gsm, 9x12 inches
A sheet of lined paper and/or the handwriting worksheet (resources tab)
Waterproof black ink pen, such as Sakura Pigma Micron (appr. 0.04 size)
Palette, water and paper towel
Pencil, eraser and ruler
The poem and reference photo from the resources tab

Beatriz Hernandez

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