Your Watercolor Challenge Winner (and Five Fantastic Finalists)

The results are in! We asked the more than 1350 students in our recent Watercolor Painting Workshop to submit a full wedding suite (including an invitation, RSVP card, and table card) to show off the techniques they learned over the course of three weeks — and promised a $250 Blick Art Studios gift card to the very best submission.

After sorting through nearly 600 (!) outstanding student projects, our team winnowed the field to our fifteen favorite sets. We called in colleagues from different Skillshare departments to cast the deciding votes, and came away with a list of five finalists (and one big winner!) who would dazzle just about anyone on their way to the altar.

Curious to see who made the cut? Check out our finalists below!

Donna wrote that although she had initially intended to create an invitation suite that was inspired by her recently-engaged sister, her ultimate project was less about a particular couple and more about having “a lot of fun” getting comfortable with watercolors. We enjoyed her soft, muted floral designs, that each piece in her suite related to her theme, and appreciated that she created some extra credit: a menu designed to go along with her set!

Mindy said that when she made her “Written in the Stars” astronomy wedding suite, that she “especially loved making the monograms and crests.” We were blown away by her imaginative theme, gorgeous, moody hues, thoughtful font choices, and the clever way that she replaced table numbers with constellation names!

Claire’s beautifully-rendered rolling hills helped propel her “From the Mountaintops” suite onto our list of top five favorites. She used masterful watercolor techniques to depict a serene, green landscape, varying color saturation to achieve an organic sense of perspective. We also loved that she emphasized her simple monogram by enclosing it in sweet, delicate wreath.

Stephanie wrote that her suite was inspired by her experience meeting her partner in-person for the first time at Grand Central Station, and their train travel to visit one another in the early years of their relationship. We were excited by the way that she depicted light streaming through the terminal on her Save the Date, and loved how she incorporated gold both in her monogram and throughout each piece to ensure that her full set felt modern and celebratory.

When Gorkem wrote that she only had a month of watercoloring under her belt when she created her “Lemon Country Wedding” Invitation suite, we couldn’t believe her talent! We were dazzled by her bright, acid color scheme, the way she incorporated different patterns and color gradients into her leaves, flowers and frame, and the joy and exuberance that even her simpler pieces were able to convey.

When she submitted her winning work, Marian wrote that she “tried hard to be original”–and we could tell! Her “Swan” Invitation Suite managed to evoke the elegance and refinement of the perennially popular Art Deco style while staying novel enough to be visually interesting. We thought her motif was lovely, and appreciated that she went the extra mile to create a textured paper background that matched her suite’s old-school sensibility. Plus, she hid a secret symbol in her border design for her husband to recognize–and if that isn’t the perfect romantic flare for a wedding invitation, we aren’t sure what is!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Watercolor Painting Workshop Challenge and congratulations to the talented artists behind these top submissions!

Interested in participating in one of Skillshare’s next Workshops? Check out this list to see what we have coming up this Fall!