RECOMMENDED EXPERIENCE
All levels (basic knowledge & some previous experiences strongly recommended to benefit from
this workshop)
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
Do you paint everything that your eyes see? In this class, you will start seeing things differently and
learn how to turn reality into a captivating, impressionistic image. The goal is to capture the
essence of the subject that conveys a certain mood and atmosphere. Keiko will show you how to
take the initial inspiration, through the simplification process, to an expressive painting that is strong
in composition and content.
The introduction focuses on the fundamentals including getting to know our materials and seeing
things with an artist’s eye. The areas of topic covered in this workshop include: a preliminary
drawing and composition, a variety of watercolor techniques in paint application and brush handling,
what makes a good design, understanding of relationship of dark and light values, planning &
intuition, and how to edit complex visual information.
Keiko does a daily demonstration with helpful tips and insights. Reference photos will be provided.
There will be plenty of one-on-one guidance/critique and a question-and-answer session on a daily
basis.
ABOUT INSTRUCTOR
Keiko Tanabe, AWS, NWS, AIS, LPAPA. Often working en plein air, her atmospheric watercolors
perfectly capture a sense of time and place. Through her use of color, textures, and signature
brushwork, Keiko’s landscapes and cityscapes, beautifully convey both the exotic and the simple
scenes of the many places she travels. Never attending art school, Keiko took only one drawing
class to learn basic technical skills before she started painting in 2005. One year later, after
learning basic drawing and watercolor painting skills at a local community school in San Diego,
Keiko decided to paint full-time. From then on, she intensely taught herself to be fluent in
watercolor painting, just as one would do to master a foreign language. Her subjects include
landscape, cityscape, waterscape and interior scenes, which will be demonstrated in the workshop,
using representational and impressionistic compositions. Since 2011, Keiko has completed
successfully numerous workshops and live demonstrations around the world. She has 4 DVDs and
several books of her art and has been featured in many art magazines.
