Layered Mountain Watercolor Painting with Shelby Thayne

Shelby will teach a step by step class to help you create your very own magical watercolor mountain art. She'll cover the basics of water control, color mixing, and more, all while walking you through everything you need to know and do to make your own layered mountain painting.

Our inspiration for this painting session comes from "Golden Hour", Shelby's winning artwork from the first ever Kula Design contest. Join us to paint your own version of this popular painting! We'll also paint a mini monochrome (one color) layered mountain painting as an additional practice.

This class will be full of fun, play, and tons of creative encouragement. Together we'll put any not-good-enough fears to rest, and lean in to the beauty found in the process of creating itself.

Materials Needed:

To paint along with Shelby, bring the following supplies to class:

1. Watercolor paints -- Three colors: a yellow, a pink, and a blue/turquoise color. I will be using Daniel Smith Quinacridone deep gold, quinacridone rose, and phthalo turquoise. Good beginner watercolor paints include Sakura Koi Field Sketch paints, and Windsor and Newton paints.
2. Paintbrush -- a round watercolor brush (size 8-12)
3. Watercolor Paper -- A good starting paper is Canson XL 140lb watercolor paper which you can even find at Walmart! We will be using two 4in x 4in pieces for the finished paintings and extra for practice.
4. (Paper) Towels -- something to dry your brush off on as we paint
5. Water -- 2-3 cups of water
6. Palette or plate -- a surface for mixing your colors

Helpful extras:

1. Painter's tape -- I find it helpful to tape down my watercolor paper while I'm painting to prevent too much warping.
2. Blow-dryer or heat gun -- to speed up the drying process!

About the Artist: Shelby Thayne

Shelby Thayne is a watercolor artist and creativity enthusiast currently based in eastern Idaho. She began painting almost two years ago as a stay-at-home mom to two wild and wonderful young children, and she immediately fell in love with watercolors. She strongly believes creativity is an inner need we all have, and that recognizing and celebrating creativity makes the world a brighter, better place. One of her favorite things to tell people exploring their own creative journeys is that "creativity is not a finite resource."

As an artist, Shelby combines her love for creating with her love for the natural world, particularly mountains. This love of mountains started early on while growing up in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and no matter where she goes, she feels drawn back again and again to the majesty and wonder of the mountains. Living in the Pacific Northwest for 4 years also gave her an eternity of mountain-inspiration to bring into her art practice. Through her art, she hopes you are able to feel the beauty, awe, and serenity of the mountains, even when you can't be in them.