Birgit O'Connor Watercolor

We just had a great workshop at the New Mexico Art League, in Albuquerque. We're planning the next workshop at NMAL for early June 2014. In the meantime you can join me in Toronto, Boone. NC or Cloud Croft, NM or at any of my other workshop venues. Hope to see you there.

I was so amazed at how well everyone did with the complicated composition.
We all enjoyed a wonderful lunch together

The workshop was held at the New Mexico Art League in Albuquerque.
My wonderful assistant Ming and amazing artist.

Here is a wonderful tip that one of my students found on the web. It's  another fun way to add more texture onto rocks & stones and make them look really real. Very wet, heavy paint, splattered with alcohol. Play with it, a great trick 

Q:Hello Birgit 
I just purchased and watched your tv video. It is excellent. So helpful to watch you work. Most of my paintings are in Holbein Acrylic or Holbein Water Soluble Oils. Can this mounting process be done with these paints?  If so, do I need to make any adjustments?  I paint on Fabriano Artistico 140lb, but I could switch to 300. Will wetting the back of the paper cause the acrylic paint to be released from the paper?  
My biggest question is: Why Clay Board?  Obviously because it is absorbent, but will plain wood panels also work?  I bought 15 American Eagle 20 x 20 plain wood panels to which I wanted to attach my acrylic painting series.  Will this method of mounting work for them?  Do you have any suggestions? Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much, Patricia

A:Hi Patricia 
I don't work with acrylic or water soluble oils but is should work fine (always test first) just make sure to have an archival surface between the paper and the wood.Lightly…

Released today April 4, 2013 Rocks, Sand & Sea Glass This 2 disk program is packed full of fun and information. Follow along with seven different step-by-step lessons and learn many techniques that can help make painting easier. Understand more about shape, texture and how to pull those rocks and stones up off the paper as if by magic. Create sand that gives the illusion of real sand with a three dimensional appearance. Have fun, enjoy yourself and feel successful. Running time 103 minutes  

Part 1    Lessons 1 & 2  Introduction & material list,  follow along in Lesson 1 and learn the foundation of  shape, shadow, color and texture while creating stones and sand. Lesson 2 apply these techniques into a simple composition using a very unique texture application. Running time 49 minutes
Part 2    Lessons 3 - 7  Step-by-step lessons of turning sand into pebbles, painting muscle shells with sand inside, bending kelp, ripples in the sand, review, different compositions, wet…