Spring Landscapes in Watercolor
Class | Registration opens 2/20/2026 10:00 AM EST
Painting spring greens, watercolor landscape class. Learn to paint representational landscapes from reference photos by using information you gathered from life. This session is packed full of information on color mixing, observing, drawing for watercolor, and creating value studies. This session will take place mostly indoors working from photo references, but we will use the outdoor views when weather permits to make small studies from life. Photo references limit you and leave you asking a lot of questions, painting from life will help you find some of those answers. We will discuss how to work around the limitations of painting from photos and how to create a painting without being restricted by the reference. Each class features a demo and time for students to work on their own paintings.
1. Watercolor paint
Windsor and Newton Cotman watercolor field plus set. This set contains:
Lemon yellow hue
Cadmium yellow hue
Alizarin crimson hue
Ultramarine
Phtalo blue
Viridian hue
Sap green
Yellow ochre
Burnt umber
Chinese white- or white gouache
(option to buy only these pigments separate from the whole set, if you do this, you must also have a
palette)
2. Paint Brushes-Any type of watercolor brushes ranging in numbers, I usually prefer #1 #4 #8
#12 Cotman Windsor and newton watercolor brush, it’s a blue round.
Optional to include squirrel hair mop brush set- small/medium size brushes.
3. Rags or a roll of paper towels
4. Watercolor paper, one sheet of 140 lb Arches watercolor paper, cold press- you can purchase one sheet from Blick and cut it into sections. If you purchase one sheet of paper you will need a hard back to work on and tape to keep the paper in place.
Another option is an Arches watercolor sketchbook size 9x12 inches or watercolor block. Please do not arrive with Canson 140lb watercolor paper or any other brand of 140lb paper.
5. Two small cups to hold water
6. Pencil and kneaded eraser
7. Optional table easel or outdoor plein air easel for outdoor sketching.
8. Tablet/Ipad or cell phone for reference photos. If you are planning to use your cell phone please bring a charger, it will drain your battery. Printed references will also work.
Mo Myra
Painting plein-air is my joy, and watercolor is my favorite medium. When I’m not painting outdoors, I’m working as a full-time commissioned painter and watercolor Instructor for various institutions such as the Farmington Valley Arts Center and the Southington Community Cultural Arts Center.
My work has been included in both local, and national juried completions; most notably as part of the Society of Illustrators Student Competition in New York City. My paintings can be found in numerous collections throughout the US and worldwide.
I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Hartford Art School and furthered my exploration of painting and education during a residency at the Farmington Valley Arts Center in 2018. I’m passionate about bringing art to the community and I’m currently an active board member at the Art League of New Britain and a member of the Connecticut Plein Air Society.