Watercolor Workshop Review - Renee Walden “Snowy Landscapes”

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Earlier this month, over the course of two weekends, I (virtually) attended Renee Walden’s “Snowy Landscapes” watercolor workshop. I figured I’d write up a review of the experience, for anyone else who might be interested.

I’ve long admired Renee’s vibrant and clean color application, so when I received a message announcing her workshop, I joined straight away! So quickly, in fact, that I accidentally overpaid – but Renee was kind enough to reimburse me. I opted to attend both of the two sessions, but could have selected only one.

As I live on the east coast of the US, the class time ran from 12 PM – 3 PM, on each of two Saturdays. This was the perfect time for attending live! I gave the kids an early lunch, put them down for a nap, and off I went to my “studio”.

The Setup

Before the classes, Renee sends out the reference photo and the list of paints she intends to use in the class. This is a super helpful practice, as she generally uses 5 – 6 colors per painting — out of the about 30 that are included in her shared palette. Knowing which colors will be used ahead of time makes it easier to modify my personal preferred palette, and ensure I have fresh paints on hand and ready to go! There was very little scrambling during the class, and I’m a master of scrambling about while painting :).

The Kickoff

The class was small, limited to 5-6 or so attendees from all around the world. It seemed to be a good mix of folks who were both returning students and new. Renee made quick introductions, then dove right into the material.

To kick things off, Renee explained her choices in the reference photo, how she would change it to create a better composition, and how she was planning her approach to painting. As an early intermediate painter, I very much appreciated this insight into her process! I feel that hearing her line of thinking was valuable both for beginners who hadn’t encountered it, and folks with experience who are looking for different perspectives.

Now, something important to know about me: I do NOT like to draw before painting. I know it’s a critical part of the artistic skillset, and I do enjoy drawing when that’s the purpose — but when I am preparing to paint, I just really want to dive into the colors. The less up-front drawing, the better. So when Renee told us that we were just going to just quickly block in the big shapes for the sketch, my heart sang!

The Painting

And then, the painting began. This happened fairly quickly in both classes; within 15 – 20 minutes, brushes were in hand! Renee explained her reasoning behind why she was choosing each color and how it played with the other selections. As a huge pigment nerd, I loved this!

Renee walked us through the painting process, giving delightful quick tips on how to mix, manage water on the palette and on the paper, how to apply the brush, and how to think about our layers. These were all very insightful tips (especially the water control – even with a few years of experience, water is still a slippery subject!). The painting process moved rapidly, with little downtime (at least in my case!). Before I knew it, we were wrapping up!

Renee did a quick round of reviews for folks in the class, giving feedback and suggestions for us to incorporate. She also encouraged us to share photos in a Facebook group dedicated to the lessons, so we could get a more detailed critique.

Results from Renee Walden's watercolor workshop — My results from the watercolor workshop, painted in a single sketchbook spread.

Overall

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed both of these workshops and am delighted that I attended. I’ve been feeling stuck in a creative rut, and practicing a new style with new-to-me colors was lots of fun! Immediately afterward, I felt inspired to try some more paintings using the techniques and color combinations I learned in this course. This is the ultimate value in workshops for me; I don’t hope to learn to be just like the teacher, but instead be inspired to bring new tools into my own work.

One takeaway that I noted was around the pacing — I need to make sure I’m fully warmed up and ready to roll before entering the class. Otherwise, I may miss an important detail (but Renee does send out the recordings afterward, so no big deal!). I am hoping to catch another workshop with Renee if the stars align with my kids’ schedules again!