Hi all! As some of you may know, I have been teaching watercolor workshops at the University of Alaska Fairbanks for the last 8 months. They are free workshops with materials provided thanks to the MILL Makerspace, and are open to the UAF community. If you have attended one of them and want to pursue watercolor further, then this is the post for you! I am going to list everything from recommended materials to resources around Alaska. Lets get into it.
Watercolor Wednesday General Info
Watercolor Wednesday happens twice a month up at the UAF Center for Teaching and Learning MILL Makerspace. It is a 2 hour long session open to UAF staff and students and has materials provided for up to 10 people. It is encouraged to bring your own supplies just in case it is a full house. Don't be discouraged if you are not an artist, you can still create an amazing painting! Currently all summer sessions are full, but I will be announcing the Fall semester dates and registration links soon.
Beginning Watercolor Supply List
I am going to link an Amazon list so that all of the materials are in one place. I will also include a list below:
Paper: Arches Cold Press Paper
This is rather expensive, but I think this is the one thing to stay consistent on from class. Water and pigment move, blend, and affect the paper a certain way, and if you use a different brand it will be a way different experience. Best to use Arches.
Coroplast backer board: This is just yard sign material, easy to get. You want to size it to a little bigger than your normal paper size
Binder Clips: 1 inch width. You use these to clamp your paper to the board while it dries. This will keep it from curling
Spray bottle: To pre-wet your paints
Paper towels: This is your "eraser" in watercolor.
Brushes: any brand works, just make sure you have these sizes.
Big wide flat brush: for applying water to big sections
2 inch flat brush: good for skies, oceans, big sections of color
Small flat brush: More Detailed work
Big round brush: Good for big sections of color, but can achieve more detail and texture
Small round brush: Better detail
Rigger brush: blades of grass, branches, tiny details
Glass or tile: to mix paint on. Works way better than mixing on plastic.
Sakura Pigma Micron Pens: Sometimes you just need to define something with line
Uniball Signo White Gel Pen: For tiny white highlights
A 5x7 matte board: Sometimes you need to frame your art to see the beauty in it
White Gouache Paint: This helps cover up your mistakes. You can also use it to smooth areas out.
Paints: Any brand of Watercolor works for beginners as long as you have colors that are close to what we use in class. Refer to the master color list below.
Bright pink, Red, Orange, Cool bright yellow, Warm yellow, Sap green, Emerald green, Viridian green, Cerulean or Manganese blue, Cobalt blue, Ultramarine blue, Prussian blue, Midnight blue, Indigo, Purple, Burnt sienna, Dark brown, Black
Watercolor Resources in Fairbanks
You can find all of the materials listed above here in town, though they are a little more expensive. Michael's and Joanns are the first places you should check, but you can also check Fred Meyer, Walmart, and the UAF bookstore as well. If you make your way down to Anchorage then be sure to check out Blaine's Art Supply! They are the best art store in Alaska and I always make sure to stock up twice a year.
Fairbanks has a thriving art community, especially in watercolor! We have an active watercolor society in town that has monthly meetings, impromptu paint outs, and they keep you in the loop with what art shows are happening around town. Be sure to visit their website and become a member! It is only $20 a year and that will give you access to their newsletter.
We also have the Fairbanks Arts Association who promotes art and artists in the Interior of Alaska. They have a newsletter that keeps you updated on what art is happening in Fairbanks.
Fairbanks has many First Friday shows! On the first Friday of every month, local businesses will invite local artists to present their work for the month. If you want to learn more about upcoming shows I recommend scrolling through the Facebook event pages and typing in "First Friday"
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