West Valley College

Watercolor Pencils are a great way to add color to your field sketches. Applying the pencils is intuitive and the waterbrush makes field application easy. However, watercolor pencils can perform in unexpected ways that can be frustrating. In this workshop, you will learn how to work with watercolor pencils to get a variety of effects Read More

The waterbrush is an amazing little tool that revolutionized the way I paint, sketch, and journal. They make the logistics of watercolor, watercolor pencils, water-soluble pencils, or water-soluble pen washes easier in the field. In this class, you will explore techniques with watercolor and soluble pens and pencils that will help you quickly add color Read More

Get ready to doodle some diagrams! This workshop will show you how to make simple drawings of how animals move and more. We’ll watch as animals eat, walk, waddle, hop, pounce (etc.), and figure out how to translate that motion into a simple sketch. We’ll also decode crazy creatures’ limbs, map out where animals wander, Read More

Over the last year, my eyes have opened to exciting new ways that we can use our nature journals. It starts with observation and wonder, then moves onto the page with words pictures and numbers. But then opens up into an exciting and creative range of possibilities. In this class, we will broaden your horizons Read More

Join Botanical Illustrator Claudia Stevens and the Nature Journal Club for a 1.5-hour workshop.  Through step by step demonstrations, you will learn foundation techniques and skills to carry into their next level of your art.  Bringing art to science: observation, attention to detail and plant structure, measurement, recording data, and accuracy.  Learn how to layer Read More

Before the Nature Journal Club field trip to Tanzania (or your visit to the zoo), let's take a look at a few last details (not covered in our April class) that will help you draw African animals and landscapes. This is a bit of a grab bag of ideas. Even if you are not off Read More

Kristin Meuser will present her step by step process of building a nature journal, page element by element, as you travel through your nature experience. Where to begin? She starts by creating a flexible grid which encourages areas for a page titles, conditions notation, color matching dots, notes and poetry/prose, close up sketches as well Read More

Think big! Learn how to draw elephants, rhinos, giraffe, hippos and more. In this workshop we will get under the skin to understand the anatomy and major muscle groups of these large animals. Learn how skeleton and posture change to support great weight. We will also look at skin and fur texture and foreshortening animals. Read More

What kind of blues are in that sky, and what kind of grays are in those clouds? What’s the one color you never want to put in your sky, not even in the most lurid sunset? How can you show the sun breaking through the clouds, when it’s so much brighter than the white of Read More