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Laurie Humble 3 Day WorkshopThursday & Friday 9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Saturday 9:30 am - 2:00 pm
Members $375 | Non-Members $425
$200 deposit required - limited seating
Beyond Realism: Depth, Emotion & Concept in Watercolor
Take your watercolor painting to the next level in this 3-day immersive workshop with acclaimed artist Laurie Humble. Drawing from her best-selling book Watercolor Depth & Realism and her evocative Smoke and Mirrors series, Laurie will guide you through mastering depth and detail while moving past mere representation—into the realm of emotion, symbolism, and visual storytelling.
Through demonstrations, conceptual exploration, and personalized feedback, artists will create powerful, layered work that blends technical excellence with personal voice.
All levels welcome. Ideal for artists who are technically capable but want to find more meaning in their work; those seeking a bridge between skill and soul in watercolor. Students will work from their own reference photos (any subject) or those provided by Laurie. Handouts from Watercolor Depth & Realism will be provided to support technical aspects, and all students will be emailed a free digital copy (PDF) of Laurie’s book “How to See What Isn’t There”, A Practical Guide to Using Artistic License.
Daily Breakdown
DAY 1 – Building Depth & Visual Power
Focus: Technical skills for illusionistic space, realism, and attention control
Theme: Making the viewer feel dimension and focus
Morning:
• Welcome + brief intro to Laurie's process and philosophy
• Slide talk: "What creates depth in a 2D watercolor work? Contrast, color, perspective, detail, and unifying washes."
• Demo: Creating visual depth in a flat looking piece using the above 5 techniques. Moving from flat to fabulous.
• Exercise: create a mini-painting using different contrast strategies to pull a viewer in.
Afternoon:
• Exercise: Creating focal areas using 5 techniques, learning to lead the viewers eye throughout the piece to command attention.
• Students begin small still-life or figure studies focused only on depth, not likeness (student’s own reference or provided)
• Wrap-up Q&A + mini critique
DAY 2 – From Realism to Resonance
Focus: Evolving from observational copying to emotionally resonant work
Theme: Personal meaning, composition, and abstraction within realism
Morning:
• Lecture + discussion: "When does a painting go beyond what we see?"
• Demo: How to distort or shift reference imagery to serve a feeling or idea
• Exercise: Reworking a photo reference to emphasize emotion or mood
Afternoon:
• Painting session: Students develop a composition based on a modified or symbolically adjusted reference (student’s own or provided)
• Laurie gives 1:1 input helping guide toward stronger conceptual clarity
• Group share: What was your intent vs what did you execute?
DAY 3 – Painting with Intention
Focus: Bringing it all together – depth, idea, and personal symbolism
Theme: Subtle storytelling through visual choices
Morning:
• Demo: Laurie begins a symbolic figure or still-life inspired by Smoke and Mirrors (e.g. using smoke, gesture, mirrors, veils, or fragmentation)
• Discussion: Choosing symbols and integrating them subtly
Afternoon:
• Students paint a final piece integrating:
a) learned depth techniques
b) altered or layered reference(s)
c) a symbolic or emotional theme
• Final group critique: constructive, supportive feedback on technical and conceptual success
Supply List
Laurie understands watercolorists get attached to favorite brands of paint, paper and brushes and encourages you to bring your favorites to work with.
• You will need a few small pieces of paper for exercises each morning and about 3 larger pieces of paper for afternoon sessions. Working larger is encouraged.
• Variety of brushes
• Variety of paint colors
• Palette
• Paper towels
• Water container
• Pencil and eraser
• Optional- hairdryer
• Laurie will provide a variety of reference material you will be welcome to use, but for a more personal experience you are encouraged to bring a variety of photo references of a favorite subject along with any reference that speaks to a personal theme, such as joy, growth, loss, duality, etc.. Any references that are symbolic to you may also be helpful.
Brands Laurie uses;
Paint-Holbein, MaiMeri Blu, Daniel Smith
Paper- Saunders Waterford, prefers 140lb Cold pressed
Brushes- Stratford and York, Prefers high quality synthetic . A variety of both round and flats
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
6 Joachim Street, Mobile, AL 36601, United States
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