HUMS 075, Mastering the Art of Watercolor
An introductory course on the art of watercolor as a humanistic discipline within the liberal arts tradition. Readings, discussions, and studio work emphasize critical, creative thinking through a tactile, “learning by doing” study of the watercolor medium. Students analyze and imitate the classic techniques of J. M.W. Turner, John Singer Sargent, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Edward Hopper, among others. Studio components include painting en plein air to understand color, form, perspective, composition, and shade and shadow. Basic drawing skills recommended.
Enrollment limited to first-year students. Preregistration required; see under First-Year Seminar Program: https://registrar.yale.edu/students/preference-selection-and-preregistration-applications
Fulfills HU distribution requirement.
Led by:
Adam Van Doren is the artist and author of The Stones of Yale (Godine), which includes a foreword by Robert A. M. Stern and a preface by Henry Chauncey, Jr.
Van Doren’s artwork is included in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago; The Wadsworth Atheneum; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Yale University Art Gallery, The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The New Britain Museum of American Art, The Addison Gallery, The Princeton University Art Museum; and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. His work has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., among other institutions, and Van Doren teaches at Yale University, where he is also an Associate Fellow.
Van Doren is a graduate of Columbia University. He is the subject of a monograph (Hudson Hills Press, 2007) that features his watercolors of Paris, Venice, Rome, and New York, and which includes essays by Avis Berman, Samuel G. White and Richard Boyle. In 2009, the book An Artist in Rome was published (Kelly-Winterton Press) in collaboration with the noted poet John Tagliabue, and features Van Doren’s paintings from when Van Doren was a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome. Additional books by Van Doren have been published since then: An Artist in Venice (2013, Godine), and The House Tells the Story: Homes of the American Presidents (2015, Godine). Two catalogs have been published (The Renaissance Studios, New York) of Van Doren’s paintings with essays by Mark D. Mitchell, Holcolmb Green Curator of American Art at Yale University; and Patricia Hickson, Emily Hall Tremaine Curator of Contemporary Art, The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. A recent publication, A Yale Sketchbook (Yale University, Lustman Fellowship Fund), includes Van Doren’s paintings of the architecture of the campus and contains essays by Pulitzer Prize winning critic Paul Goldberger and former New York magazine critic Carter Wiseman.
Van Doren has also written and directed two documentaries about the arts which were broadcast on PBS and cable television: James Thurber: The Life and Hard Times , narrated by George Plimpton, which was awarded a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities; and Top Hat and Tales: Harold Ross and the Making of The New Yorker , narrated by Stanley Tucci.
Van Doren is a member of the Authors Guild.
Testimonials:
This course was previously offered in the Fall of 2018. Testimonials come from student course evaluations:
- “It’s a good course to get away from a STEM-heavy semester and it gives you an opportunity to relax and watercolor while still learning useful life skills.”
- “I would definitely recommend this class because it was great fun and a lot. Watercolor is a medium that you can make as simple or challenging as you would like to. This course is also a great excuse to be creative as take a break from problem sets because the homework every week is literally to paint and create something.”
- “Getting to visit the YUAG and Center for British Art and actually see watercolors that we talked about in class was very rewarding. Also, the experience of actually doing watercolors and having them critiqued and evaluated in front of you was a good learning opportunity. I feel like sometimes students can get behind on their work just due to a lack of personal timeliness but Professor Van Doren could help by checking in and making sure everyone is caught up.”
Online Class: Color Study of Autumn Leaves in Watercolor
Space is limited, registration required. Please email [email protected] or call 505.946.1000 for assistance with event registration.
Join us for a color study of autumnal hues inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s close-up compositions of fall leaves. A longtime educator of color theory for artists and designers, Sudeshna Sengupta will share her professional color-mixing concepts by positioning watercolor paints on a color wheel using cyan, magenta, and yellow primaries. Participants can gather fall leaves on their own ahead of time to paint from, or they can follow along with the in-class painting demonstration to paint autumnal color swatches.
This class is suitable for youth ages 12 and up. Children are welcome to participate alongside their adults.
Space is limited, reservations required.
This program will take place via the video conferencing app – ZOOM. Details for accessing the Zoom meeting will be with your receipt upon registering and again sent via email the day prior. Please register in advance in order to access the program. Note that all program times are in Mountain Time.
Online classes are not recorded. Online classes are offered only as a live and interactive experience.
Supplies needed for this class:
– Watercolor tubes in these or similar colors: 1. Hansa Yellow, 2. Quinacridone Gold, 3. Cadmium Orange Hue or Vermillion, 4. Carmine, 5. Quinacridone Rose, Permanent Rose, Opera or Opera Rose, 6. Purple/Violet, 7. Ultramarine Blue, 8. Pthalo Blue, 9. Viridian, 10. Sap Green, 11. Leaf Green, 12. Burnt Sienna. (Recommended brands of watercolor paint tubes: Student/Learner grade: Van Gogh, Grumbacher Academy, or W & N Cotman; Professional grade: Holbein, M. Graham, Daniel Smith, or Winsor & Newton)
– A 12-well circular palette with a larger center to mix paints. Jones Travel Palette is recommended.
– Watercolor block (preferred) or pad (tape-bound, not spiral-bound) of Strathmore 400 series (not 300 series), Canson, Fluid, or any other brand with acid-free 140 lbs (300 gsm) sheets in Cold-Press finish that is between 9” x 12” and 12” x 16” in size.
– A regular 2 pencil (a.k.a. HB) and an eraser.
– Round and Flat Watercolor brushes (synthetic ‘Taklon’ brushes are fine): 4 to 5 Round brushes in the range of Size 6, 8, 10, 12, 14. Optional: a 1 Flat brush that’s 1⁄2” to 1.5” wide. Royal Soft-Grip Watercolor Round brushes work well.
– Q-tips and paper towel or pieces of cotton rag. Cut-up pieces from a clean, used t-shirt work well.
– Masking tape if a watercolor pad is used instead of a watercolor block.
– 2 to 3 empty glass jars or containers for holding water. Used yogurt containers or wide-mouth smaller glass jars work well.
– Toothpicks and/or a blunt plastic tool such as a disposable plastic knife.
– Optional: Hair dryer if available, a white wax crayon or a small piece of candle for optional resist techniques, watercolor pencils for additional details.
Note – These items should be available locally or online from Amazon in the U.S and in Europe. They can also be purchased as individual items or as a set for Sudeshna Sengupta’s class list (U.S. domestic shipping only).
About the Instructor
Sudeshna Sengupta’s career as a teaching artist spans multiple decades, continents, and cultures that inform her pedagogy for decolonizing studio art. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1985 from Visva-Bharati, an international university founded in India, by the humanist poet Tagore, the first non-European Nobel Laureate (1913). After teaching art and design at the college level in New Delhi, Seattle, and California, she taught at NMSU-Alamogordo, where she established its first intaglio printmaking studio in 1995. Since moving to Santa Fe, she has been teaching credit courses in online studio art at the Santa Fe Community College. She also conducts workshops and short courses and presents lectures and community-based art events for various age groups with civic, cultural, and community organizations in the US and in India, often with a focus on multicultural and inter-cultural experiences that emphasize human, cultural, and environmental connectedness through creativity. To see her art please visit: notes-and-doodles.com
$20; covers the cost of the class.
$30; covers the cost of the class, plus a contribution to support educational programs.
Georgia O’Keeffe. Large Dark Red Leaves on White, 1925. 32 x 21 in.
Phillips Collection © 2022 The Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
