Learn – Dragonfly Spirit Studio

Collections

Collections of videos and articles on popular topics. Or, you can see all videos and articles, newest first, on the main Blog page.

Postcard Paint-Alongs

Simple and stress-free. Easy enough for complete beginners, but experienced folks might pick up a handy tip or two.

Color

Pigments, palettes and color-mixing.
(Watercolor Jumpstart and Watercolor Skies & Clouds 1 also contain some lessons on color which are not in this collection.)

Sketching and Plein Air

Tips for easier on-location sketching and ideas for what to include in your sketching kit.

Studio Tips & Hacks

Solutions for pesky problems and for making tasks easier in the studio.

Technical How-to

Watercolor basics and techniques for many subject.

Watercolor brushes drying on a towel on a slanted board.

Watercolor Supplies & Materials

Choosing, using and caring for watercolor supplies and materials.

Planning a Watercolor

Take the leap from paint-alongs or copying photos to designing your own paintings.
• design & planning
• evaluating work in progress
• reserving whites/lights
• figuring out the painting sequence

Finding Your Own Style

Take the leap to designing your own paintings.
• from idea to painting plan
• “loosening up”
• intuitive painting
• dealing with your inner critic

Green and blue "jungle face" mask, with fish and underwater image on facing page.

Creative Energy Journaling

Shake things up and explore your creativity.

Self-Paced Courses

These courses are offered free of charge, as a community service. You no longer need an account, and there is no need to log in to use these courses.

There is no instructor support for these courses.

Watercolor Jumpstart

Watercolor Jumpstart is a self-guided beginner watercolor course. Learn fundamental watercolor skills as you do six fun and easy projects.

This free course is offered as community service. There is no instructor support provided with these courses.

Watercolor Skies & Clouds

Learn to paint skies with soft wet-into-wet effects by a slow development of multiple layers. The method you will learn in this course allows more control, without overworking. Then practice your new skills in context as you complete two dramatic watercolor sky paintings.

NOTE: THE TECHNIQUES TAUGHT IN THIS COURSE ARE ONLY SUITABLE FOR LARGER PAINTINGS (ABOUT 9X12″ TO FULL SHEET). YOU MUST STRETCH YOUR PAPER (LESSON INCLUDED) TO GET GOOD RESULTS WITH THE TECHNIQUES IN THIS COURSE.

This free course is offered as community service. There is no instructor support provided with these courses.

Your Studio Journal

Learn to use your sketchbook or journal pages to discover and develop your personal creative themes and style. 30 modules with thought-provoking questions, creativity-building activities and artist-to-artist encouragement to help you develop a studio journaling practice to discover and develop your unique artistic vision and voice.

This course is now free to everyone, no registration or login required.
There is no instructor support provided with these courses.