Fall is my favourite season. Especially this part of fall. The time when leaves are equally on and off the trees. Earlier this year when I was brainstorming workshop ideas, I kept finding myself dreaming of fall.

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of instructing my newest workshop: Watercolour Fall Leaves. I tried to pick a Saturday when I thought there would be lots of peaking fall leaves, and I could not have been happier with the timing! When it comes to nature, it is always a bit of a guessing game. This past week the leaves have been just bursting with colour and basically begging me to take them to class.

It was so much fun collecting leaves for this workshop!

If you haven’t been to the Vancouver Island School of Art (VISA), I recommend checking it out. They often have art openings or art lectures happening and the Executive Director, Wendy Welch, writes fantastic articles in the VISA newsletter. The classroom is big enough for each student to have a table to themselves, so you can spread out and get comfortable. Here is a pre-workshop photo. I love the anticipation! Having everything laid out and waiting for the participants to arrive.

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to paint or draw on demand, but I firmly believe that if you walk around the block or go to a park or the ocean… you can be flooded with creative inspiration if you let yourself! Fall leaves are a perfect example of this.

If you look through a collection of leaves and study them carefully, you will find that they are not perfect. They are often gimpy, missing bits, have holes and tears, and not as symmetrical as you had previously thought. They are full of character! This is what makes them the perfect subject matter to draw or paint.

We covered a lot of ground in this three-hour workshop. The participants created a series of six, 5″x7″ watercolours of leaves. The projects included utilizing positive and negative space, observational painting, creating patterns, simplified shapes and also using design methods, like a circle, to create a pleasing composition. We also discussed the importance of neutralizing colours to achieve natural fall-like colours. Below are some photos from the workshop.

Thank you to all the participants for coming to this workshop and making it such an enjoyable afternoon!

To avoid being put on a wait list, I have created a Workshop Notification List! If you join this list, I will send you an email as soon as registration is live so that you have as much time as possible to register. My next workshop will be early next year (and if you like ink and jellyfish… you are going to like this class). If you want to join the list, please send me an email (tasha_van_netten@hotmail.com) or send me a message through my contact form here.

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Up Coming Events

HOLIDAY MARKETS!

I am getting ready for holiday markets—starting this coming weekend!

I’ll be bringing calendars, greeting cards, stickers, wire whales, bookmarks and more.

For a full list of the different markets that I will be at and a little information about each one, please check out my MARKETS page by clicking here.

EXHIBITIONS!

In-Sights exhibition at arc.hive

I will be exhibiting some work at the In-Sights show at arc.hive artist run centre as part of their yearly members exhibition (of which I have the pleasure of being a part of as a board member). This exhibition is about studio practice and giving an “insight” behind the scenes. I have created four, small botanical paintings for this show (the above image is a sneak peek of one of them).

The opening reception is this Friday (November 1) from 7-9pm. Gallery hours are 12-4pm Saturdays and Sundays for the next three weeks. I will be volunteering at the gallery this Sunday from 12-4pm. For more information, click here.

Winter Small Works Show at the AGGV

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s annual Winter Small Works Show & Sale is opening November 14th. This is show celebrates artists local to Victoria and Vancouver Island and shows a wide range of small works. I am pleased to be showing Transient Shadows as part of this exhibition (see image above).

Opening Reception is Thursday, November 14, from 5-8pm, with artists in attendance. Stop by for a glass of wine, browse a dynamic range of artworks at accessible price points, and help the AGGV kickstart the winter season of celebrating local artists.

Show & Sale runs until January 25, 2025. Admission to the Massey Sales Gallery is always free.

For more information, click here.