A BRUSH WITH YOUR WILD SIDE

with Donna Morrison

In association with the Florida Artist’s Group (FLAG)

An Advanced Watercolorist Experience

Monday, February 22, 2027

10a-5p, SBDAC Conservatory

$125 – Limited to 25 Students

In this workshop, I will be sharing and demonstrating the processes I use to create striking paintings based on the wonder of the natural world.  I will discuss each step from starting with a high quality digital capture, evaluating composition, making choices for backgrounds, choosing color palettes, creating an accurate and detailed drawing, using masking or no masking, how to create more drama, and clues for finishing strong.

Hands-on help and instructor demonstrations will be key to your understanding and learning techniques. I will talk about papers I like to use and why as well as brushes, paints and other tools of the trade. 

In the afternoon we will work on unfinished paintings as the learning is in the steps needed throughout the entire painting! And we will also use it for one-on-one time to critique individual processes, answer questions, and celebrate our cleverness at all we accomplished throughout the workshop. 

Please feel free to bring finished or in-process paintings for critiquing. The class will be relaxed with no expectations of painting masterpieces. The goal will be for all to learn and have fun!

I look forward to meeting you all and spending time getting to know you. 

We all learn from each other and these times together are invaluable in personal growth and lifelong enhancement!

Helpful Supplies:

• Painting Surface – Fabriano Artistico 300# Cold Press natural white is preferred for this workshop but not mandatory. If you have a favorite paper by all means use it. I do recommend for the full benefit of the class to use 300 lb high quality paper.
• Paints – I use a variety of manufactured tube paints including Sennelier (S), American Journey (Cheap Joe’s line), Michael Harding (MH), Daniel Smith, Holbein and a smattering of others. There can be a wide disparity between manufacturers and the names of similar paints can be different, so watch carefully for what you like best.

The list below is extensive and I don’t expect you to have all the colors. I will have my supply for you to test drive any of the colors you don’t have. Many colors are similar so if you have something you think will work fine, I’m betting it will.

Colors that I will mostly use for this workshop are as follows: bumblebee yellow, yellow ochre, quinacridone gold, new gamboge or aureolin, burnt sienna, Burnt Umber, Permanent Brown (MH), Transparent Brown (S), Sap green, veridian, Olive Green (S), Moss Green (MH), Greenish Umber (S), Skip’s Green (CJ), cerulean, cobalt teal (DS), ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, phthalo blue, Indanthrone Blue, Payne’s Gray, Indigo, cadmium orange,(MH), Cadmium Scarlet, Permanent Rose, Scarlet Lake (H) or Quin Coral (MH), Opera

• Brushes – You can find very reliable brushes at decent prices. I have a lot of Miller’s Pseudo Sable and Pseudo Squirrel (cheap joes), or Loew-Cornell Golden Taklon. A few Round brushes and mop brushes of various sizes that come to a good point are my go to brushes. Recently I tried Silver black Velvet and also like the synthetic Kolinsky brushes. One larger and a few smaller sizes, such as (30, 12, 8, 6, 4) and flats , (1”, 1⁄2”). small scrubber brush
• Masking Fluid – Grafix White Mask Liquid Frisket works best for me, but whatever you have is fine. You will need a rubber cement remover and I personally like to use a 1.2 oz squeeze bottle made by Jacquard to apply masking. Not everyone uses masking, and we will use just a small amount on one painting.
• Palette – usually a white plastic tray with separate paint wells to hold paint and interior mixing wells
• Other supplies – water container, paper towels, q-tips, mechanical pencil & white or kneaded eraser, spray bottle.

Bio:

Donna Morrison is widely recognized for her representational work. She enjoys experimenting with various mediums on a variety of surfaces and specializes in watercolor. Donna’s first artistic love is old-world Florida, and her main focus is on conservation and awareness of sensitive and disappearing lands as well as endangered animals and lifestyles. She also finds inspiration in natural settings, beautiful creatures and unique people discovered all around the world in her travels and experiences. Donna has been recognized in Watercolor Artists Magazine as a “Top 10 Watercolor Artist to Watch”. She holds signature statuses in the National Watercolor Society, Southern Watercolor Society and the Florida Watercolor Society as well as her mastership in the Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society.

Donna was born and raised in Bradenton, Florida and attended Furman University in Greenville, SC earning a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with an interest in advertising design in 1986. Post graduation She worked for The Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce as the communications manager and as a graphic designer. She developed her own company, Bayou Graphics, Inc which focused mainly on print design. In 2001 she sold the company and moved into fine art exclusively.

Donna teaches private and group lessons weekly in Tampa as well as workshops throughout the country. She has recorded instructional videos online through the Florida Watercolor Society’s YouTube channel. She participates in juried local, state, regional, national and international exhibitions and has earned numerous awards. She has had many corporate and private exhibitions, has art in public places, and maintains many active memberships in art organizations. She has held board positions with the Florida Watercolor Society, Tampa Regional Artists, Herrig Center for the Arts (formerly the Art Center Manatee) and Las Damas de Arte. She maintains a solo gallery in shared space with Smith Brothers Framing in Tampa, Florida. Her work can be viewed online at www.donnamorrison.net. For a full CV you can contact her via email through the website.

Being a native Floridian and conservationist, my artistic concentration focuses on old world Florida. My work brings attention to the critical need for protecting virgin lands, wildlife, and historic cultures through the use of visual education. I combine my passion for color and detail to produce works of art with a flair for the dramatic. I focus mainly on representational work through the use of watercolor. I have a variety of approaches and techniques that I have developed through the use of different surfaces and media.

www.floridaartistsgroup.org