Keiko Tanabe: Painting Sunlight

Keiko Tanabe will help you overcome any obstacles to painting outdoors with watercolor!

Study with Keiko to discover:

• First, visualize! (Then you can sketch and splash!)
• Create harmony and happiness by limiting your colors
• The secret world of edges
• Take advantage of what water will do for you!
• Composition is a journey … here’s how to get there!
• How to splash sunlight throughout your painting — even if it’s not sunny!
• Overwhelmed by detail? Try selective editing!
• Need some sharper details? No problem!
• A busy painting is a noisy painting — quiet the noise and you’ll enjoy your painting time a whole lot more!
• Think of landscapes as settings for stories … What do you want your story to say?
• Finding perfect balance with warm and cool rocks — every landscape artist’s dream!
• This type of brushstroke RULES! (Keiko shows you what it is!)
• Paint your emotions — your viewers will thank you for it!
• And much, much more.

A highly talented artist and sought-after workshop instructor, Keiko is known for taking her viewers beyond landscapes — to use the space as a setting for the people who occupy that space. Keiko loves to add little slices of life that bring drama and interest to her paintings — an idea you will embrace in your own work.

Keiko says that when she goes out to paint, she stops at the first thing that really speaks to her. Usually, a scene that has a balanced interplay of light and dark will be the first thing to catch her eye … even more than colorful flowers or historical monuments.

As she sets up her scene, Keiko explains how to visualize the final painting — to picture in your mind how it will look and how it will tell the story you want to tell through it. Once you have a clear picture of the final product, it will make things much easier as you move from start to finish.

She’ll even show you how to stay selective about what to include so your scene can have light flowing through it. You’ll see how the lights and darks create interest and atmosphere to help dramatize your paintings.

In addition to the initial instruction, Keiko will conduct two full painting demonstrations for you — one a moody vineyard and the other, a colorful villa. Both will inspire confidence and encouragement for painting outside with this sometimes difficult medium.

Along with the main video, you’ll get insights from the artist, a digital gallery of some of her best work, and high-speed segments of both painting demonstrations.

An Excellent Artist and Teacher

Keiko is a master watercolor artist who has conducted hundreds of workshops all around the world. Her work has been juried into exhibitions across America, Asia, and Europe. Her paintings can be found in corporate and private collections worldwide. 

Born in Kyoto, Japan, Keiko grew up in an art-loving family who encouraged her to pursue her passion.

Study with Keiko and you’ll find that plein air painting and watercolor can — and do — go together very well! She’ll show you how you can master this combination by overcoming the challenges, embracing the natural tendencies of watercolor, and carrying out your vision of what you want your paintings to be.

With Painting Sunlight, you’ll be joining the legions of artists who have been informed and inspired by Keiko’s straightforward and clear teaching style.

Don’t miss your chance to learn from one of today’s most talented artists and instructors, whose calm and cool teaching style will help you learn to successfully take your watercolor painting outside, enjoy every moment of it, and create high-quality paintings that truly reflect your own personality and style.

• Introduction & Art Supplies
• Demonstration 1: The Villa: Midday Light
• Drawing: the planning is the most important part. Plan for values and edges and contrast before putting paint to paper
• Big Washes
• Darks & Details: learn a trick to keep the view in the painting without wandering out the corners
• Demonstration 2 : The Vineyard: Morning Light
• Review the Subject
• Sketching & Drawing: the planning is the most important part. Plan for values and edges and contrast before putting paint to paper. Discuss perspective and focal point
• Big Washes: save the white of the paper where you want lightest lights by painting around those light areas. start with the lightest area, then work all over to cover the paper with color. how to soften edges at this stage with your brush and water
• Darks & Details: pay attention to the wetness of the paper, and thickness of the paint here so you can get dark enough and hold hard edges where you want to. brushwork for texture and detail. How to Avoid the Fatal mistake many watercolor students make! (don't put darks in the light). tricks to integrate the focal point in the scene so dont look cut and paste. How to make a mistake into a Happy Accident