Attending watercolor workshops can be a lot of fun and also very positive for your watercolor painting development.  However sometimes people don’t get as much out of a workshop as they would could or would like.

I have attended quite a number of workshops mostly for watercolor but also for different media and I also run my own workshops so I hope this information may be of some benefit to you. However, in the end one has to make up one’s own mind about a particular course as no one can give individual advice without knowing all of one’s circumstances. Hopefully the topics I list here can help you with your choices.

If you want to do a workshop to improve your current skills with a particular medium, which is probably the main reason most people decide to do a workshop then the topics I’ll cover should help you get the most out of your course.

Your first step would be to look for a tutor whose work you like and want to know more about.  You should ask around to find out just how he or she runs their workshops, do they demonstrate a whole painting all the way through and then you go off to have a go at it yourself; do they do it step by step with you doing each step before they move on to the next one, is reference material provided, how do they handle questions, critiques, etc. Do they advertise their workshops as being for beginners, intermediate or advanced?

By collecting this information you will able to make an informed decision as to whether or not this tutor is for you.

Continue to: Watercolor Workshops how to tackle one: part 2