Websites. From instruction to artists galleries.

Artists Websites are like a one person gallery show. If you are considering paying to take a workshop from an artist, go to their website and look through your gallery. If you love it and want to emulate some of what you see, go for it. If it isn't your thing, save your money. Most workshops are pretty pricey. A four day workshop at my local society is usually around $400. But that's $100 a day for a 6 hour day. That's about $15 an hour. Peanuts. $15 to learn from a professional artist in a small class environment (usually 12-16 people.) But it's still a lot of money. Don't go by the description of the class. That's marketing. Go look at their work. If they do a lot of detail and you don't want to paint like that, skip it. If they do a lot of portraits and you'd rather to landscapes, skip it. If they have a way of doing buildings and people that gives the impression of one without all of the detail work and you've been dying to learn how to do that....pay the money.

Here are a few artists' websites with galleries of their work and in some cases BLOGS. By all means, look at their blogs.

If any of them have materials lists for workshops take a look. Some of them offer an insight as to how the artist works.

Jane Blundell - She has a a gallery, a blog AND Tutorials. That's FREE instruction. Those tutorials are gold. Read them all. Plus she does plein air sketches. Look at her journals.

Thomas W. Schaller - If you ever have an opportunity to take a class or worshop, DO IT! If you live in Los Angeles, lucky you. I understand he is looking to relocate so go while you can. He also lists workshops on his website.

Iain Stewart - If you ever have an opportunity to take a workshop from him, spend the money and do it. If it isn't local, you might make it a watercolor vacation where you travel to take his workshop, then go out plein air sketching. He's in Auburn, Alabama but in a BLUE are of Alabama right around Auburn University. He also travels to give workshops so look at  his schedule and see if he will be somewhere where you'd like to visit. Just be warned, his workshops fill up fast so you will need to plan months in advance. Boy I would love to attend his workshop next May in Tuscany but sold out. Bavaria? Yeah, I'd love to do that too. Must buy lottery ticket.

Susan Keith - I actually own one of her paintings. Koi in a pond looking down at them. I love it. I attended one of her workshops where we all practiced one of her Flamingo paintings. I learned quite a bit but she uses the Stonehenge hot press that I didn't like and she uses the Mission Gold watercolors which are either mixes or fugitive, which I don't care for. Did I learn something? Yes. Would I take another workshop? No. Because in doing it I discovered that style isn't quite me. But I still love her paintings.

Shuang Li - I've taken several classes with Shuang Li. The first was a week in Tuscany learning how to do journaling and urban sketches. It was a great experience and I still use what I learned in that workshop and in the subsequent class I took.

Roslyn Stendahl - Such an interesting website and she has a blog too. Urban sketching. She has some art material reviews an some tutorials.

Paul Jackson - Not my style but I so admire and appreciate they way he can make glass look like glass. He also has a blog.