A 3-Hour Live Watercolor Workshop

Date TBD

Shape, Light & Shadow

Creating Form & Depth in Watercolor

Succulents may appear complex, but they're built from surprisingly simple shapes—and those shapes become the foundation for creating beautiful watercolor paintings.

In this live workshop, you'll discover how to simplify overlapping forms, create believable depth, and use watercolor to suggest light instead of painting every detail.

Rather than focusing on intricate textures or botanical accuracy, we'll explore how light, shadow, color, and edges work together to create paintings that feel fresh, luminous, and dimensional.

Whether you enjoy painting flowers, landscapes, or still life, these are techniques you'll use again and again.

What You'll Learn

By the end of this workshop you'll understand how to:

✔ Simplify complex subjects into manageable shapes.

✔ Create believable form using light and shadow.

✔ Paint smooth value transitions that describe rounded forms.

✔ Use overlapping shapes to create depth.

✔ Control soft and hard edges for a more natural look.

✔ Build luminous color through subtle glazing and wet-into-wet techniques.

✔ Apply these principles to flowers, landscapes, and other botanical subjects.

Why This Workshop Is Different

Most succulent tutorials focus on copying every leaf.

This workshop focuses on seeing differently.

You'll learn how to:

• Observe the largest shapes first.
• Recognize patterns of light and shadow.
• Simplify rather than overwork.
• Let watercolor create beautiful transitions naturally.
• Build confidence through understanding instead of memorizing steps.

These are the same principles I use in all of my watercolor paintings.

During the Workshop We'll

Observe Before You Paint

Before we pick up our brushes, we'll spend a few minutes learning how to read the subject.

We'll identify:

• The light source
• The largest shapes
• Overlapping forms
• Cast shadows
• Lost and found edges
• The most important value relationships

This simple habit will strengthen every painting you create.

Paint Individual Forms

We'll begin with a series of simple succulent leaves, learning how watercolor describes curved surfaces through gradual value changes and subtle color transitions.

Build Depth

Next, we'll combine overlapping leaves, introducing shadows, negative shapes, and layered values that create the illusion of depth.

Create a Finished Study

Finally, we'll bring everything together in a beautiful close-up succulent study, applying all of the techniques you've learned.

Rather than rushing through an entire plant, we'll focus on creating one section with confidence and intention.

Included

✔ Live online workshop

✔ Lifetime replay access

✔ Downloadable workbook

✔ Reference photographs

✔ Line drawing

✔ Opportunity to ask questions throughout the live session

Perfect For

✔ Beginning watercolor artists wanting to better understand form.

✔ Intermediate painters looking to create stronger depth.

✔ Botanical painters.

✔ Floral painters.

✔ Landscape painters wanting stronger design skills.

✔ Anyone who wants more confidence with watercolor.

Workshop Details

Length: Approximately 2½–3 hours

Live Workshop (Pacific Time): 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM PT

Other time zones:

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM MT

11:00 AM – 2:00 PM CT

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET

Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Format: Live online workshop with lifetime replay

Workshop Roadmap

We'll begin with simple exercises that build confidence and gradually apply those techniques to a finished sea glass painting.

Part 1 – Observe Before You Paint

Where is the light coming from?

Which leaf is closest?

Which shapes overlap?

Where are the cast shadows?

Which edges disappear?

Where is the darkest dark?

Part 2 – Painting Form

Creating rounded form

Soft gradations

Edge control

Lost and found edges

Warm and cool color shifts

Part 3 –Building Depth

Cast shadows

Negative painting

Connecting shapes

Value relationships

Background shapes

Part 4 – Paint a Finished Study

Bring everything together in a beautiful painting using the techniques you've learned.

The Skills You'll Take With You

These techniques can be applied to:

✔ Flowers

✔ Leaves

✔ Botanical paintings

✔ Landscapes

✔ Still life

✔ Almost any watercolor subject

Who This Is For

This Workshop Is Perfect If You Want To:

• Improve your watercolor technique
• Better understand transparency
• Paint more confidently
• Learn to simplify what you see
• Explore a relaxing coastal subject

No complicated drawing is required.

Materials

Keep your materials simple.

Use your favorite watercolor paints, brushes, and 140 lb. cold press watercolor paper. Professional materials are welcome, but they're not required. This workshop is about developing your skills—not collecting supplies.

A complete materials list and downloadable reference images are included after registration.

More Than a Succulent

This workshop isn't about learning to paint one particular plant.

It's about learning to recognize light, simplify complex subjects, and create believable form through thoughtful observation.

Once you understand these principles, you'll begin to see flowers, leaves, landscapes, and still life in a completely new way.

Meet Your Instructor

For more than 30 years, I've had the privilege of teaching watercolor artists around the world through workshops, online courses, and international art events.

My passion is helping artists move beyond simply copying a reference photo to truly understanding light, design, and the expressive qualities of watercolor.

Rather than focusing on perfection, I encourage students to simplify what they see, preserve the light, and paint with confidence and intention.

Whether you're just beginning or have painted for years, my goal is to help you develop skills that you can apply to every watercolor painting you create.

I look forward to painting with you!

Birgit O'Connor