Fluid Florals - Dahlias with Claire Wilson-Oghedo
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Saturday, September 19, 11:00am - 12:30pm PT
This is an online workshop held via Zoom.
Dahlias are among the most spectacular flowers of late summer, reaching their glorious peak just as the season begins its gentle transition into autumn. Celebrated for their extraordinary range of colours, intricate layered petals, and remarkable variety of forms, dahlias have long been admired by gardeners and artists alike as symbols of creativity, elegance, and resilience.
Their vibrant blooms offer endless inspiration, making them the perfect subject for capturing the richness and beauty of summer's final flourish. In this workshop, we'll explore a range of essential watercolour techniques, including washes, layering, and blending, and use them to paint the luminous colour, delicate petal structures, and striking forms of dahlias.
Whether you're new to watercolour or looking to build your confidence, you'll enjoy creating a vibrant floral painting that celebrates the beauty of peak dahlia season. I’ll also provide composition tips for creating a balanced and eye-catching floral study. Flowers have been a constant source of inspiration for my textile designs for many years and I just find it so therapeutic to try and capture their beauty with paint. There’s something magical about the fluidity and movement of pigments traveling through water that can represent the iridescence of petals.
Join Zoom 15 minutes early for an informal meet and greet with the instructor and class participants! Class will begin promptly at 5 minutes past the hour, so everyone has plenty of time to create!
SUGGESTED MATERIALS
These guidelines are here to help you gather supplies from home—feel free to use alternate options you love or have on hand!
- Watercolor paints – We recommend a mix of warm/cool/earth tones and a few brights or neons if you have them. I’ll be using the CFM all the feels custom blends palette as it's perfect for flowers.
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Watercolor paper –
9 x 12 Sheet Watercolor paper - I’ll be using my fave 140lb Arches cold press watercolour paper but any 140lb/300gms watercolour paper will work.
- Brushes – size 6/8 round and 1/2 for smaller details, I also love using filbert brushes for botanical studies 2 x Cups of Water
- 2 Cups of Water
- Mixing Palette
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Studio Cloth or Paper Towel
- Scrap paper to swatch paints and warm up
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Floral reference - fresh flowers are great if you have access to some, I’ll also be providing reference photos.
Optional:
- Washi, Artist's, or Nichiban masking tape
- Watercolour pencil for light sketching
- Titanium White watercolor or white gouache
ABOUT INSTRUCTOR
Claire Wilson is an artist, creative educator, and textile designer living in Brooklyn, NY. Through her work she explores the beauty of the human form, interior spaces & fashion while considering the use of colour, shape and textures. Having spent her career creating fabric designs in the fashion industry, colour palettes are the foundation of her practice.
smudgestudiobk.com / @smudge_studiobk
THINGS TO KNOW
Zoom links are emailed 24 hours prior, and again 15 minutes prior, to the workshop start time. Please check out using the email address to which you’d like the link sent. If you have not received the link within 24 hours of your class, please check your spam folder first, then email friends@caseformaking.com.
Workshop recordings are sent automatically the day after class to everyone who paid for a spot, and are available for 30 days after the date of the workshop.
If you need to cancel, please let us know as soon as possible so we can open up your spot! We are only able to refund if we’re notified at least 48 hours prior to the workshop.
If you are planning to teach in the future using anything you’ve learned from us, we kindly ask that you credit Case for Making + the individual instructor where applicable.
Thank you so much for taking our workshops!!
