NYC Urban Sketchers - Carol Fabricatore - Watercolor and Gouache Painting

We will meet at Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, located mid park near East 72nd Street. The Fountain is located below Bethesda Terrace shown on the map below. Meet on the side of the fountain nearest to the Bethesda Terrace.

Workshop is scheduled for May 17, 2025. We have a rain date of May 18, 2025. As the day approaches we will assess the weather and communicate via the email address you provided at enrollment.

Carol Fabricatore is an award-winning artist who received an MFA at the School of Visual Arts. She has taught at SVA since 1994. She has had several artist residencies in the US and Mexico and participated in many exhibits in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and France. To learn more about Carol and her work, see her website: carolfabricatore.com or Instagram: @cfabricatore

This workshop will focus on different techniques, from intermediate to more advanced, using watercolor and gouache together. Attention will be paid to creating vibrant, rich color, and applying it in transparent watercolor first, then layering, and finally building gouache over it. The class will work from life, learning to respond in an expressive, individual way. Working from direct observation in a natural setting will strengthen drawing skills. There will be demos and individual instruction to help each student work with these two mediums.

Carol will first do a demo for 30-40 minutes. Then participants will paint for 1-2 hours. During this time, Carol will walk around and give individual guidance to each person, do a quick demo, or leave them alone if they prefer. In the last 30 minutes the group will reconvene to share their work and discuss challenges and discoveries from the experience.

Suggested Supplies:

Paper - One watercolor pad or block - 9 x 12, 11 x 14, or 15 x 20 inch - Canson watercolor paper (or another brand) OR a Sketchbook: Get any brand of watercolor sketchbook that fits your budget. It needs to be 7.5 x 9.75 or 8.5 x 11 inch minimum.

Basic set of watercolors - a range of tube watercolors or pans. If you already have a set of watercolors that you like, use that. Recommended are Winsor & Newton or Holbein artist’s professional watercolor and gouache. Recommended colors: Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Red Light, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue, Viridian, Raw Umber

Basic set of Gouache paints - 5 tubes, including black and white gouache.

Palette – either a paper or tray palette

Brushes - Watercolor and Gouache (rounds) – one large, (#10 - 12) one small (#6 or 8); they can be a synthetic blend, squirrel hair or Kolinsky sable brushes

A few watercolor pencils

Containers for water.

Paper towels & tape

A spray dispenser

Lead pencils –2B & 4B

Sketching stool

Host or Publisher New York City Urban Sketchers