By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Sherborn community members were in for a tranquil and relaxing evening at the beginning of the month as the Sherborn Library hosted their first Watercolor Class. Cosponsored by the Sherborn Council on Aging, this much anticipated event filled up rather quickly, with some even signing up for the wait list. Once registered, participants are able to attend all four sessions throughout the month of November.
Thirteen attendees gathered in the Community Room to kick off this first watercolor lesson taught by Brenda. The painting choice for this class was a lighthouse on the beach which Brenda demonstrated step by step. Paint brushes, watercolor paints, a cup of water, paper, paper towels, and more were provided for each participant so that they did not have to bring any of their own supplies.
To start off, Brenda showed the whole class how to transfer an outline of their lighthouse onto the watercolor paper. To do this, they would put a piece of graphite paper underneath the photo of the lighthouse and tape it to their canvas. Using a stencil, they would lightly go over the outline of the important features of the picture, like the lighthouse, the ground line, the windows, etc. In no time, there would be a faint sketch of what they needed to paint.
After this step was complete, it was time to start painting! Brenda made sure to share some helpful tips and tricks when it came to working with watercolor paints. For example, before they started working on the first aspect of the painting, the sky, she suggested wetting that part first using a paintbrush and water. The idea was not to get the paper soaking wet, but to just moisten it so the watercolors would blend nicely and move across the paper with ease.
As participants worked on painting their skies, Brenda moved around the room, giving individual instruction to the artists. Most people needed some extra help when it came time to add clouds using a wet paper towel, but Brenda was able to help all those who needed it!
As the class went on, they moved onto the sand area and eventually back to the lighthouse itself. Even though everyone was technically painting the same picture, each watercolor painting came out very unique and absolutely beautiful! Concentrated faces could be seen throughout the entirety of the class, but it was easy to tell just how much fun all attendees were having.
For more information on events such as these, please visit their website at www.sherbornlibrary.org.
