Since last year, I have been meaning to join an art workshop {I’ve been seeing loads of calligraphy and watercolour works on my Instagram feed, I was dying to learn how to do them!} but most are held in far-off places or are priced too steep for this cheapskate mum! So when Mommy Bloggers Philippines invited mums for their Mommy Bloggers Watercolour Workshop with The Crafters Marketplace a few months back, I excitedly signed up!

The workshop was held at The Crafters Marketplace at Shangri-la Mall’s Rustan’s Supermarket. It is conducted by teacher/visual artist/graphic designer Ian De Jesus. You can check out samples of his beautiful work on his Facebook Page, facebook.com/artofianravenfox13. You can also follow @ravenfox13 on IG.

Ian started our session with a brief background about art and introducing his tools of the trade to us. He has numerous kinds of brush, ranging from the most affordable to the most expensive in different sizes for specific usage, as well as a number paints. According to him, the more expensive the paints were the more pigments they have. As expected these expensive paints with more pigments yield more beautiful and colorful results. He also suggested the watercolor brand Simbalion for those who are just starting to explore the beautiful craft of watercolour. He also told us a short history of how difficult it was to acquire colors in the olden age and how some painters and artists actually fell sick and eventually died due to exposure to harmful chemicals and ingredients present in the paints. He enthused that we are luckier nowadays that we can easily acquire these art materials in bookstores and arts and craft shops.

Ian also introduced us to the color wheel, but unlike the basic ones we were familiar with in grade school, this color wheel is more complex, with lots of other colors. Knowledge of the color wheel, according to Ian, will come handy especially to those who are just starting since it will serve as our guide to which colors complement each other and which colors do not go well together. He said that most companies use the color wheel as their guide in creating brand logos, as well as in displaying their products in supermarket isles.