Stella Canfield – The Magic of Watercolor

Workshop Coordinator

Nikki Spencer, nspence@lsu.edu, 225-955-4282, 225-928-0018

Workshop Description

This watercolor workshop with Stella Canfield is all about YOU! Stella will help you to develop your own creative process and finish a painting every day (if not two!). From sketching to design, color, light and techniques until applying emotion, brush strokes, and final touches, Stella will be there for you through the entire day, making sure you feel comfortable and confident with your process.

You will learn all about Stella’s process, her calling the “Muse” and fitting her art into the busy dynamic of the daily life. She is a working artist, mother of four, wife and a friend, active member of society and a volunteer, keeping up with life on two continents, America and Europe. Her energy is contagious and her passion for life and art is admirable.

The class will start with a fast demo and the rest of the day will be dedicated to YOU and YOUR process. Plan on working hard and having fun at the same time. The challenge you will overcome will be leaving the worries and limits behind and “get into the Zone”. You will free yourself of the pressure and judgment and enjoy the creative process as we create for no one else but ourselves. There are no limits to creation!

You can see Stella’s great work on her website www.artgallerystella.com/.

Supply List

This supply list is mostly for the beginners, to give them an idea of the very basic colors and other supplies that I personally recommend to start with. Please note that the list also retains my personal choice of supplies.

If you are not a beginner and already have supplies please do not hesitate to use them. However, I do recommend using professional quality supplies, the result depends on it.

Paints:
Hansa Yellow Light DS, (very cool yellow)
Hansa Yellow medium DS (warm yellow),
Raw Sienna WN (very warm yellow), Raw Sienna Light DS Raw Umber WN (earthy brownish yellow),
Quanacvadon Burned Orange DS,
Cadmium Red WN,
Permanent Alizarin Crimson WN,
Olive Green WN,
French Ultramarine Bleu DS ,
Cobalt Bleu DS,
Cerulean Bleu WN or the new DS.

The paints above are my basic colors and are my personal choice. They are in no way better than any others! Windsor and Newton , Daniel Smith, Grumbacher, Holbine or Schminke colors are equally good and I use them all.

Palette: Covered plastic palette with at least 12 wells and large mixing space. John Pike Palette is an excellent choice since it is sturdier and more airtight then any other palette on the market.

​Brushes: There are many brushes on the market, synthetic and natural, cheap and expensive. Think of how serious you are with painting and how gentle OR not gentle you are. I prefer a softer brush (mix of synthetic and Natural hair) with a big “belly” to carry the water and pigment and also not too expensive as I am not gentle with my brushes 🙂 If you need help with buying and choosing brushes, you are welcome to give me a call or email me. I will be more than happy to be of assistance.

Silver Brush Black Velvet, synthetic and squirrel hair brushes are my choice: Very inexpensive for the quality they represent.

I use:
Mop (Jumbo Round) – Large,
Round #20 and #12 and #8 Liner #8
and a Harmony Squirrel Quill #0 or #1 as a rigger.

If you are serious about painting, I would recommend you get a Sky WASH 1 ½” flat brush also from the same series (for painting on larger papers). My advice is to start with at least three good mixed or natural hair brushes. Treat yourself to it; it is worth it!

Paper: 3 full sheets (more if you wish) / make 6 half or 12 quarter sheets/ 140 lb. cold press paper. My personal choice is Arches Paper. Use of professional quality paper is recommended.

Light board: (gaterboard, foam board or corrugated plastic) to attach your paper on for support, approximately 23 x 16 /for half sheet paper/.

Misc.: Sketchbook, pencil, kneaded eraser, 2 water containers /plastic jars, 1quart/, paper towels, masking tape or big clamps to attach the paper to the board. Kitchen SPONGE (not abrasive), rollers etc.
Photo references. I strongly recommend the use of your OWN photographs as references. It is essential for expressing emotion, your OWN emotion!

If you have any problem, please email me at studio@stellacanfield.com. I will be happy to help you.

Biography

Stella was born in Varna, Bulgaria and graduated from the Academy of Sports in Sofia. She lived for five years in Germany and moved to the USA in 1985. Stella and her husband now divide their time between Bulgaria and California, USA.

Although Stella dedicated the first 30 thirty years of her life to the sports world as a well respected national rower, she has loved watercolors since her childhood and became an avid student of the medium. She traveled endlessly to take watercolor classes and attend seminars and conferences. She has studied with many of the best watercolor artists in the USA such as Milford Zornes, Serge Hollerback, Carla O’Connor, Frank Webb and others. Stella teaches watercolor classes in the USA and Europe.

In 1998 she opened her own gallery in Coupeville, Washington where she lived and in 2000 she founded “Stellar Arts Foundation,” an educational and charitable non-profit dedicated to helping orphaned and abandoned children in Bulgaria. The foundation also conducts painting tours for American artists who visit abroad. She also founded an art retreat, “Bulgaria Art Workshops” in Barzitsa, in her native Bulgaria.

Since 2001, Stella was invited to teach at Daniel Smith and the company purchased one of her paintings for its permanent collection. In 2018 she was awarded the title “Master” by the International Watercolor Society/IWS Globe. She has received awards in international exhibits in Pakistan, Prague/Czech Republic, Costa Rica and is one of the jurors of International Watercolor Society – Bulgaria. Her paintings can be found in corporate, private and museum collections in America, Europe and Asia.