Artists' Workshop of New Smyrna Beach

Sketching with Watercolor, Pen & Ink

/ Class

Dates: Thursdays, starting January 9 (12 weeks)

Time: 1:00 am to 4:00 pm

Studio Location: Studio C

Price: $25 per class or $150 for 6 weeks, non-members $30 or $180

An artistic introduction to drawing and watercolor painting. I will be using
the Annette Carroll Compton book, “drawing from the mind, painting from the heart”, as
a guide. “The late artist was very interested in helping students find their way in learning
to paint with watercolor. She starts with simple lines and then explains how to make
them into forms and shapes. What follows are many exercise that students can work on
to build their confidence. Watercolor is introduced slowly which is good for beginners.
Later on color palettes are introduced and composition. Once that material is covered
she discusses various types of art such as impressionism and expressionists. The book
is 12 chapters long. I pick and choose what I think is most important and present it to
the class. I do add my own materials when I think it makes it clearer to the students. I
also bring my own props so they get a better idea of the lesson. I have been ordering
used books for the class and have a few left. I have been offering them for sale at $10
each. If they do not want to buy then I will make copies of the chapters for distribution.

Contact instructor to register – Evy Okerstrom email: eokerstrom22@gmail.com, phone: 859-699-1506

Materials List – https://www.artistsworkshopinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Evy-Okerstrom-Supply-List-Evy-WC-Sketching-Revised-winter-2025-the-Artists-Workshop-NSB.docx

Artist Statement

The Artist lives in New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168 all year round. She has lived in Florida for the past 10 years. Born in Philadelphia, PA, the Artist was exposed to art in all forms as a child. Her Mother and her sisters were all drawing, painting or doing sculpture. This Artist was particularly taken by her Mother’s pen and ink with watercolor washes she did wherever she traveled. This made the Artist decide that when she retired from working she would learn all about watercolor, pen and ink.

The Artist worked in financial services until leaving that field in 2009. This was the opportunity to learn about watercolor.  Living in KY at the time, she took classes with a local Artist, Diana Link Forn for the next four years.  In 2014 she moved to Florida. The Artist continued to take classes when she first arrived in New Smyrna Beach, however, there were no advanced courses available. The Artist continued to work by herself to develop her style.  She joined the Hub on Canal in New Smyrna Beach as a volunteer in 2014 and within a year applied as an artist and was accepted. She now has a permanent display wall at the Hub.  In 2018 the Hub was looking for artists that could teach classes, and she had a few people asking if she had classes. She had not taught before, and put together a class plan for Richard England, the President. He accepted it and that began her career as a teacher at the Hub. To promote her classes, she started writing a monthly blog about her art news which continues to this day.  She began doing one day workshops which continued until the Covid shutdown in 2020.  After the shutdown, the Hub asked her if she would teach a weekly class in watercolor.  She went on to teach weekly when there was almost no one else teaching.  After a year of teaching, she decided to teach for three or four months at a stretch. This allowed her to work on individual pieces for exhibits and her display wall at the Hub. She also has taught a class at her church one day a week. 

 The Artist has given several one hour talks called “Talk Art” at the Hub.  “The Color of Watercolor” in 2021, and January 2024 did a class demonstration based on the Annette Compton book, “Drawing from the mind painting from the Heart”.  She went on to teach from that book.

She did participate in an Exhibit with the Florida Women’s Art Association held at the Hub in December 2020. She won First Prize and was awarded $100.  In 2022, the Artist joined a class at the Hub to learn about social media in order to market her work. She now has a successful instagram account.  She has volunteered to do reels for the Hub’s activities.

In the words of the Artist:  Art is a special way of translating what you see about you into something that you can look at and touch and remember for years to come. As a watercolor artist, she is always looking at the scenes around her. She looks at the colors, values and shapes and a compositions forms in her mind.  She ponders all these ideas even when she is not drawing or painting.  Her goal is to paint a picture that is out of the ordinary because you will remember it.

Studio & Gallery

​540 Barracuda Blvd
New Smyrna Beach
FL 32169

​(386) 424-9254

Gallery on Canal St.

115 Canal St
New Smyrna Beach
FL 32168

(386) 492-9995

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PO Box 1194
New Smyrna Beach
FL 32170

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Environmental Considerations

Disposal of Paint Waste Water

 

Download printable PDF: Environmental Considerations Disposal of Paint Waste Water

Artists’ Workshop has instituted two paint waste water disposal processes at our studio facility.

  • These processes apply to the dirty water that is created when painting with watercolor, gouache and acrylic or when using glue in a mixed media project.
  • Oil painters will not pour pigments or solvents into the sink and will dispose of their waste by removing it from the site.

Why are we doing this?

As artists, we want to help in keeping our groundwater as unpolluted as possible. Additionally, our lease requires it. The Wildlife Foundation of Florida is our landlord and the following statement is in our lease: “Sub-sublessee shall not use, generate, store, produce, place, treat, release, or discharge any contaminants, pollutants, or pollution, including, but not limited to, hazardous or toxic substances, chemicals, or other agents (except those used, stored, generated, and disposed of by sub-lessee in the operation of its allowed use of the sub-subleased premises) on, into, or from the sub-subleased premises or any adjacent lands or waters. Sub-sublessee shall only use, store, generate, and dispose of such hazardous substances in strict accordance with the law.”

The EPA holds a non-household facility, like Artists’ Workshop, to tighter disposal restrictions than it would for a household.

What does this mean to us?

We have consulted Jennifer Stirk, an environmentalist at the Tomoka Landfill about proper disposal of our waste water. She told us that

  1. We cannot dump waste water onto the ground.
  2. She also said that any waste water containing toxic substances cannot be poured down the sinks or disposed of in the Tomoka landfill. The list of EPA toxic substances is: arsenic, barium, cadmium, lead, mercury and selenium. Cobalt is not on this list and “hues” of these are usually okay, such as “Cadmium Yellow Hue” as they are made of other yellows, not using cadmium.
  3. It is best to discard a solid instead of washing everything down a drain. Allow unneeded paint to dry on the palette or in the jar and discard it in the trash.
  4. Acrylic pigments cannot be poured down the sinks.

What are we doing to address this?

We will be using 2 processes, the pigment disposal process and the sand disposal method. The first method is described on the “Just Paint” newsletter March 1996 from Golden Paint. The second process has been recommended by Kevin Tobin, a Golden Paint representative. Watercolor, gouache and glue waste water can be emptied into our sinks as long as no toxic substances are present. (If using glue with an acrylic project, it is recommended that the artist keep the glue water separate and pour it down the drain. It doesn’t pour well through the filter system in the pigment disposal process.) The pigment disposal process can be used for acrylic waste water as long as no toxic chemicals are present. The sand method can be used for both watercolor waste and acrylic waste either with or without toxic substances.

In both instances, artists need to wipe their brushes and palettes on paper towels and rags before rinsing in the water to reduce the amount of water used. These paper towels and rags will be put in the Tomoka Landfill garbage for proper disposal in the landfill. Once wiped off, rinse out the brushes in no more than two inches of water in your waste water container.

Pigment Disposal Process

This process uses a chemical reaction called flocculation to separate the water and the pigment. Once the clear water is skimmed off the top, the pigment is filtered and the filter is disposed of in the trash. This process cannot be used with toxic paints.
It uses common garden chemicals which are hazardous so read label precautions. Gloves are provided.

The instructions are as follows:

  1. Dump your waste water into the 5 gallon container in the studio filling it to either the one or 2.5 gallon level. 2.5 gallons is the maximum that can be processed in the 5 gallon container.
  2. Using the glass jar, mix the proper amount of aluminum sulfate into the jar, add a few ounces of clean water and mix thoroughly. For one gallon, use a well-rounded half Tablespoon. For 2.5 gallons of water, measure 1.5 Tablespoons. Pour into the waste water and stir vigorously with a wood paint stick.
  3. Add the proper amount of powdered lime and stir vigorously. For one gallon, this is a scant ¾ Tablespoon. For 2.5 gallons of water, measure 1 ¾ Tablespoon lime. Within a few minutes, flocculation of the solids should begin to occur. You should start to see a clear layer of water forming very quickly as the solids settle to the bottom. If, after several minutes, flocculation has not occurred, repeat steps 2 and 3.
  4. After the solids have settled, scoop off as much of the clear water as you can, using the pitcher, and pour it down the drain or outside.
  5. Assemble the filtering equipment as follows: Place TWO filters in the metal funnel and put them over another empty 5 gallon container. Pour the remaining dirty water onto the filters after flocculation has occurred. After the dirty water has been poured through the filters, the water in the 5 gallon container should be clear. If it is not, pour less into the filters in steps and let it filter through before adding more dirty water.
  6. Place the used filters into the garbage can with the other waste going to the Tomoka Landfill. The clean water in the 5 gallon container can now be poured outside on the ground or down the sinks.

Sand Disposal Method:

This process uses evaporation of the water out of the sand in a bucket.

Instructions are as follows:

An alternative method is available for disposing of waste water resulting from washing off brushes used for acrylic paints. There is an orange 5-gallon container in the large (north) studio filled 3/4rds of the way up with playground sand. During classes and open studio sessions, the bucket will be kept outside in the full sun. It is important that the bucket receive 5-6 hours of sunlight and that the lid be kept open (assuming it’s not raining). In the event of rain, the bucket will be kept indoors and, when not in use, a lid has been provided only if it must be kept outdoors. A ‘dent’ was first made in the top middle of the sand. After each day’s session, monitors or instructors are asked to simply turn over the sand lightly and restore the depression in the top surface of the sand.

As acrylic artists paint and need to clean off their brushes, they should first wipe them off on rags, paper towels or old phone books. We will attempt to keep some old phone books in the studios for our use. Once wiped off, rinse out brushes in NO MORE THAN TWO INCHES of water in your waste water container. No more water than this is needed to rinse off brushes and it is critical to the success of this process that acrylic artists don’t use too much water. It doesn’t matter if you use Cadmium-, Cobalt- or lead-based paints, or mix your colors with medium. The waste water is then poured into the sand bucket, which is, ideally, going to be kept outdoors during studio hours. The bucket should be kept in a sunny location, one which gets between 5-6 hours of sun per day, and in the event of rain, under an eave or awning to protect it.

The bucket has been placed on a luggage cart with wheels so that it can be moved easily in rainy season/weather to a shielded area. The sand bucket should be kept uncovered, and at the end of the day, brought indoors to one of our studios. Thanks to the sun, the waste water evaporates, leaving only the pigmented sand behind. Periodically (as mentioned above), the sand should be turned over with the trowel. This method is advocated as an alternative by Golden paint and by one of its artist representatives, Kevin Tobin. Kevin has used his sand bucket without ever recycling the sand for twenty years. In fact, he brought it here from CA! If the AWI ever needed to get rid of the sand (but it would never need to do that), Kevin has advised that it would need to cover the bucket and take it to a hazardous waste dump site. Golden alternatively suggested using the pigmented sand to create a sculpture from concrete. Kevin developed this method after consulting the local DEP and federal EPA.

The trick is to ensure that folks don’t use a lot of water in their buckets (no more than 2″) and that they first wipe off brushes of excess acrylic paint/medium before dunking them in rinse water. If artists use too much water or don’t wipe off excess paint, the sand method will not work.

Assuming our 5-gallon bucket works out, we will purchase another one or two containers for the sand method. Everyone’s cooperation in introducing this alternative method is requested.

Environmental Considerations: Disposal of Paint Waste Water
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