Art Lessons with Mattias Lanas: Inspired by Tony Foster’s Journey
Exploring Beauty: Watercolour Diaries from the Wild
Mattias began offering beginner watercolor workshops at The Foster Museum to deepen people's engagement with the artwork. The workshop’s benefits were twofold: students learned about watercolor painting and gained more knowledge of and appreciation for Tony Foster’s work. The videos below are an extension of these workshops, focused on the diverse watercolor subjects from Tony's 16th Journey, Exploring Beauty: Watercolour Diaries from the Wild.
This series examines the 15 different locations that Tony visited as part of Exploring Beauty—places like Borneo, Tibet, and the Cayman Islands—each time with a different artistic focus. Mattias walks through his own process, inspired by Tony's work, and invites you to watch and learn or follow along at home with your own watercolor supplies.
Those who would like to practice their watercolor skills will need the following basic supplies: a pencil and eraser, watercolor paints, a mixing palette, watercolor paper, paintbrush(es), water, and some paper towels. See the Materials video below for more information. No matter your past experience with watercolors or even art in general, we look forward to you joining us in this journey!
Introduction
Welcome to the 'Art Lessons with Mattias Lanas: Inspired by Tony Foster's Journey' watercolor demonstration video series!
Materials
Learn about the materials you will need to follow along with this series.
Click here for the full materials list
Episode 1
Painting Feathers
Join Mattias Lanas in painting feathers in this new demonstration video inspired by the flamingos Tony Foster encountered in the high Andes.
Feather Reference Photo
Episode 2
Painting the Night Sky
Join Mattias Lanas in painting the night sky with watercolor in this new demonstration video inspired by the Atacama Desert.
Episode 3
Painting Clouds
Join Mattias Lanas in painting clouds and daytime skies with watercolor in this new demonstration video inspired by artist-explorer Tony Foster’s painting of Denali in Alaska.
Episode 4
Painting Mountains
Join Mattias Lanas as he paints mountains with watercolor in this new demonstration video inspired by artist-explorer Tony Foster’s painting of Mont Blanc in France.
Mountains Photo Reference
Episode 5
Drawing a Foundation
Join Mattias Lanas in learning how to create a foundation drawing for a watercolor landscape painting. This episode is inspired by artist-explorer Tony Foster’s work from the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
Grand Canyon Photo Reference
Episode 6
Painting Rocks
Join Mattias Lanas in painting rocks inspired by artist-explorer Tony Foster’s painting of Deer Cave in Gunung Mulu National Park, Borneo.
Rock Photo References
Episode 7
Painting Insects
Join Mattias Lanas in painting a shiny, iridescent beetle in this demonstration on painting insects.
Beetle Photo Reference
Episode 8
Sketching Fish Live
Learn about and participate in “quick-capture” sketching using fish as subjects in this demonstration with Mattias Lanas.
Episode 9
Painting Seashells
Join Mattias Lanas in painting seashells with watercolor based on the crushed shell souvenirs in Tony Foster’s paintings from The Maldives.
Seashell Photo References
Episode 10
Painting Water
Join Mattias Lanas in learning about water as a watercolor painting subject inspired by Tony Foster’s painting of icebergs from Greenland.
Water Photo Reference
Episode 11
Painting A Snowstorm
Join Mattias Lanas in this watercolor demonstration transforming a serene winter scene into a raging snowstorm, inspired by the work of artist-explorer Tony Foster.
Snowscape Photo Reference
Episode 12
Painting Trees
Join Mattias Lanas in rendering a tree in watercolor inspired by the trees in artist-explorer Tony Foster’s paintings of Machapuchare in Nepal.
Tree Photo Reference
Episode 13
Painting A Colorful Leaf
Join Mattias Lanas in painting a bright autumn leaf in this watercolor demonstration video. This lesson is based on the colorful leaf paintings in Tony Foster’s artworks from New England, USA.
Leaf Photo Reference
Episode 14
Painting A Dried Leaf
Paint a dried oak leaf full of rich brown hues, texture and imperfections alongside Mattias Lanas based on Tony Foster’s artwork from Wistman’s Wood, Devon, UK.
Episode 15
Painting A Botanical Thicket
Join Mattias Lanas in this capstone episode demonstrating how to paint a complex botanical thicket inspired by Tony Foster's wildflower hedge painting from Cornwall, UK.
