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Inspired by Sara Midda’s “South of France-A Sketchbook” taught by Tara Tieso
June 22, 2025 @ 2:30 pm – 5:30 pm
IN PERSON
Join us for an afternoon of delightful creativity and leave with a renewed sense of artistic joy and inspiration, ready to continue your own whimsical journeys through sketching and color!
We’ll immerse ourselves in the vibrant world of Sara Midda’s South of France – A Sketchbook. Known for her enchanting illustrations that blend playful sketches with rich watercolor palettes, Midda captures the essence of the French landscape and lifestyle in a way that feels both intimate and expansive.
We’ll explore color, with ideas of how to capture our own vibrant palettes inspired by the summer sun and the lushness of the season; and we’ll choose a scene or object that resonates with us and reimagine it in a simple style incorporating the joyful elements that characterize Midda’s work.
Materials to Bring:
A small-medium sized journal that lays flat – preferably not spiral bound. Favorite color media of your choosing.
Tara’s Favorites:
JOURNALS AND SKETCHBOOKS Hahnemuhle D&S Sketchbook, or for watercolor, one from their Nostalgie line; Talens Art Creations Sketchbooks(12x12cm or 9x14cm); Clairefontaine Goldline Sketchbooks, Handbook Journal Pocket Travel Sketchbooks (3.5×5.5”landscape, portrait or square), Stillman & Birn Softcover Sketchbooks,(Beta is best for mixed media).
COLOR Vivia Colorsheets (or as a treat – a small set of Stoneground watercolors/gouache in a summery palette); Tombow Dual End Brush/Fine Markers; Caran d’ache or Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils; Tombow Irojiten set of 12 or Stabilo Carbothello Pastel Pencil
BRUSHES Sakura Koi Travel + Pentel Water brushes, or treat yourself to a nicer travel watercolor brush by DaVinci Casaneo Extra Short or Casaneo Travel , Silver Brush Black Velvet or Richeson Grey Matters Pocket Brush
Classes have a limited space available and some fill quickly. Decisions about whether to cancel a class or add another session are typically made one week prior to the start of a class. If a class you are interested in is full we will have a waiting list and will contact you if a space opens up. If a class is cancelled due to low enrollment (fewer than 4 registrations) all registrations will be promptly refunded.
Ticket Instruction: You must choose a quantity to activate “get tickets”. To pay for a class registration with a Wet Paint gift card, please call 651-698-6431
Tara L. Tieso is an abstract artist residing in the historic Lowertown arts district of Saint Paul along the mighty Mississippi. She works in encaustic, an ancient beeswax and resin medium fused to its substrate with a torch, as well as pen and ink – and loves every kind of water-soluble media! Tara is Past Board President of nationally celebrated WARM, Women’s Art Resources Minnesota – where she worked with other women in the arts to steward the rich 40-year feminist legacy of Minnesota’s brilliant women artists. She currently serves as Board Chair of The Show Non-Profit, which supports artists with disabilities. Tara brings a love of community from her experience in social work and therapy, and as a teaching artist, she facilitates Wet Paint’s Book Club (free on zoom!), Creative Circles from her loft studio, and a myriad of Wet Paint classes that require no art experience of any kind, ever! A grateful recipient of the McKnight Foundation-funded Metropolitan Regional Arts Council’s Next Step Grant, and a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant; she is one of 30 ArtSage Minnesota Artists, and a winner of North Hennepin Community College Award of Excellence in Memory of Lance Kiland from the Minnesota State Fair Foundation. Her work hangs in private collections in the Twin Cities, greater Minnesota, and Philadelphia.
