Workshop: Watercolor Windowscapes (Fall 2025)
See the season through watercolor with this four-part exploration of painting skies through your window.

November 8, 15, 22 & 29, 2025 (this is a four-part series)
2-3 p.m. PST
Online via Zoom (small group setting)
Details
Fall has arrived, bringing some of the most breathtaking skies of the year. Even as the days grow cooler, you can stay close to nature by capturing those shifting clouds and evening hues indoors — a peaceful way to nurture both your nature journaling habit and your watercolor practice while indoors.
In this four-part live course, we’ll explore the beauty of everyday skies through small “windowscape” studies — quick, meditative paintings you can create from home.
We’ll explore nine types of skies together through simple, mindful watercolor studies designed to build confidence and deepen your observation skills. Each lesson builds upon the previous exercises and covers nine core skills (“The Core 9”) — skills I have deemed to be the most fundamental in my time painting skies.

You’ll learn how to:
☁️ Paint nine different types of skies
🩵 Find your blue while exploring a variety of color interactions
🎨 Leverage lifting techniques, light, and shadows to create dramatic clouds
🪟 Capture everyday views with mindfulness and simplicity
Details
The course begins November 8, 2025, and spaces are limited to keep sessions personal. This workshop will be held online via Zoom. Class dates are as follows:
- Part 1: Nov. 8th, 2-3 p.m. PST
- Part 2: Nov. 15th, 2-3 p.m. PST
- Part 3: Nov. 22nd, 2-3 p.m. PST
- Part 4: Nov. 29th, 2-3 p.m. PST
Price
Enrollment is free, but space is limited. To sign up, visit the link below to complete a short registration form.
Supplies
To make the most of your time in this workshop, I encourage you to paint along with us using your favorite watercolor supplies and tools – supplies with which you’re already familiar (with maybe a few exceptions, which I have listed below with an asterisk *). This page contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Paper
100% cotton is recommended and it will have a big impact on your results, however, you can use whatever paper you have and prefer. I prefer white paper as the color of the paper impacts the whiteness of clouds and highlights. Here are my favorite paper types for watercolor skies:
- Arches Cold Press Watercolor Block, 100% Cotton, 140 lb. (300 gsm)*
- Etchr “The Perfect Sketchbook,” 100% Cotton, Cold Press, 140 lb. (300 gsm)
Watercolor Paints
You do not need all the colors listed below, but a variety of blues such as Cobalt, Cerulean, French Ultramarine, etc. will be helpful, as well as a dark grey or black such as Neutral Tint. I have found Yellow Ochre to be immensely helpful in creating a warm horizon without turning green when it touches blue.
Please note different regions have different blues and the blue in your region might not be the same as the blue in my region. We’ll cover this more in the class.
Don’t worry too much about specific paint brands for this class. I am only sharing my personal kit colors as I am often asked which colors and brands I use.

Here are the colors in my skies palette:
- Pyrrol Orange (Daniel Smith)
- Purple Magenta (Schmincke)
- Perylene Maroon (Daniel Smith)
- Quinacridone Burnt Orange (Daniel Smith)
- Quinacridone Gold (Daniel Smith)*
- Indian Yellow (Daniel Smith)
- Yellow Ochre (Daniel Smith)*
- Cobalt Turquoise (Schmincke)
- Helio Cerulean (Schmincke)
- French Ultramarine (Winsor & Newton)
- Cobalt Blue (Winsor & Newton)
- Lavender (Holbein)
- Indanthrone Blue (Daniel Smith)
- Neutral Tint (Daniel Smith)


I use ArtToolkit palettes for my 365 Skies palettes. The large palette is the Folio Palette and is great for studio work. The medium palette is the Pocket Palette. It's also great for studio work and is my #1 choice for field work.
Brushes
Please feel comfortable using what you already have and what you prefer! These are my favs. If you choose to make a purchase via ArtToolkit, you can use the promo code BROOKE10 to get 10% off qualifying items.
- Size 24, flat (Royal & Langnickel Sovereign)
- Size 12, pointed round (Rosemary & Co R19)
- Size 8, pointed (Rosemary & Co R10)
- Eradicator brush (Rosemary & Co R24)
- Waterbrush(es) when in a pinch: Pentel Aquash (Medium) and Kuretake Fude Water Brush Pen (Flat)

Other Supplies
- 1-2 jars of water if using regular brushes
- Tissue paper for a wide variety of blotting and lifting effects
- Binder clips or bulldog clips to help your paper dry flat
- Eye dropper or small spray bottle of water to wet and refresh your paints
- Masking tape. Be sure to always first test your tape as some papers can tear easily!
I hope this helps you feel both excited and prepared for painting watercolor skies! Remember: The most important part is showing up. You do not need all the supplies listed here. Let’s build our toolbox of techniques and have some fun!
