Wide Open Skies: Painting Western Landscapes in Watercolor
Wide Open Skies: Painting Western Landscapes in Watercolor
with Leslie Lambert
Wednesdays, April 1 – April 29 | 5:30-7:30pm
$120 / MVAC Members
$150 / Non-Members (membership begins at on $25/year! Click here to join or renew your membership and save.)
Register online below, or call 208-734-ARTS (2787) to sign up!
Experience the beauty, space, and quiet drama of the West through watercolor. In this 6-week in-person course, we’ll paint expansive skies, rolling foothills, sagebrush plains, distant mountains, and the warm shifting light that makes the west feel endless. Each lesson includes guided demonstrations, clear step-by-step instruction, and plenty of hands-on painting time.
We’ll learn how to layer transparent washes to create depth, mix natural earth-inspired color palettes, and use soft edges and atmospheric perspective to express distance and mood. The focus is on simple shapes, confident brushwork, and capturing the feeling of the landscape rather than detailed rendering.
No drawing experience needed – beginners and returning painters are welcome.
Please bring your own watercolor supplies (suggested supply list below), or purchase a complete beginner supply kit from Leslie for $75 – optional, pre-order is recommended. Call MVAC at 208-734-2787 to reserve your kit.
Suggested Supply List
- Paper: 1 full sheet (22×30”) of 100% Cotton 140 lb cold press watercolor paper. Alternatively, you may bring a pad of watercolor paper, or a watercolor journal or sketchbook with watercolor paper.
- masking fluid (Winsor & Newton is best)
- assortment of watercolor brushes such as a #6 round brush with a good point, a #12 round brush and/or ½” cat’s tongue brush, Scrub brushes (soft and hard), and any other brush that you love to use
- pencil and kneaded eraser
- palette
- transfer paper
- watercolor paints – suggested colors listed below. Pan or tube watercolors are fine, bring what you like to use!
- Cobalt Blue
- Winsor Blue (green shade), also called Thalo Blue or Intense Blue
- Burnt Sienna or Quinacridone Burnt Orange
- Winsor Yellow or Cadmium Yellow Light/Pale
- Raw Sienna (Winsor & Newton)
- Quinacridone Rose, also called Permanent Rose
Supplies not included in the watercolor kit (please bring):
- board to tape quarter sheet of paper on
- masking tape
- spray bottles (soft mist and one with a harder spray)
- old towel or cloth
About the Instructor
Leslie Lambert (also known as Leslie Redhead) is a celebrated artist known for her innovative poured watercolors. With a keen eye for detail and a mastery of color, Lambert skillfully pours and manipulates pigments on paper, resulting in stunning and dynamic compositions of the West. Her artwork, characterized by vibrant hues, has garnered widespread acclaim and has been exhibited in prestigious galleries and exhibitions worldwide. Lambert’s ability to push the boundaries of traditional watercolor painting has established her as a trail blazer in the arts.
In addition to signature status with the Cowgirl Artists of America (CGA), Lambert is a signature member of Northwest Watercolor Society (NWWS), and the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolor. She is also an associate member of Women Artists of the West (WAOW). Lambert is the author of Watercolor 365: Daily Tips, Tricks, and Techniques and the illustrator of the children’s book, Island in the Salish Sea, by Sheryl McFarlane. Her work has been published in Western Art Collector, Plein Air Magazine, Western Art & Architecture, Watercolor Artist, The Artist’s Network, and Splash 10: The Best of Watercolor.
Lambert is an adjunct professor of art at the College of Southern Idaho and teaches workshops throughout U.S., Canada, Spain, and Morrocco. She is represented by Trails End Gallery in Chewelah, Washington and Horizon Fine Art in Jackson, Wyoming. Lambert currently divides her time between Burley, Idaho and Colville, Washington where she creates works of art portraying vast expanses of the western landscape. More of her work can be viewed on her website at leslielambertart.com.