Floral Still Lifes Course with Elena Vlasova
- Paint 8 light-filled still lifes
- Learn to combine dry and wet watercolor techniques intentionally, tailored to the needs of each specific still life
- Create expressive compositions with flowers, fruits, books, and natural objects
What this course is about
This course is dedicated to the idea of a still life with flowers at its heart. It's perfect for anyone who loves exploring their surroundings through plants, flowers, elements of nature, and handcrafted objects.
Any theme can be explored from many angles. We'll learn how to compose and paint beautiful arrangements of flowers and fruit, complementing them with the objects around us — books, seashells, elegant tableware, and even birds. Our still lifes won't be academic, because we have a different goal. We'll learn to convey beauty and materiality through the lens of a more subtle perception — through a refined emotion and sense of feeling. It's no easy task, because here we'll be combining a wide variety of complex watercolor techniques, revisiting and discovering both old and new technical approaches and their combinations. In the end, we'll have created beautiful, striking works.
We'll place an emphasis on individuality and strive to move away from blind repetition or copying. Bringing your own personal touch is always welcome. The path we walk together will become your own way of solving creative challenges down the road.
Who this course is for
This course will be a great fit for bold explorers — whether you've just started your watercolor journey or have already taken your first steps in watercolor painting, or perhaps you've gone quite deep into it and want to expand your skills and your creative outlook, discover new approaches and techniques, and try your hand at new subjects.
Also, if the idea of tackling flowers on your own feels daunting, or you've tried painting them before and realized you need more knowledge and experience — this course will be incredibly valuable for you. Together, step by step, we'll work through these challenging explorations, build a solid practical foundation, and develop a real understanding.
Course curriculum
- work with a color triad to create a lively white
- distribute warm and cool tones across the shape of the porcelain
- depict gold on dishware naturally and delicately
- create dynamic energy through different angles of the flowers
- unify the composition with a light, atmospheric background
- create volume in white objects through color, not through darkening
- work with the red–yellow–blue triad for a lively shimmer
- convey the texture and volume of lilac clusters
- maintain the balance between detail and generalization
- place objects naturally and softly into the background
- build the composition of an atmospheric still life with flowers and objects
- simplify the shapes of large flowers while preserving their volume
- place the cup and book within a natural setting without losing visual unity
- use selective emphasis and edge softening
- create a cohesive, unifying background in a single pass
- build the composition of a bouquet
- work with greenery as a unifying element
- create volume through soft defocusing and light
- preserve the effect of the peonies' whiteness
- combine dry and wet-on-wet techniques
- build the composition: complement large elements with medium and small ones
- create smooth, soft background depths to unify the composition
- sculpt the volume and form of the apples, connecting them to the space without a "cut-out" feeling
- combine the dry brush technique with alla prima
- use imprimatura spots as a colored underlay for a flowing, blending effect
- composing an atmospheric still life
- combining dry-brush work with the alla prima technique
- painting live flowers and birds with ease
- capturing the sparkle of glass and crystal
- preserving atmosphere without overloading on details
- composing a still life with a focal point
- distributing light in a windowsill setup
- painting white porcelain objects in contre-jour
- unifying a multicolored bouquet into a single cohesive form
- creating an atmospheric autumn still life without overloading on details
- combining objects with contrasting personalities into one composition and creating a sense of unity
- working wet-on-wet while preserving the white of the paper
- knowing where and how much to leave highlighted areas to create a feeling of sunlight
- constructing a cat's head from a perspective angle
- creating soft fur using the right level of paper moisture
Course instructor
- Graduated from Moscow Pedagogical State University (Lenin) and the Sergei Andriyaka School of Watercolor
- Member of the International Watercolor Federation, member of the IWS (International Watercolor Society).
- Exhibitor in Russia and abroad. Featured multiple times at the IFA Gallery (including a solo exhibition), exhibited at the III International Film Festival named after Savva Morozov, Moscow (2017), the Central House of Artists, Moscow 2018, Art Gallery Izmailovo 2020, at international watercolor festivals, and through IWS (Kosovo, Budapest, Delhi, and more).
- As a teacher, she has led numerous outdoor plein air trips abroad (Spain, Italy, Hungary, Nepal), across Russia (Akademicheskaya Dacha (Vyshny Volochyok), Gorokhovets, the Solovetsky Islands), and in Moscow (full summer seasons).
Elena Vlasova's Work
Course Materials
Paper
- Baohong, in sheets or a block, A3 (30×40 cm) (apx. 16" x 12"), 300 g/m², Grain Fin texture
Paints
- Peach (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Naples Yellow (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Yellow (Nevskaya Palitra) / Aureolin (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Isoindolinone Yellow (Pinax) / Yellow-Orange (Gamma)
- Scarlet (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Crimson Lake (Madder) (Nevskaya Palitra) / Madder Lake (ShinHan)
- Opera rose (Pinax)
- Hematite (Hematite Haze) (Nevskaya Palitra) / Potter's Pink (Pinax)
- Yellow Ochre (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Burnt Sienna (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Light Red (iron oxide) (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Olive Green (Nevskaya Palitra)
- May Green (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Undersea Green (Daniel Smith) / Green (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Shadow Green (Nevskaya Palitra) / Shadow Green (ShinHan)
- Peacock Green (ShinHan) / Emerald Green (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Cerulean / Sky Blue (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Cobalt Blue (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Grey-pink (tint) (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Violet (tint) (Nevskaya Palitra)
- Neutral Tint (Pinax)
Brushes
- Flat brush goat mix 50 (Gamma)
- Flat brush goat 30 (Roubloff)
- Chinese calligraphy brush goat/weasel hair d 5–7mm
- Squirrel imitation round 8 (Malevich)
- Sable mix round 6 (Roubloff)
- Synthetic Modern 8 (Gamma)
- Synthetic 4 (Malevich)
Additional
- Simple HB, B, 2B pencil
- Eraser
- Masking tape
- Water container
- Paper towels
Choose your plan
- 8 floral still lifes
- 13 lessons: theory + practice + artist tips and tricks
- Machine translated subtitles: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Chinese, Indonesian
- "Course Unfreeze" — the option to start learning whenever it's convenient for you
- The ability to watch artwork analyses of other participants' paintings
- Lifetime access to the course materials
- Review of your work and answers to your questions in the comments for 60 days from the moment you begin the course
- Personal one-hour online consultation with the course expert
- +20 bonus dollars! Can be spent on a course purchase at the next marathon. Expire in 3 months
- 8 floral still lifes
- 13 lessons: theory, practice, artistic tips & tricks
- Machine translated subtitles: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Chinese, Indonesian
- "Course Unfreeze" — the option to start learning whenever it's convenient for you
- The ability to watch artwork analyses of other participants' paintings
- Lifetime access to the course materials
- Review of your work and answers to your questions in the comments for 60 days from the moment you begin the course
- Personal one-hour online consultation with the course expert
- +20 bonus dollars! Can be spent on a course purchase at the next marathon. Expire in 3 months
- 8 floral still lifes
- 13 lessons: theory, practice, artistic tips & tricks
- Machine translated subtitles: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Chinese, Indonesian
- "Course Unfreeze" — the option to start learning whenever it's convenient for you
- The ability to watch artwork analyses of other participants' paintings
- Lifetime access to the course materials
- Review of your work and answers to your questions in the comments for 60 days from the moment you begin the course
- Personal one-hour online consultation with the course expert
- +20 bonus dollars! Can be spent on a course purchase at the next marathon. Expire in 3 months
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Anyone can learn to paint! It's simply a skill that develops with practice. Our course is structured from simple to complex so that anyone can follow along — even with zero experience. Step by step, through the hands-on practice of painting the course projects, you'll build your skills and learn to paint.
At the end of the lesson, you'll upload a photo of your work. Your instructor will be able to leave a text comment, a graphic comment (notes drawn directly on your painting), or an audio comment. At the bottom of the final lesson there will be a comments section where you can ask any questions about the course.
If you're on a plan without feedback, it all depends on your own personal pace as you work through the lessons.
On plans that include feedback, we actively work through the lessons over two months from the moment you unfreeze the course.
In general, I recommend taking the course at a relaxed pace. Enjoy the process as much as possible.
Yes, this course will be valuable for both beginners and those who already have some experience.
It's never too late to learn to paint. In our school, 30% of students are over 50. And they paint with joy, develop their skills and creative thinking — and feel younger in heart and mind!
