Colors of the West: An Artist's Guide to Nature's Palette Hands-on Demo by Molly Hashimoto

Molly's hand-on demonstration at Daniel Smith's Seattle store will include a step-by-step demonstration of a watercolor composition Molly created while onsite at Rialto Beach on the Olympic Peninsula.  Event is free and open to the public.  Please call Daniel Smith Art Supply Store to pre-register at  206-223-9599.

More about Molly's art instruction book Colors of the West:

Colors of the West explores wild places through the lens of watercolor “en plein air” painting, a French term meaning “in the open air.” Steeped in the natural world, award-winning artist Molly Hashimoto has sketched in the outdoors and worked as a plein air artist for more than 20 years. In that time she has filled more than 40 sketchbooks with landscapes, vignettes, studies of flora and fauna, and natural history notes – created while visiting some of the West’s most stunning landscapes.

This new book is organized by color, a unique approach to teaching both intermediate and budding artists how to really see color in the outdoor spaces around them, and then apply it to journals, other art projects, or simply beautiful memories. The average person can see 17,000 colors (!), so Molly explains the concept of palette – the range of colors that unites elements of geography, geology, and the different kinds of light created by atmosphere, season, and latitude. Molly’s own sketches and paintings of familiar Western landscapes help convey these colors, along with sidebars and insets on individual species (trees, birds, mammals, and other flora and fauna) and historical notes related to the park or site she has sketched. Tips and techniques for outdoor journaling and painting are included throughout.

From the green hues found on Cascade Head on the Oregon coast and in Yellowstone’s quaking aspens, to the reds that highlight the rocks in Arches National Park and the redwoods of California, readers and artists of all levels will learn a new appreciation for the colors of the West – and how the details of natural beauty can be revealed when we stop, observe, and pay attention to the outdoor world.

Molly Hashimoto’s paintings have been exhibited at a variety of galleries throughout the Northwest and at the Whatcom Museum of Art in Bellingham, Washington. Her work has a long association with outdoor and conservation organizations, and teaching has become an important part of her artistic journey. She has taught at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology on the Oregon coast, the North Cascades Institute in North Cascades National Park, and the Yellowstone Institute in Yellowstone National Park, among others. Molly lives in Seattle and can be found at www.mollyhashimoto.com