What If Workshop with Mary Alice Braukman

“What If” Workshop with Mary Alice Braukman

Sponsored by

The Arts Council of Carteret County

Hosted at St. Francis by the Sea, 920 Salter Path Road, Salter Path, NC

June 8, 9, 10 and 11 from 9 to 11:30 and 1:00 to 3:30

Cost:  $425.00

Maximum of 10 participants per class

Registration cut off is May 18th, 2026

This class is open to anyone wanting to explore mixed media, layering, collage, transfers and unearthing techniques.

If you are stuck, this workshop will open up a freedom and a new direction in your work.  You will be encouraged to find your own personal path.  When you see that blank paper, canvas or board and you ask yourself “where do I begin?”, you will start to see design and color all around you in the most unexpected places.  You will have a new starting point!

The goal is to make your own intuitive designs “SING” with energy.

Ask yourself “What If” and begin exploring those ideas.  Discover freedom and a new direction.

Workshop “What If” supply list:

Brushes:

I like using flat brushes: 1”, 2”, 3”

Bring brushes you like to use, inexpensive ones for glueing and sponge brushes.

Colors:

Prefer Golden fluid acrylics and their heavy body ones, but I do use some Liquitex. Golden’s colors are best.

Nichol Azo Gold or Quinacridone Orange or both

Quinacridone Magenta, or Red, Phthalo Turquoise

Black (gesso or paint)White (gesso or paint)

Note:

(These are three transparent colors that I will show how you can make all your colors and never have mud. BUT - Bring any you like using. - If you paint a color over a black line the opaques will cover it but if transparent you will see black line.)

Painting material:

(Two) Birchwood cradles 16” x 16” or Panels 16” x 16”

Can use canvas if you prefer. I’m rough on them and I like the wooden panels or cradles.

Many of these items you can find at Walmart, $ Store and Lowes

1. Freezer Paper (grocery store) or palette paper - prefer you not use paper or plastic plates

2. Scissors or X-acto or single edge razor blade

3. Colored pencils - I like Stabilo pencils and crayons oil pastels and charcoal

4. Black India ink (small container)

5. Fluid Matt Medium

6. Polymer Medium or gel medium

7. Newspapers

8 A magazine (Architectural Digest, Better Homes and Gardens, etc.)

9. Rags to use for buffing and cleaning your brush, baby wipes

10. Paper towels

11. Scrapers (paint scrapers, old credit cards, room keys, or anything you use to scrape paint.) I will have some that I use and they are $10.00 ea.

12. Sketchbook, one with paper that will take paint. I like the spiral ones so they will lay flat.

13. Sand Paper (fine and medium)

14. If you have a brayer, bring it.

15. Masking tape - the blue 1” or 2”

16. Good Flat brushes ( at least 1” wide and one that is 3” in width,) sponge brushes, cheap $1 brushes from Lowes etc. I cut some of the bristles. I like using the assorted sizes of these paint brushes. I buy mine at Lowes in the paint department in a package.

Most important material:

COME WITH AN OPEN MIND. READY TO EXPLORE AND OPEN NEW DIRECTIONS IN YOUR WORK. . . WHAT IF?

GO WITH IT!

Any questions feel free to call or text or email me.

Mary Alice Braukman - 727/418-3041 braukman@me.com

Mary Alice Braukman

Braukman is a native Floridian who now makes her home in Pisgah Forest, North Carolina.

She is a member and past president of the Florida Watercolor Society and holds signature status in the National Watercolor Society. Mary Alice has a bachelor’s degree in Art Education and Fine Arts from Florida State University. She continued graduate studies at the University of Colorado and Eckerd College in the Tampa Bay area.

She was the director of the Kanuga Water-media Workshops for 15 years. Mary Alice was invited to be guest editor of American Artist Magazine’s special issue on experimental approaches to water-media and watercolor in 2001. In 2022, she was one of three selected jurors of the National Watercolor Society International Open Exhibition and served in selecting those receiving their NWS signature status.

As a painter, Mary Alice’s primary focus is on layering texture and color. Her life experiences and everyday visions get filtered through her artistic eye and transformed into an abstract body of work. Her experiences come forth in a myriad of techniques—a pour of transparent colors or by layers of collage and brush strokes unearthing the colors beneath and bringing color and texture into her paintings. She believes a painter must paint the way he or she feels—they must paint in spite of themselves, not the way they think they should paint. There is no one method that will guarantee success or acceptance in a show; it is not that simple. The painter paints because it is who they are—it is their art.