Don Getz to Journal Around the US!

Don gets to do this! Don gets to do that! Don gets to do everything! I don’t get to do anything Don gets to do! Ok, Ok, I do seem to sound a little envious of Don! And you would be right! What a wonderful trip he as planned; to leave everything familiar behind and hit the road for a full year painting in cities from coast to coast.

I’m talking about Don Getz, of course. Don is a well known veteran watercolor artist who has been journaling around the U.S. for years, usually one workshop date at a time. This trip he plans to drive around America conducting workshops at various locations throughout 2012-2013. Who knows, he could possibly stop in your own back yard!

Don is leaving his home state of Ohio and all that is familiar to visit as many places in a year as he can. With a string of Signature letters behind his name like AWS, WPA, OWS, MWS, and KA, what is to be gained at one of these traveling workshop stops is a whole lot of experience and tons of great information for all of the participants! Spaces are limited to 15 per workshop. So if you are lucky enough to be local to one of Don’s workshops, I would not hesitate to sign up early!

Don Getz has been teaching watercolor workshops since 1967. He worked in commercial art for years before turning to a career of fine art in the mid-70s. He has won countless awards throughout his career and has been a driving force for many watercolor societies across the nation including the Ohio WC Society as well as the American WC Society. He holds a life membership with AWS and still serves the society as 4^th V.P. Don has also written a book entitled “Drawing For All It’s Worth” which is still available for purchase. Just the boost you need to get started Journaling every day! Don also has several DVDs available at Cheap Joe’s, focusing on travel journaling as well as applying watercolors to a gessoed surface.

Journaling is a great way to record your history. In days past, a family’s history was passed from one generation to the next by storytelling around the campfire after dinner. In rare cases, talented artists would also paint domestic scenes and portraits to capture a family’s life at its various stages.  The large family Bible was also used to record weddings, births, and deaths as it was handed down through the years from one family to the next.  As times have changed, so has the way we preserve our past.  With all of our fast-paced computers and instant technology, who has time for dinner around a campfire? With texting and emails, one wonders where all of this communication will take us? How will our history be conveyed to our ancestors in the future?

For now, thank goodness, many of us (artists) still have the desire to use our talents to preserve events in living color. Journaling can be as simple as writing and sketching about a family event like a birth or wedding; citing special dates and drawing items or scenes of the event. You can keep the necessary art stuff with you at all times. All you need to journal is a sketchbook, basic watercolor palette, a water brush or travel brush, and a waterproof Identi-pen. This modest art studio can be stored in a small case and kept in a backpack or purse ready to use whenever the opportunity arises. Watercolor journaling is also a great way to bring back memories of a trip to faraway places. Traveling abroad or even in your own backyard provides great inspiration for even the novice of artists. Journaling on location is a great way to relieve everyday stress. Allowing you to relax and enjoy your surroundings while setting down your thoughts and views for later recollection. This simple exercise helps you to grow and evolve as an artist and keeps your drawing skills fresh and exciting. These basic sketches can ultimately lead to bigger and more detailed paintings to be created back in the studio.

Don explains, in his 2-3 day workshops, the way to get the most information down on your paper in the least amount of time. Timing is Key; quick sketches, splashes of color, just enough drawing to record the scene and convey the story. These small groups will meet at the central location each day and then venture out to plein air around the area.

The driving tour hits the road in September 2012, from Ohio to the Adirondack Mountains, on to Coastal Maine with stops along the Atlantic Seaboard. Don continues with sessions in Florida, January through mid- March; then Westbound to New Orleans, Texas, and the Southwest States.  Arriving in California in June 2013, Don will enjoy the sunny SoCal weather, just perfect for journaling outside! Then he will continue the trip up the West Coast to Whidbey Island, WA, followed by sessions across the Northern States, arriving back in Ohio, early September 2013. Over 13,000 miles, and more than thirty consecutive workshops across the nation; meeting new artist friends and reuniting with many old ones as well!  What a great adventure awaits Don as he makes his lifelong dream come true!

Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff has signed on with Don to be his “Official Art Stuff Sponsor” for his 2012-2013 U.S. Journaling Tour. It is our honor to provide high-quality materials for Don to use for all of his workshops. Don will be using exclusive Cheap Joe’s products like the Kilimanjaro Paintbook, American Journey watercolor paints, American Journey Travel Brushes, and other assorted Art Stuff.  Cheap Joe’s will also send special Goodys to each student that joins Don along the way.

For a complete schedule of where you will find Don at any time during the year, or if you would like to inquire about hosting a workshop, check out his website at www.watercolor-online.com/DonGetz or email him directly at [email protected]. We will be posting his updates along the way to keep you informed as to where “Don Getz to Journal” next!

So as “Don Getz Going” on his big adventure around these great states, we can either watch from the sidelines or plan to join him along the way! Cheap Joe’s will be seeing Don when he passes through North Carolina in the Spring of 2013. He will be visiting the Kanuga Watermedia Workshops in Hendersonville, N.C. -April 7-12. I hear that the workshop is already filled! Well, there will be other locations! I hope you Get to experience this once in a lifetime chance to study with one of the art world’s treasures! I’m sure Don Getz will be glad to see you. By golly, I bet he will!

Brushes Up! Everyone!
Splash your paints and keep your brushes wet!
And Have a Happy Journaling Day, By Golly!