What the course is about

This course introduces you to the artist’s signature California Vibe Watercolor Portraiture style — a bold, emotional, and unconventional approach to watercolor portrait painting.

You will create seven portraits of remarkable women, each one beginning with an abstract Mess Around wash and gradually evolving into a finished portrait infused with the dynamic California Vibe aesthetic.

As a final project, you’ll paint an additional portrait — a self-portrait demonstrated by the artist — showing how this technique can be applied to your own likeness.

This course is an invitation to explore color freedom, expressive portraiture, and creating artwork that radiates energy, personality, and inspiration.

Who will find this course useful

This course is designed for artists who already have some experience with watercolor and are ready to take their work to the next level through a more expressive and unconventional approach to portraiture.

It is especially well suited for intermediate and advanced artists who want to expand their use of color, refine their artistic voice, and loosen their process.

If you’re looking to create portraits with more emotion, movement, and individuality, you’ll find this course both inspiring and transformative.

Course program

Lesson 1

Greetings

A warm introduction to the artist and an overview of the creative journey ahead.

Lesson 2

Materials

We’ll cover the essential materials for creating California Vibe portraits.

Lesson 3

Mess Around Technique

A closer look at the expressive Mess Around foundation technique.

Lesson 4

«Marlene Dietrich: Elegance and Strength in Watercolor»

Duration: 3 hours 10 minutes

Capturing Marlene Dietrich’s thoughtful upward gaze with expressive color and emotion.

You will learn to:

  • trace a portrait subject reference photo;
  • paint hair with simplified value shapes;
  • use liquid chalk markers for highlights and/or added color emphases.

Lesson 5

«Frida Kahlo: A Powerful Female Portrait»

Duration: 2 hours 45 minutes

Creating a vibrant California Vibe portrait inspired by Frida Kahlo.

You will learn to:

  • paint the “Mess Around” using the wet-on-wet technique;
  • bring out facial features using a light-to-dark “ghosting” technique;
  • capture the details in Frida’s hair without painting every single flower petal.

Lesson 6

«Queen Elizabeth: Royal Watercolor Portrait»

Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes

Bringing Queen Elizabeth to life with a dignified and luminous portrait.

You will learn to:

  • determine your painting composition before you start the tracing process;
  • “pre-ghost” the facial features before totally emerging them;
  • frame the outside of the subject by painting in the background first.

Lesson 7

«Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Watercolor Portrait»

Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes

Painting Marilyn Monroe’s iconic laughing portrait with vibrant energy and expressive charm.

You will learn to:

  • paint the “Mess Around” in two parts — one for the foreground and one for the background;
  • apply simple curving brushstrokes to capture Marilyn’s flowing hair curls;
  • simplify the teeth by painting them as unified shapes rather than individual ones.

Lesson 8

Sktchy by Museum: A Source of Artistic Inspiration

Exploring the Sketchy Museum app and other go-to sources for finding inspiring portrait references.

Lesson 9

«Audrey Hepburn: Grace and Simplicity in Watercolor»

Duration: 2 hours

Bringing to life the celebrated and timeless portrait of Audrey Hepburn in the California Vibe style.

You will learn to:

  • adjust reference photo before the tracing process to achieve the ideal balance of light and shadow;
  • add multiple colors to Audrey’s earring and necklace with both colored chalk markers and watercolor paint for a vibrant mixed-media finish.

Lesson 10

«Princess Diana: A Modern Icon in Portrait Painting»

Duration: 2 hours

Painting a radiant portrait of Lady Di with warmth and expression.

You will learn to:

  • guide the paint flow downward using a water spritzer;
  • capture Dianna’s hairstyle with a wave-like motion of the watercolor brush;
  • add warm hair highlights with white and yellow liquid chalk markers.

Lesson 11

«Jacqueline Kennedy: Fashion, Character & Color»

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Crafting a graceful, smiling profile portrait of Jackie Kennedy with elegant expression.

You will learn to:

  • start the Mess Around colors from a single point on the right side of the vertical paper;
  • create an interesting sideways flow of color with this Mess Around approach;
  • emphasize the subject’s smiling face through tight cropping of the hat, hair, and coat.

Lesson 12

«David Lobenberg: Painting a Self-Portrait in Watercolor»

Duration: 2 hours

Demonstrating how to paint a self-portrait as the artist creates his own.

You will learn to:

  • trace the hairs in a beard;
  • capture the impression of a beard;
  • add strong highlights to the beard and eyeglasses.

Lesson 13

Final

A lesson where the artist reflects on the journey and shares closing inspiration.

David

Lobenberg

Watercolor artist

  • I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember — since I first held a pencil as a young child.
  • Since 2000, I’ve been teaching drawing through private workshops and as an art professor at Sacramento City College.
  • Over the years, I’ve created hundreds of watercolor paintings — more than six hundred works to date.

Instructor's
Works

Instructor's
Works

Course materials

Paint:

Professional-grade tube watercolor paints, such as

  • Sennelier (I love their L’Aquarelle watercolor paint)
  • Daniel Smith (another favorite of mine)
  • Schmincke
  • Holbein
  • Winsor & Newton

Colors:

  • Opera
  • Alizarin Crimson (or a similar shade)
  • Cadmium Yellow (or a similar shade)
  • Turquoise Green (or a similar shade)
  • Phthalo Blue (green shade)

Brushes:

  • A #16 or #20 large round watercolor brush; I suggest a combination of natural and synthetic hair — don’t go too cheap.
  • A smaller #6 or #8 round watercolor brush
  • A half-inch watercolor flat brush
  • A semi-soft or soft graphite drawing pencil

Paper:

  • One 140 lb full sheet (22×30 inches) of cold-press Fabriano Artistico Extra White watercolor paper, or any other professional-grade watercolor paper (such as Arches).
  • Cut a full sheet into four 11×15-inch quarter sheets.

Palette:

  • A good-sized rectangular plastic palette with paint wells around the outside and a spacious mixing area inside.
  • The palette should measure about 10×16". Various manufacturers offer palettes with this size and configuration.

Additional materials:

  • One or two rolls of absorbent kitchen paper towels and a flat kitchen sponge to help absorb excess water from your brushes;
  • A set of eight or more liquid chalk marker pens with white and bright colors like pink, orange, and yellow; choose markers with rounded tips. There are different brands available — my favorite is Arteza. You may also want to purchase tube gouache;
  • A container that holds about one quart of water;
  • A small to medium water spritzer.

Prices

Standard
 
  • 13 lessons: theory + practice + interesting technique + tips from the artist
  • 7 vivid portraits of great women in the artist's signature style + 1 lesson on self-portraiture
  • Machine translated subtitles: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Chinese, Indonesian
  • Course Unfreeze
  • The opportunity to watch the analysis of other participants' artworks
  • Access to course materials without time limits
  • Review of your artworks and answers to questions in the comments for 60 days from the start of the course
  • Personal one-hour online consultation with a course expert
  • > +20 bonus dollars! Can be used when purchasing a course at the next marathon. Valid for 3 months
200 $
$ €
sign up for a course
Plus
 
  • 13 lessons: theory + practice + interesting technique + tips from the artist
  • 7 vivid portraits of great women in the artist's signature style + 1 lesson on self-portraiture
  • Machine translated subtitles: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Chinese, Indonesian
  • Course Unfreeze
  • The opportunity to watch the analysis of other participants' artworks
  • Access to course materials without time limits
  • Review of your artworks and answers to questions in the comments for 60 days from the start of the course
  • Personal one-hour online consultation with a course expert
  • > +20 bonus dollars! Can be used when purchasing a course at the next marathon. Valid for 3 months
250 $
$ €
sign up for a course
Premium
 
  • 13 lessons: theory + practice + interesting technique + tips from the artist
  • 7 vivid portraits of great women in the artist's signature style + 1 lesson on self-portraiture
  • Machine translated subtitles: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Polish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Chinese, Indonesian
  • Course Unfreeze
  • The opportunity to watch the analysis of other participants' artworks
  • Access to course materials without time limits
  • Review of your artworks and answers to questions in the comments for 60 days from the start of the course
  • Personal one-hour online consultation with a course expert
  • > +20 bonus dollars! Can be used when purchasing a course at the next marathon. Valid for 3 months
500 $
$ €
sign up for a course

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I can't draw at all. Should I take the course?

Of course you should! The course is designed so that it starts with simple paintings and then progresses to more complex ones, allowing you to smoothly integrate into the process and achieve high results!

The course will also be beneficial for experienced artists. You will further refine your technique and enhance your visual understanding.

At the end of the lesson, you will upload a photo of your work. The teacher will have the opportunity to leave textual, graphic (annotations on the drawing), as well as audio comments on your work.

At the bottom of each lesson, there will be a comment section where you can ask any questions related to the learning process.

If you have a plan without feedback, it will depend on your personal pace at which you complete the lessons.

With plans that include feedback, we actively conduct lessons for two months from the moment you "unfreeze" the course.

Overall, I recommend taking the course at a relaxed pace. Enjoy the process more!

It's never too late to learn to draw. In our school, 30% of students are over 50 years old. They enjoy drawing, developing their skills, creative thinking, and rejuvenating their spirit and mind!

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