Traute's Watercolor Workshop


Northern Lights

In February 2005, Traute Klein taught a watercolor class for the ladies of the North End Women's Centre in Winnipeg. The objective of the workshops was to give women the confidence that they are all able to produce art worth displaying, because we are all born creative. To best demonstrate that point, Traute chose what most people consider the hardest medium as well as the hardest subject, northern lights in watercolor.

All pictures are done on Winsor & Newton 140 lb. WC paper with Grumbacher indigo, lemon yellow, and various thalo colors. All except one are 11x14 in size. All photos were compressed in PhotoShop and therefore do not lend themselves to being enlarged or printed out. Every stroke on the pictures was done by the students. Traute does not give tangible help, only encouragement.

Most of the ladies in the workshop had never tried watercolor, in fact, most of them had never painted anything at all. Only one of them had ever had a picture framed. All of the 15 ladies in the workshop went home with at least one framed picture which they will be able to hang on their wall proudly. Before starting the paintings, we looked at photographs of northern lights taken in the north where the colors are more vibrant than in Southern Manitoba. All photos were taken with the students' permission, otherwise there would be more.

Eleanor . Eleanor . Eleanor

Corinne . Corinne . I. Johns

Laura . Janice . Ana

Vanessa . Vanessa . Sandie

Sandie . Ci . Name?


Photos © Traute Klein and the ladies of the North End Women's Centre in Winnipeg
Email me at trauteklein@yahoo.ca.