WATERCOLOR & MIXED MEDIA ABSTRACT ART

with DEBORAH BABIN

LIVE ONLINE LESSON: Friday, September 26, 2025

9am-11am PDT / 6pm-8pm CEST (Italy)

+ 60 days access to the lesson replay

✔️ Would you love to explore an intuitive process for creating watercolor + mixed media abstracts that feel uniquely your own?

✔️ Are you curious how slowing down with watercolor can open up surprising moments of magic in your creative process?

✔️ Do you feel excited to experiment with mixed media techniques and transform playful explorations into mini artworks you’ll be proud to hang on the wall?

If yes, then this Sketchbook Get-Together is for you!

In this lesson, we’ll embrace a “slow the flow” approach to watercolor, blending vibrant washes with personal mark-making in mixed media. Through patience, observation, and letting go of control, you’ll discover how non traditional watercolor techniques can lay a beautiful foundation for expressive abstract artwork—guided by your own intuition, preferences, and style.

We’ll begin by painting a 9x12" sheet of mixed media paper, then divide it into 4x4” areas to develop into mini abstract compositions. By layering in textures and marks with other media, you’ll learn how to transform playful experiments into dynamic finished pieces that feel alive and one-of-a-kind.

Along the way, Deborah will share techniques, tips, and insights to help you realize new possibilities through observation and keep your creative process flowing with ease and curiosity. She’ll also introduce approachable, creative options for presenting and displaying your artworks, from mounted mini abstracts to poetic concertina art books.

This lesson is open to all levels—whether you’re new to watercolor and mixed media or already love experimenting with these materials. By the end, you’ll have both the tools to keep exploring this approach and a set of personal abstracts to remind you of the beauty that comes from slowing down and going with the flow.

✨ As a special BONUS, you’ll also get access to a pre-recorded Warm-Up mini-lesson so you can start playing with some of the materials and techniques before the live!

Ready to slow down, play, and watch your abstracts unfold?

( Pay what you choose 🤍 )

CLICK HERE TO JOIN US!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED FOR THE LESSON

After registering you’ll receive a detailed list of suggested materials. Here are the general recommendations for the lesson:

Mixed media paper or sketchbook
Watercolor paints
White & black paint pens
Permanent black marker
Paint palette/Paint tray with wells
Paint brush
Favorite mixed media (acrylic ink, water soluble crayons, colored pencils, oil pastels, collage papers, etc.)
Artists tape
Firm support surface/board
Ruler
Graphite pencil
Eraser
Scissors
Paper towels/old cloth
Scrap paper
Small spray bottle
Water container

WHAT IS A SKETCHBOOK GET-TOGETHER?

✏️ It is a deep-dive art lesson so you can explore creative skills and approaches taught LIVE by one of our very own community members (replay will be available for 60 days if you cannot attend the live)

🎨 It is a special time to gather with other members of the community and receive fresh creative inspiration while practicing our creativity in a welcoming learning environment accessible to everyone.

📙 It is an opportunity to support Artist-Teachers from the community + the Sketchbook Revival vision through a pay-what-you-choose offering to help sustain the work that goes into creating these deeper creative connections, while ensuring accessibility to everyone.

We’d love love for you to join our next Sketchbook Get-Together to keep on exploring our creativity together!

( Pay what you choose 🤍 )

CLICK HERE TO JOIN US!

MEET YOUR SKETCHBOOK GET-TOGETHER INSTRUCTOR:

Deborah Babin

Deborah Babin is a painter whose work reflects both a lifetime of dedication to the arts and an ever-curious spirit of exploration. She began her creative journey in the 1980s, studying fine art while raising a young family, and went on to gain national and international recognition for her innovative textile art—layered, dimensional abstractions that pushed the boundaries of fiber as a medium.

A transformative visit to the Van Gogh Museum in 2015 inspired a bold new chapter: she transitioned from textiles to painting, where she now pours her passion into acrylics, watercolor, and mixed media. Intentional yet adventurous, she describes her art-making as an immersion—planning for discovery, welcoming challenges, and often losing herself so fully in the process that the work seems to evolve on its own.

Her sketchbooks are a constant companion, serving as a playground for experimentation and the springboard for her current practice of layering watercolor with expressive mixed media marks. Known for fusing patience with play, structure with freedom, she creates art that feels alive—inviting viewers to slow down, observe, and connect. Today, painting daily brings her joy, fulfillment, and a sense of endless possibility.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN US!

( Pay what you choose 🤍 )