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Tutoring for 30 years, Susan has hosted workshops in New Zealand, Australia, the USA and Europe. She has conducted very successful and much sought-after watercolour workshops in Australia in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. In each of those years she has held two x 3-day workshops in Maroochydore on Queensland’s beautiful and inviting Sunshine Coast. The workshops have attracted artists from near and far – Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada and China. Now that the Covid situation appears to be more settled and with a degree of normality returning, Susan is scheduled to conduct two more 3-day watercolour workshops in Oct 2023. The workshop Venue, Dates and Price for Susan’s 2023 Maroochydore Workshops are as follows:

Venue:

Maroochy Conference Room
The Sebel Hotel
20 Aerodrome Road
Maroochydore
Queensland 4558
AUSTRALIA
ph: +61 (0)7 5479 8000

Dates:

Workshop 1:    Pre-workshop get-together (optional) on evening of Thursday 5th October 2023
with 3-day workshop on Friday 6th October to Sunday 8th October, 2023.

Workshop 2:    Pre-workshop get-together (optional) on evening of Thursday 12th October 2023
with 3-day workshop on Friday 13th October to Sunday 15th October, 2023.

Price:

The price of the 2019 workshops was NZ$1,250 per person per workshop. Unfortunately, in the 4 years since then the costs of putting on the workshops have increased significantly. For instance, the venue (room) hire has increased nearly 100% and the morning and afternoon teas have increased over 45%. Nevertheless we want to keep the price to the participants in the workshops as reasonable as possible. Therefore we have decided on a price increase of just 16% (NZ$200), making the total price NZ$1,450.

Currently we have the workshop dates ‘pencilled in’ with the Sebel Hotel, but we will soon need to confirm the dates and pay a deposit . Therefore we need to know the numbers of artist participants in the workshops and are asking for those keen to attend to register for a place on either or both of the workshops.

To Register:

Please let us know, using the message box in the form below, that you wish to register to attend a watercolour workshop with Susan in Maroochydore in October. Also, please let us know if you wish to attend the 1st or 2nd workshop (or both) or if you are happy with either one.

To register, please fill in the form below. Just put in your Name, Email (please make sure your email address is 100% correct) and Country. Then, in the message box tell us which workshop(s) you wish to request.

We will then come back to you with availability and offer you the opportunity to secure your place with a deposit payment of NZ$250. ​

​If you have any questions about the 2023 workshops please feel free to ask them via the message box in the form below.

Susan has a waiting list for her workshops. Places are generally taken up quickly. Please don’t book your flights until you have confirmation that you have a secured spot on the workshop/s you are interested in.

If you are requiring international flights and would like to put a 3 day hold on a spot – please let us know. We would be happy to hold a spot for you for 3 days.

Workshop Information:

For full information about Susan, about the Workshop Contents and details about the Workshop Programme and Accommodation please scroll down below the video.  

Join Susan for a fun 3-day watercolour workshop, full of insights, breakthroughs and learning. Susan very much looks forward to sharing all she knows about watercolour painting with you! Exciting times ahead!! 

A wise teacher not only shares the solutions to problems – she opens your eyes to all the additional uses and potential of the knowledge she shares!

To Register for Susan’s October Watercolour Workshops please put your contact details in the appropriate boxes. Then, in the ‘Message’ box tell us which date(s) you would like to register for in the form below. Also, If you have any questions about the 2023 workshops please feel free to ask them via the ‘Message’ box.

I want to help you feel the exhilaration that comes from painting with confidence!

Details for Susan’s October 2023 Maroochydore Watercolour Workshops:

Susan’s workshops are for all skill levels. See Susan talk about her 2019 Watercolor Workshops in Maroochydore in the video below. What Susan says in the video is relevant to her 2023 Workshops too.

Scroll down below the video to find all the information about the 2023 workshops. 

Please note that a large number of artists have expressed interest in attending Susan’s workshops, so places will be reserved strictly in order of receipt of the NZ$250 deposit payment. Please do not make your flight or accommodation bookings until you have received notification that your workshop place has been confirmed by us.

Workshop Information:

Please scroll down this page for full information about Susan, the Workshops (including content and structure, dates, times and cost), the venue (Sebel Hotel), Accommodation and Workshop Reviews. PLUS – see some photos from her previous workshops.

About Susan:

Internationally acclaimed New Zealand artist Susan Harrison-Tustain is a highly experienced art workshop tutor and art instruction DVD/Video Download presenter (over 30,000 art instruction DVDs/Videos sold world-wide). Susan is also the author of a best-selling North American published art book (60,000 copies sold world-wide). She was a featured artist on Series 10 of the Australian TV show, now enjoyed world-wide – ‘Put Some Colour in Your Life’. Her work features in numerous international books and leading art magazines (including ‘International Artist’, ‘Australian Artist’ and ‘The Art of Watercolour’). She and her husband Richard also lead tailor-made one-off sight-seeing, painting, photography and wine appreciation tours in Europe.

Workshop Content:

During this immersive workshop, you’ll learn all of Susan’s most up to date breakthroughs, methods and techniques along with her invaluable hints and tips that have allowed her to create work that stands out from the crowd.

Susan says:

“An important part of the success of a painting is often determined before putting brush to paper. We can be the best artists in the world at wielding a brush – but without an understanding of composition and observation – our paintings may never reach their full potential.”

Therefore my focus begins with teaching a solid understanding of how to create paintings that connect with, and captivate the viewers of your work.

A new and hugely important area of my new workshops is sharing how to use the 5 Crucial Elements I believe have the greatest influence on the success of any painting.

The powerful impact that these elements have on our work raises the bar several notches higher than we ever thought possible.  

Please note that many of the lessons I will share can be applied to other mediums such as oil and acrylic too.

It would be a pleasure to help you create paintings that evoke contemplation, excitement, emotion, a feeling, mood and atmosphere.  

This quote perfectly encapsulates what it means to be able to evoke such emotions and the feeling of being present within the work:

” I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

This quote is often attributed to famous poet and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou but I now understand that it may not have been written by her. However that sentence saying “people will never forget how you made them feel” is true of those who create moving paintings.

My 2023 Sunshine Coast Workshops will help you to find your wings too. These are just some of the lessons we will cover:

• Five Crucial Elements for a successful painting
• How to observe our subjects through artist’s eyes
• How to analyse what we see
• Deliberation – what to add – what to leave out – what to exaggerate and what to diminish.
• How to create the most captivating compositions

We then focus on the essential ingredients of:

• My painting methods & techniques
• Colour mixing and colour trails that make painting so much quicker and easier
• Colour temperature: the power and impact of this knowledge is far-reaching
• Tonal value is the most powerful element of them all.
• Learning how to make watercolour paintings dance with glowing translucent jewel-like colour giving a three dimensional reality
• Layering translucent washes
• Brush handling
• Fine tuning: This is the ‘icing on the cake’ when refining our paintings at the last stage. This is when everything comes together.
• Knowledge of the elements make all of these things so much easier to understand, and success within easy grasp.

I feel Benjamin Disraeli could have been describing my teaching philosophy when he so eloquently penned these words:

” The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches,
but to reveal to him his own.”

I believe good teaching is about taking the artist to a window – throwing it wide and opening their eyes to a whole new awareness and a new world of possibilities through the understanding of the essential artists’ tools mentioned above.

 I would love to teach you how to create paintings that reach out of the frame and captivate the viewers of your work.

 Our paintings live on long after we have gone and it is this notion that inspires me to share knowledge so you too can feel the joy of achieving and the knowledge that your work will speak to the generations that follow.

Fully immerse yourself in painting for 3 days with a small group of like-minded artists. You will have so much fun as Susan shares all the things that have revolutionized her work and shaped her successful international career

Susan’s Workshop Details & Accommodation Info:

Maroochydore is an idyllic spot to teach and learn painting. It’s a holiday town – the perfect place for everyone to unwind in a lovely relaxed, friendly atmosphere as Susan shares her unique teaching style and all that she knows about painting and watercolour.

One afternoon, after class, Richard will offer bonus tuition for those keen to learn how to capture great photographs. Richard will share his knowledge of photography and teach you how to get the most from your digital camera and compose images that will inspire you to capture them in watercolour. Partners are welcome to join in this session too.

As usual the workshop places will be allocated on a ‘first in – first served‘ basis’.

Susan says:

“The success of a painting is often determined by the time we take before putting brush to paper. We can be the best artists in the world at wielding a brush – but without the knowledge of our medium, good composition, observation, analysis, deliberation, colour and colour temperature – our paintings will never reach their full potential.”

The First 3-day 2023 Workshop Dates are:

Pre-workshop get-together (optional) on evening of Thursday 5th October 2023.
with 3-day workshop on Friday 6th October to Sunday 8th October, 2023.

The Second 3-day 2023 Workshop Dates are:

Pre-workshop get-together (optional) on evening of Thursday 12th October 2023.
with 3-day workshop on Friday 13th October to Sunday 15th October, 2023.

Susan teaches lessons to everyone, while they are seated around her desk, with a video monitor to show a close-up view of her working on her painting. Once artists return to their own paintings Susan will circulate around the room, spending one-on-one time with each artist to move each forward at their own pace and skill level.

Susan’s workshops are for artists of all skill levels, however having studied Susan’s DVDs/Video Downloads or attended a previous workshop will be an advantage. 

Times:

Susan will teach each day from 9am to 4pm, with a break for morning tea, an hour for lunch, and afternoon tea at 4pm. Nevertheless, Susan will often continue teaching after 4pm. There is the option for artists to continue painting in the evening if they wish to practise the day’s lessons further.

Price:

The cost of three days tuition is NZ$1,450.

The price includes tasty morning and afternoon teas during the workshops. Lunch and accommodation are not included. Susan guarantees to limit the number of artists on each workshop to a maximum of 15.

To reserve a workshop place a non-refundable (NZ$250 for 2023) deposit is required. Please use the form near the top of this page to request a place on Susan’s workshop(s). As soon as we receive your request we will send you a Paypal payment request for the deposit. Payment can be made via Paypal with either your Paypal balance or with your credit card. Spaces are reserved in the order that deposits are received.
The balance payment of NZ$1,200 is to be paid any time before (and including) Friday 4th August 2023.

Covid Guidelines:

We are staying up to date with Covid guidelines and recommendations. At this time masks are not required, but students are welcome to wear one if they choose. Susan will wear a mask during her teaching.

Cancellation Policy:

As you can imagine, we feel saddened if a personal emergency, or other circumstances, force an artist to withdraw from a workshop they have booked. We wish to be fair and reasonable to fellow artists. Therefore, if an artist withdraws from a workshop once the balance payment has been made we will refund that balance payment (NZ$1,200) in full if we are able to find a replacement person for that space. Obviously, the more time we have to secure a replacement, the more likely we are to find one. In the highly unlikely event that we, ourselves, had to cancel the workshops for any reason we would refund the full amount that any person had paid for the workshop itself.

The Venue:

Maroochy Conference Room
The Sebel Hotel Maroochydore
20 Aerodrome Road
Maroochydore
Queensland 4558
AUSTRALIA
ph: +61 (0)7 5479 8000

For 2023 the four star Sebel Hotel has kindly provided an ‘Artists’ Rate’ for a two bedroom apartment accommodation. This price is reduced by 10% from the usual cost of this beautiful hotel.

The hotel said to us “For any workshop attendees we would be happy to extend 10% off the best available rate for a 3 night stay.” There is some variability with the room rates, depending on dates and availability. Therefore we suggest you check the price for the number of nights and the type of accommodation you wish to book, by going to the Sebel Maroochydore website here:

https://www.thesebel.com/queensland/the-sebel-maroochydore/

then phone the hotel (07 5479 8000) and make your booking in person, asking for the 10% discount off the price you have seen, for those attending Susan’s Workshop(s).

These are excellent twin share apartments as they have two bathrooms and two bedrooms which makes them very economical per person for twin share.
Relax on a large private balcony with views of the sparkling pool & town. Apartments are fully self-contained, 2 bed/2bathroom, gourmet kitchen, over-sized living area, LCD TV, CD/DVD, broadband (for extra cost), laundry, ensuite spa bath & private entry courtyard. Queen bed and two single beds.

If you wish to find accommodation elsewhere, there is a great variety on offer in Maroochydore for you to choose from. Airbnb, in particular, has a good range and selection. 

Click HERE for more information on the Sebel Hotel Maroochydore:

When booking accommodation with the Sebel Hotel please tell them you are attending Susan’s workshop and you would like the special pricing shown above. 

To Register for a Workshop Place:

After reading the detailed information on this page, if you wish to apply for a place on Susan’s  2023 Sunshine Coast workshop series, simply complete the form above. We will come back to you with availability and offer you the opportunity to secure your place with a deposit payment of NZ$250. Just put in your Name, Email (please make sure your email address is 100% correct) and Country. Then in the message box tell us which workshop(s) you wish to request. Please don’t delay if you wish to secure a place. 

To enable you to pay the workshop deposit we will send you a Paypal payment request. You can then make payment either with your Paypal funds or by credit card – easy! Once payment is made we will send you a confirmation of your workshop place.

Testimonials from Artists Who Have Attended Susan’s Previous Sunshine Coast Watercolour Workshops: