Course Description

Victoria Leo and Rick Baird are the dynamic duo who provide you with rigorously-accurate - and FUN - explorations in a wide range of subjects that they have accredited academic degrees in, or the equivalent. You will find classes in sciences like anthropology, biology and astronomy, and classes from finding life in outer space to deeply understanding your human body, mind, heart and soul. Neandertals, Denisovans and human evolution. Dog and cat and chicken domestication. Meditation and mindfulness. Comprehensive introductions to 101 forms of creativity. Marriage, family, kinship, religion, power and economics, from cultures all around the world. Writing and creating fiction that comes alive. Forest and Sky Bathing, and other mental health tools. Rick has degrees from Caltech and MIT in chemistry and chem engineering, and is an avid amateur astronomer and astrophotographer. Victoria has grad degrees in anthro, bio and psychology and is certified in multiple tools and techniques. You can visit them at www.soaringdragon.biz. Victoria is the author of multiple books in health and creativity. She is currently busily creating books in her science fiction universe. Visit her Amazon author page or email [email protected]. [Make sure it's .biz. .com is a Chinese restaurant. Victoria can't cook.]

Victoria C. Leo & Rick Baird

Welcome to Creativity, Anthropology, Astronomy & More - ONLINE!

Course curriculum

  • 01

    Introduction to the Class: Important Information

    • This Class in REALLY FUN.... just not on page 1

    • Introducing Your Instructors [Update: 8 SF novels and counting...]

    • What if you're 'Not Creative'?

    • This Isn't an Art Class. What is it?

    • A frank discussion of the cost of experiencing nature thru paint and colored pencils

    • My Current Journey With Exploring Landscapes and Animal Life (Rick) [Solar System landscapes in the background.]

    • Is it 'Craft' or is it 'Art'?

    • My Current Journey With Nature, Paint and Colored Pencil (Victoria)
  • 02

    Module 2: Intro to Nature in Paint and Pencil

    • What is 'Nature'?

    • What Aspects of Nature do You Love the Most?

    • Nature Generates Emotion

    • Painting Nature Doesn't Require Drafting (drawing)! Woo-hoo!

    • Indicating. Gestural Painting. The Importance of Play in Nature Study

    • HOW do I paint without drawing?

    • Transferring Images: 4 options (at least)

    • Tracing Nature (Kakapo Demo, ends a bit abruptly)

    • Exploring the Images All Around You: 4 Fun Sources in Addition to Coloring Books and Online Images (with examples)

    • Sources of Images for your Nature Exploration: Examples

    • Guinea Pigs: Exploring Animal Life [Simple shapes, simple tracing, an early fun effort]

    • More Birds [gestural shapes, tracing - early experiments equivalent to what you are doing now]

    • For Pet Lovers (text explaining the following video)

    • Cats video

    • Kinds of Papers for all your explorations!

    • Cards and Postcards - Send an animal or a scene

    • Start a Nature Journal!
  • 03

    Module 3: Getting Acquainted With Watercolor

    • What is so marvelous about watercolor?

    • Watercolor With Me series: A wonderful step by step tutorial with nature subjects in forest, ocean and other venues! [Text version follows so you can copy titles/authors]

    • Wet on Dry and Wet on Wet

    • Watercolor Materials and a Look at Wet on Wet and Wet on Dry

    • Text-Based Book Recommendations... with examples

    • Watercolor Flowers

    • Holiday in Watercolor!

    • Some Watercolor Adventures to Learn From

    • Nature with multiple colors that you don't want to blend: making watercolor work! Step-by-step

    • Choosing when to render a nature scene in watercolor....

    • Colors and Washes

    • A Watercolor to Admire ... and maybe learn from (downloadable)

    • Advanced Ideas and Inspiration for Watercolor Nature (downloadable) Some work for Acrylic too!
  • 04

    Module 4: Getting Acquainted With Acrylic Paint - How it feels, how it works, not creating anything specific yet

    • Why is acrylic paint such a favorite with nature-lovers?

    • Start With Inexpensive Craft Paint: Close UP

    • Using a Palette to Mix Unique Colors, Part 1

    • Using a Palette to Mix Unique Colors, Part 2

    • What substrate can you paint acrylic on?

    • Stylized vs. Realistic Shapes as you are Learning

    • Acrylic's Immense Flexibility When You Change Your Mind or End Up Somewhere You'd Rather Not Be

    • Acrylic Paint Pens: Detail work or broad strokes

    • Acrylic: sometimes feels like watercolor, sometimes completely different

    • The Importance of Underpainting for Acrylic.

  • 05

    Module 5: Moving From One Element To a Scene, in Any Medium. Painting Symbols of Nature.

    • Taking the next step! Creating a scene

    • Elements of Composing a Scene - in any medium!

    • Painting Nature as Symbol of a Human Concept (in any Medium)

    • 'What Subject Do I Choose?' when Nature is All Around you!
  • 06

    Module 6: Acrylic Nature Scenes

    • What happens if you don't underpaint in a scene (cover the canvas with paint): Mistakes in Cat Candids shown in the next video

    • Painting from Photographs (in any Medium): Rick's Pet portraits in Acrylic

    • Allowing Nature Images to Emerge, From Unplanned Exploration [Your deep mind brings you memories of animals, ocean storms, etc.] - in any Medium

    • Paint Along With Us! A magnificent forest

    • Nature - in Nature! 3 dimensional options (acrylic)

    • You really CAN use acrylic nature images on any substrate!

    • Exploring Mountains: Snowy, Rocky, Plants

    • Mountain lovers! Translating what you see into what you do on your substrate

    • A Dramatic Forest

    • A sea turtle

    • Swamps - zeroing in on details

    • Images of Nature in Motion

    • Oceans: Moods Conveyed by the Angle of a Wave

    • When the SKY is the focal point

    • Creating Landscapes on an AIRLESS world: what changes?

    • Nature in 3 Dimensions

    • Animals on Small, Flat Rocks. Sky-Human on a canvas whose original scene was recovered with black to depict a Night Sky

    • Nature at Night

    • Using Acrylic to Create a Moonlit Pond Scene
  • 07

    Module 7: Nature in Simple Colored Pencils

    • Why do we love colored pencils?

    • The Colored Pencil Road for Nature Enjoyment

    • What do I need to have to create nature-beauty with colored pencils?

    • Basics of Creating Nature Elements With Colored Pencil

    • Colored Pencils Used to Quick-Capture a Nature Scene: Maksen and M'har

    • Several Free Lessons in Colored Pencil art from an excellent teacher and professional artist (highly recommended that you do the work)

    • Blending in Layers and Burnishing: Making Your Colored Pencil Nature Come Alive (After you have some practice in the basics)

    • How Can I Paint or Color-Pencil When I Am Traveling or Otherwise 'on site'?

    • Do you need to underpaint with colored pencils?

    • Rob, Maksen and the Kids Play Ponies: A complex scene rendered in colored pencil

    • Entice Yourself to Practice by Seeing the Best of What Colored Pencil Nature Art Can Do!
  • 08

    Module 8: What Next? More Techniques! More Classes! More Zooms?

    • Advanced Materials Options

    • Updating the Advanced Materials/Classes video

    • Explore Watercolor Pencils with a Local Artist!

    • Come Alive with Creativity - for the Rest of Your Life!

    • Staying in touch

    • Mixed Media!

    • An Amazing Tree - 7 trunks!

    • IF you want to learn to Draw