Surrender & Control – A five-week journey into watercolour and ink
A five-week journey into watercolour and ink – where technique meets philosophy and imperfection becomes power.
What This Is
This isn’t about painting landscapes or following tutorials. This is about learning to dance between intention and accident – a skill that extends far beyond the canvas.
We study how the greatest painters – Helen Frankenthaler, Cy Twombly, Hilma af Klint – discovered that “relinquishing total control” is precisely where magic happens. Over five weeks, you’ll master watercoloor and ink technique, but the real work is learning when to push, when to let go, and how to build something beautiful from both.
You’ll emerge with a cohesive range of work, genuine technical skill and – more importantly – a relationship with your materials that feels intuitive, fearless and entirely your own.
The Five Weeks
Week 1
Foundation: Water as Material
We begin with the basics – but there’s nothing basic about understanding water. Wet-on-wet, glazing, dilution, flow. You’ll paint abstractly, learning how pigment behaves before you try to represent anything. This is where surrender begins.
Week 2
Control: Precision and Structure
Now we sharpen your control. Layering, dry-brush techniques, composition, colour theory. You’ll learn how to guide your work toward intention. Negative space. Form. The architecture underneath beautiful accidents.
Week 3
Ink: the Language of Line
We shift to ink – a different medium entirely. Immediacy. No undo. Pen, brush, spreading, pooling. Ink teaches you about commitment and gesture. We explore how line can be as expressive as colour, and how constraint breeds creativity.
Week 4
Integration: Watercolour Meets Ink
The plot twist. We combine both – layering ink over watercolour, watercolour over ink. The rules change. You’ll discover unexpected conversations between the materials and how limitation forces innovation.
Week 5
Your Voice: Your works and Synthesis
You finish a cohesive series exploring one personal obsession – a body of work that is entirely, unmistakably yours. We’ll refine, reflect, and celebrate what you’ve discovered about your own creative language.
Spaces are limited, so be sure to reserve your spot! For bookings and inquiries, contact me today!
This workshop takes place on Monday nights or Tuesday mornings from 13th April – 12th May, from 19.00 – 21.00 or from 10.00 – 12.00. The course fee is 500 Euro incl. all materials & VAT and is payable on subscription. Please note that the price is higher for this workshop than normal because we need to be using heavier and more expansive paper than in the usual classes. In order to book the workshop please send an e-mail to sonja(@)sonjasoyer.com or use the contact form at the bottom of the booking page.
Please understand, that refunding of payments is not possible later then 2 weeks before the class starts and that partial refunding is also not possible.
