About Shari Blaukopf
"I was fortunate to spend some summers in Maine studying with Edgar A. Whitney, and I don't think I could talk about painting in watercolour without giving a nod to this great master. The elements and principles of design that he taught — in his entertaining and often emphatic way — come back to me every time I compose a painting or a sketch. That's the mark of a truly remarkable teacher, and a model that I try to emulate when I give my own workshops.
When the brush is really wet, when the washes are flowing, when pigment is mixing on paper in ways that surprise me — that's a happy day. Because every time I put a brush to paper, I learn something new. That’s what keeps me painting. Whether it's in my Montreal neighbourhood or in my travels, it's always a good day when I have an opportunity to paint."
Shari Blaukopf, a Montreal-based painter, teacher, author and art blogger, is best known for her urban scenes in watercolour. She has a BFA from Concordia University with a specialization in graphic design, but her true love has always been watercolour painting. Her paintings are in corporate, government and private collections in Canada, the United States and abroad, and her work has been showcased in many books on urban sketching. She travels widely to paint and to share her distinctive approach in sold-out workshops devoted to sketching and painting en plein air.
Shari is a correspondent for UrbanSketchers.org, co-founder of Urban Sketchers Montreal, and signature member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour. Her sketches have been featured in dozens of books on urban sketching. Her book, The Urban Sketching Handbook: Working with Color, was published in 2019 by Quarry Books. She has given many watercolour workshops both on her own and through the Urban Sketchers Workshop Program in North America, Europe and Asia.