Path Finder

Exploration, Observation, and Watercolor in the Sketchbook

A 4-Hour Online Masterclass with Dan Marshall

Discover the power of the sketchbook as your essential tool for exploration, discovery, and artistic growth.

Path Finder is an immersive, hands-on masterclass that will change the way you use (and think about) your sketchbook.
Whether you’re in the field, at a café, traveling, or working from reference, the sketchbook becomes your compass—your guide for seeing clearly, simplifying boldly, and building stronger paintings.

This masterclass blends concept, technique, demonstration, and guided practice, showing you how to bring watercolor to life on the page while sharpening your ability to paint anything.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

By the end of this masterclass, you’ll understand how to use your sketchbook as a powerful artistic engine—one that refines your skill, vision, and personal voice.

You will learn how to:

Use a sketchbook as a laboratory for ideas, not a portfolio
Build strong sketches using shape, gesture, and tonal clarity
Observe and interpret scenes rather than simply copying them
Create quick studies that support confident watercolor painting
Strengthen your Visual Language through small, intentional sketches
Develop compositions using thumbnails and tonal maps
Capture atmosphere and story through expressive mark-making
Generate ideas for future paintings through exploratory sketchbook pages
Build a sustainable sketchbook practice that fuels long-term growth

WHAT’S INCLUDED

5+ hours of instruction with Dan Marshall

A focused, fast-paced workshop blending lecture, demonstration, and guided exercises.

Multiple live demonstrations

See Dan’s sketchbook process unfold—from tonal block-ins to watercolor mini-paintings and idea-building pages.

Guided sketchbook exercises

You’ll create gesture studies, tonal maps, and watercolor explorations designed to improve clarity, confidence, and vision.

Evergreen HD Replay access

Rewatch as many times as you want and build your own sketchbook routine at your pace.

MASTERCLASS OVERVIEW

The session is structured into four dynamic segments:

1. The Sketchbook Mindset

Why the sketchbook matters, how it builds better painters, and how it becomes your field guide for exploration.

2. Drawing for Painting

Shape, gesture, and tonal thinking—practical tools to help you paint anything with confidence.

3. Watercolor in the Sketchbook

Small studies, expressive mark-making, quick tonal demos, and watercolor mini-paintings that emphasize design and clarity.

4. From Pages to Paintings

Using your sketches to generate ideas, develop compositions, and begin larger works with intent and direction.

WHO THIS CLASS IS FOR

This masterclass is perfect for:

Watercolorists wanting a stronger sketchbook practice
Artists looking to improve observation and interpretive seeing
Anyone seeking a more adventurous, intentional approach to study
Painters who want to strengthen fundamentals: tone, shapes, edges, design
Students who want to understand Dan’s Visual Language approach through sketching

No matter your level, Path Finder will help you build the skills and thinking that lead to stronger, more expressive artwork.

JOIN THE ADVENTURE

Your sketchbook is more than a collection of pages.
It’s a compass.
A guide.
A map of your curiosity, your questions, your discoveries.

Let’s explore the world—and watercolor—together, one page at a time.

Once purchased, access to the Masterclass will be found through the Members Area

follow the instructions below to access