Barbara Benda

Solitary Sandpiper by Barbara Benda©2025

5 Day Beginning Drawing and Watercolor Workshop

This workshop includes sketching techniques, understanding the color wheel, how to use lights and darks to create contrast, and learning about composition to create successful watercolor paintings. All exercises start at the beginning and proceed step-by-step.

Date: January 12-16^th, 2026

Time: 9:00 am to 3:30 pm Monday through Friday with lunch on your own

Location: Vista Center for Education Room #120, 2777 34th St. S Moorhead, MN 56560

Participant Profile: for all levels of learner, ages 15 and up.

Registration and payment is taken through Moorhead Community Education  or by phone at 218-284-3400.

Cost: $425 plus professional-grade supplies.  (Moorhead residents $399.) Download the Supply List . Limited ready-made supply kits are available for $225 by contacting instructor. It is important to order supplies in advance of the workshop to ensure you receive them in time. I recommend ordering supplies through Jerry’s Artarama online. Please contact me with any questions.

Download a flyer here

Class is limited to 15 students. Minimum number of students is 8.

It’s not too soon to sign up! This workshop is only offered once a year in the Fargo-Moorhead area, so register today to secure your spot. Thank you!

Royal by Barbara Benda ©2025

Studio Crawl
You are invited to this year’s FMVA (Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists) Studio Crawl Event on October 4th-5th. New paintings will be showcased.  Please bring the whole family as I will be doing sketching demonstrations every hour.

1.Download a brochure at fmva.org

2. Find #1 in the brochure and plan to visit my Mourning Dove Studio and Double Trouble Gallery

from 12-6pm either Saturday or Sunday.

Art News

Solitary Sandpiper: Lost in Thought Again by Barbara Benda

On August 26th, 2025, this painting recently received the High Water $500 cash award at the Red River Watercolor Society National Watermedia Exhibit held at MSUM in Moorhead, Minnesota. This national show, juried by Kim Nechtman Johnson of Phoenix, AZ will be on display at the Diederich Art Gallery at the Roland Dille Center of the Arts building on the MSUM campus through September 19th, 2025. This is a free exhibit and gives you a chance to see the top watermedia artworks from around the nation. Gallery hours are

• Weekdays from 10AM-8PM ;
  Saturdays from 10AM-3PM

Upcoming classes:

Moorhead Community Education:

Seeing Things Differently:2 Part Sketching Series through Moorhead Community Education on November 12^th and 19^th from 1:30-3:30. Register by calling 218-284-3400 or register online at https://moorheadcommunityed.ce.eleyo.com/.  Right now, this course is full, but please call to be on the waiting list if you are interested and staff will work to make arrangements to accommodate more students. Visit the website to learn more about the classes and supplies needed for class.

Cartooning the Easy Way for Grades 2-4 at SJ Reinertson School, Moorhead, MN, November 13th, from 2:30-4:00. All supplies included.

Let’s Sketch Animals for Grades 2-4 at SJ Reinertson School, Moorhead, MN, November 20th, 2:30-4:30. All supplies included.

Hawley Community Education: 

Seeing Things Differently: the Short Course in Sketching will be held as a night class through Hawley Community Education on October 30^th from 5:30-7:30. Register by calling 218-483-7399 or online at https://www.hawley.k12.mn.us/community-ed.  This website will include more information about the classes. In Hawley, all art supplies will be provided. 

Let’s Sketch Animals for Grades 5-6, Tuesday, October 28th, 3:15-4:45

Let’s Sketch Animals for Grades 2-4 , Thursday, October 30th, 3:15-4:45

Upcoming Workshops:

My 5-day Drawing and Watercolor workshop may be held in January or February of 2026 through Moorhead Community Education. Stay tuned for updates. If you want to subscribe to my email newsletter, please email me at barbara@barbarabendanagle.com . My email newsletter comes out 5-6x a year only and includes information on classes. Know that your information will never be shared.

I look forward to seeing you this fall! – Barbara

Black-Capped Chickadee by Taya, 2nd Grade

In early May, Beverly and I packed our birding books and art supplies and headed to Minto, North Dakota for a 5 -Day Artist in Residency. We taught 157 eager and enthusiastic students each day in grades K-6 .Our focus was sketching and watercoloring birds, modeled after the works of John James Audubon, the greatest bird artist in American history.  The Minto children were delightful and very interested in the process of sketching the “easy way” with our method of “see it, feel it, draw it”.  Each grade level studied a different bird species. Here are a few samples from each grade level. We were very pleased at every students’ desire to follow instructions and show effort each and every day. After school, we made a few visits to the Minto Park which has Forest River running through it, making it ideal for spring migration birding . Several students joined in to help us find birds such as a Yellow Warbler, American Robins, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, and several Palm Warblers.  It was a blessing beyond words to work with the students and staff to accomplish our goals for the week: to inspire children to sketch and paint, get outdoors for fresh air and explore the great outdoors, and hopefully, start a lifelong interest in sketching the natural world around them. Thanks to the North Dakota Council on the Arts and Minto Elementary School for providing this fabulous opportunity for us.

Northern Cardinal by Irelyn, 5th Grade

American Robin by Henley, 1st Grade

Dark-Eyed Junco by Edison, Kindergarten

Downy Woodpecker by Owen, 4th Grade

Western Meadowlark by Kalvin, 6th Grade

Blue Jay by Amone’, 3rd Grade