September Koi Watercolor Class
Let your brush flow like water in this botanical watercolor class inspired by the koi of Shinzen Garden on September 26, 2026. Participants will learn watercolor techniques while capturing the graceful movement, vibrant colors, and symbolic beauty of koi swimming among lotus and reflections. This class is welcoming to all skill levels and offers a peaceful, hands-on creative experience set within the garden’s serene surroundings. You’ll leave with a finished painting—and a moment of calm you can carry with you long after the class ends.
Pre-registration is required.
Meet your instructor: Noelle Correia – Born under a full moon in Scorpio in Fresno, California, after spending time tinkering around at her father’s auto repair/welding shop as a child, Noelle began to create an imaginary world out of carpenter’s chalk drawings of discarded car parts. This world turned the industrial environment of downtown Fresno into a delusional paradise. Noelle left Fresno at eighteen but took her imaginary world with her and continues to process the nuance and grit of everyday cultural collision through fluvial imagery.
Her creative process begins with color. Noelle is inspired by how the color schemes pop in biodiversity, such as a poisonous dart frog’s epidermal layers resting on a muted green leaf. The biodiverse thread within her creative practice is that of Botanical Surrealism. She begins her work by thinking about the relationship between emotions and color and allows color theory to drive the outcome. Symbols that represent the feminine mystique and practical magic are a reoccurring thematic backdrop. The process has become a life metaphor in which she works through obstacles, obtains epiphanies, and understands herself as a tiny part of a much larger whole.
She conveys the beauty and complexities of human nature using texture, pattern, and narrative elements throughout her work. Her work has been exhibited in California Galleries and collectives exhibitions, including Radius Gallery, The Art Cave, The Art League of Santa Cruz County, Pajaro Valley Arts Gallery, and Arte Americas. Noelle’s work further explores the botanical world through watercolor painting, paper-cut collage practices, and encaustic medium. Through wax, water, and human narratives of all kinds, Noelle creates a vibrant play on color and form.
