Advanced and Intermediate Watercolor with Ron Pratt (Winter)

Intermediate/Advanced Watercolor Painting

Winter 2023

Ronald Pratt

Gateway Center, Painting Studio 1

 A creative activity is one of the best ways to pass the time in winter when the days are short, the weather is cold and rainy and you are looking for something to help you pass the time.  Finding a warm studio filled with friendly and artistic type people may be just what you are looking for.  Being in a creative, social atmosphere is a great way to stimulate your creative juices and get the artist in you aroused.

If you are a motivated watercolor painter with some background in the medium, the Rossmoor Art Association is offering a class on Thursday Afternoons designed for you.  This class focuses on teaching people the fundamentals of design and composition in watercolor painting and encourages people to explore their own creativity thru class projects.   This is a fun class that encourages the freedom of expression while developing your design skills in a fun and relaxing environment.

This watercolor painting class will be at the Rossmoor Activities Center, Painting Studio 1 on Thursday Afternoons from 12:30pm to 3:00pm.  This 10 week class will run from Jan 12th to Mar 16th at a cost of $135.  For Non-Rossmoor Residents the class fee is $155.  Priority will be given to Rossmoor Residents.  Brings your art supplies to the first class.

The class maximum is 20 students due to space limitations so get your registration in to reserve your seat in the class.

RAA is now registering classes online only. Go to the Rossmoor Art Association website and click on Classes. Please use the website for registering. If you are having trouble registering, call or go to the Computer Club of Rossmoor for help in the Gateway Complex. Or you may call Marcy Wheeler at 925 787-9159.

To see Ronald’s Watercolors go to www.ronaldpratt.com.  Please direct questions to Ronald at ronpratt14@gmail.com or call him at (510) 366-7740.  Further information on all RAA activities can be found at www.rossmoorart.com.

There may be short disruptions of classes in the next few months at Rossmoor due to the remodel of the studios. We hope to be able to make up for any cancelled class days and will try our best to keep you informed.

Ronald Pratt, Instructor

’ve learned over the years that people aren’t so much interested in an artist’s technical skills as they are interested in what an artist has to say. They want to know how an artist sees things, their particular slant on life, their perspective, their vision. They want to know what an artist focuses on when looking at a subject. What is it an artist sees that is different than what the average person sees? What is that makes an artist different? As a watercolor painting instructor it is important for me to convey this fact to my students. I want them to know the first step in becoming an artist is to master the technical skills of watercolor painting. How do you mix your colors, handle the brushes, apply the paint to the paper, control washes, apply detail over the washes, etc. But I encourage them to not stop there. Once they have a semblance of control of these skills, it is time to start focusing on what they want to say as an artist. This is the important part! In this age of the rapid onslaught of technological developments, a simple phone app can turn your photograph into a drawing or painting. You can even select what medium in which you want your photograph to appear. Oil Painting? Pencil Drawing? Watercolor Painting? Impressionistic? Realistic? These are all available with the push of a button. The mere copying of a subject can now be done with your I-phone as well if not better than the artist. But artists can interpret things in their own unique way. They can create a stronger design, they can edit, deleting and adding to enhance their message, they can emphasize or de-emphasize areas in the composition. They can show their own perspective on things. They can show their own unique view. This takes the art of painting beyond the act of copying. So the main question I ask my students is “what are you trying to say?” I encourage them to ask this question of themselves before they start a painting and to keep asking this question throughout the painting process. In the end this is what separates one artist from another and what separates artists from copying machines. What is it that you have to say!!!
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