THE VERO BEACH ART CLUB PRESENTS A STEVE ROGERS WATERCOLOR WORKSHOP

Rogers Class Demo Painting.

I may not have mentioned it but I am the co chair for the Art Club's workshop committee. My dear friend and co chair is Karen Leffel Massengill and we make a great team. She secures the art instructors and I am "logistic lady" in the background.

Our last workshop of the season was with Steve Rogers doing three days of watercolor demo's and individual instruction. Steve put his heart and soul into presenting so much information and "secret tips" as he calls them. I liked his sense of humor and go with the flow good nature.

 Steve had a detailed sketch on his paper prior to class on which he began painting in intense darks in the background of the boat scene. I was amazed at how he varied the colors and the intensity of the colors he put in. Steve stated that he uses 5-6 colors in his skies.

He was deliberate in preserving the white paper of the watercolor painting.

Pink Bandanna Man

Steve is an oxymoron of loose painting and deliberate detail in his shadows and  color changes. I learned to go bold or go home so here are some of my tries at boat scenes with color changes, temperature changes and bold loose color.

The first two we blamed on the paper and the fact that I was still using a flat brush the way I paint with acrylics. Steve said I needed to let the paint flow onto the paper not cross hatch paint it on. 

Steve critiqued my dinghy as the only one in the class that had managed to make mud on a white boat. The good news is that I learned that I can push the colors to cool or warm and get rid of the mud. No need to chuck the whole piece of paper. 

This was time well spent and I had fun.