Watercolor Foundations: Techniques for Confident Painting

with David Baker
4-Day, August 3–6, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Tuition: $300
Materials Fee: N/A

In this welcoming workshop, participants will learn the core techniques of transparent watercolor and gain confidence in a medium often described as challenging or unforgiving. We’ll explore how to work from light to dark, manage water-to-pigment ratios, and approach “mistakes” as opportunities for creative problem-solving. The workshop will begin with a brief demonstration of essential methods—washes, gradients, lifting, layering, and glazing—followed by guided practice to build control and fluency. Participants will create a series of small studies designed to support a grounded understanding of how watercolor behaves on the page. This session is ideal for beginners or artists in other media who are curious to try watercolor with gentle structure and supportive instruction.

Plan to bring: watercolor supplies, including watercolor paper and a set of Prismacolor pencils.

Location: Main Campus - 3435 Rupprecht Way, Saugatuck, MI 49453

David Baker (he/him) is a visual artist who specializes in poetic landscape painting, much of it done en plein air. His studio pieces are often reinterpretations of paintings done outdoors. His principal media are watercolor, oil, and charcoal. His subjects are magical discoveries made while walking the landscape near Lake Michigan and, in particular, the campus of Ox-Bow. Frequently, these paintings will suggest an ongoing series of pictures. A lifelong artist and teacher, Baker recently retired as Art Professor Emeritus from Southwestern Michigan College. He continues to teach at Ox-Bow, South Haven Center for the Arts, and Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, and he maintains a studio at the Box Factory for the Arts in St. Joseph.

Courtesy of artist.