Combining Watercolor & Colored Pencil 

with David Baker
April 11, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Tuition: $75
Materials Fee: N/A

Enhance your watercolor paintings by integrating colored pencil to add depth, texture, and vibrant detail. Demonstrations will guide students through using wax-based colored pencils (not water-soluble) to establish underdrawings, adjust light and dark values, and add rich textures and detail. These are excellent techniques for photorealists, illustrators, beginners, and established artists, and will give your watercolor paintings a dynamic pop. 

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

Location: Ox-Bow House - 137 Center Street, Douglas, MI 49406 

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.

Deep Looking: Painting Field Studies in Gouache

with Amy Sacksteder
May 16, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Tuition: $100
Materials Fee: $20

Explore the unfolding of spring on Ox-Bow’s campus through a series of observational gouache (opaque watercolor) paintings. Demonstrations will introduce techniques for working with gouache, including color mixing, layering, and accurately matching hues found in nature. The session will begin with a short demo, followed by guided sketching sessions around the meadow and surrounding landscape, emphasizing close observation and intuitive mark-making.

Plan to bring: sketchbook, pencil, and preferred gouache or watercolor supplies. Paper surfaces, brushes, and a small Beam Paints gouache set will be provided.

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

Amy Sacksteder (she/her) grew up primarily in the Midwest, including Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ohio, and moved to Chicago following receipt of her MFA at Northern Illinois University in 2004. She now resides in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where she is a professor at Eastern Michigan University. She has taught painting and drawing at Interlochen Arts Camp, attended workshops and the Michigan Artist Retreat at Ox-Bow, and exhibited at Ox-Bow House. Her early work bridged plein air and studio painting and drawing, gradually expanding to include media such as ceramics and stained glass. Her work can be found at Real Tinsel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and River House Arts, Toledo, Ohio, and is included in the permanent collections of Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and Henry Ford Health, Detroit. She is a member of the Long Island City Studio Collective, New York, and Ypsi Alloy Studios, Ypsilanti.

Floral Still-Life Painting

with James Brandess
June 13, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
Tuition: $100
Materials Fee: N/A

Learn to paint a floral still life in oils from a local master. Turn your focus to painting from observation, using a demo floral arrangement made that morning as the subject. Let paint and color be the focus, inspired by the beauty that flowers and light can provide. For a full-day artmaking experience, during which you will make your own floral arrangement, also sign up for the first part of this workshop, Flowering: Art History & Arrangement, led by Maddie Reyna.

Plan to bring: gessoed canvases, flat bristle brushes, oil paints, 1 pint of odorless paint thinner, drawing supplies (vine charcoal, pencil, white eraser, sketchbook), 3 empty tin cans, empty glass jar with lid, blue paper shop towels, 18-by-24-inch plexiglass palette, vinyl gloves, sunscreen, and bug spray.

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

James Brandess (he/him) was born in Chicago. A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he has been a longtime teacher at Ox-Bow. Saugatuck, Michigan, has been home to James Brandess Studios and Gallery, Inc., for over 30 years.

Starting Somewhere New: Drawing, Collage & Collaborative Play 

with Lisa Walcott & Meridith Ridl
June 13, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
Tuition: $75
Materials Fee: TBD

In this process-based workshop, participants will use drawing and collage to inspire play, experimentation, and discovery, creating layered works through chance and collaboration. We will demonstrate energetic mark-making prompts, partner-based exchanges, and simple collage techniques for cutting, recombining, and reconfiguring drawings. The workshop will flow from quick drawing warm-ups into collaborative interventions and conclude with the construction of experimental collages from accumulated fragments.

Plan to bring: sketchbook or drawing pad, any preferred drawing tools, and small paper scraps or printed materials to incorporate. All other materials will be provided.

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

Lisa Walcott (she/her) is a sculptor and installation artist whose work engages the poetics of everyday life through kinetic forms, object-based constructions, and drawing. Using familiar materials such as cords, bristles, insulation, shelf brackets, and fan motors, she explores domesticity, labor, and the feminine experience, often creating precarious, quietly humorous environments. Rooted in repetition and slow gestures, her work reveals the unseen tensions that underlie routines of care and maintenance. Walcott is an Associate Professor of Art at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. For over a decade, she has maintained an active national exhibition record, with more than 20 solo and two-person exhibitions at venues including the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, East Lansing; the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, and Saugatuck Center for the Arts, Michigan; ARC Gallery, Chicago; and Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati.

Meridith Ridl (she/her) is an artist and art teacher at Holland Public Schools in Michigan. Much of her work explores gestures (figurative and abstract) that suggest states of being—desire, silliness, revelation, disorientation—with compositions that often have a wobble, leave room for emptiness, press on through crowdedness, or “aren’t quite right.” Her work ranges from meditative and quiet to tipsy and quirky. She received her BA in Studio Art from the College of Wooster and her MFA from the University of Michigan. Her work is represented by LaFontsee Galleries, Grand Rapids, Michigan. She also works collaboratively with artist Lisa Walcott, and their work has most recently been shown at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts and the Holland Area Arts Council.

​​Watercolor Walk: Painting Ox-Bow’s Landscape & History

with David Baker
June 27, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Tuition: $200
Materials Fee: N/A

In this outdoor workshop, participants will explore Ox-Bow’s rich landscape and quirky architecture through on-site watercolor painting. Instructor David Baker will lead a guided tour of some of his favorite spots around campus—from the lagoon and Tallmadge Woods to the dunes and historic buildings—pausing to create quick studies and longer impressions along the way. Participants will learn simple observational techniques, watercolor fundamentals, and strategies for capturing light, color, and atmosphere in a changing environment. Whether you’re new to watercolor or looking to expand your plein air practice, this workshop offers a relaxed, engaging way to experience Ox-Bow’s beauty through paint. All levels are welcome; gentle guidance will be provided throughout.

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.

Landscape Painting

with James Brandess
July 18, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
Tuition: $100
Materials Fee: N/A

In these multilevel oil painting workshops, students will paint outdoors amid the historic Ox-Bow landscape in the medium of their choice. Instruction will focus on recognizing and then painting what we actually see. Through this process of learning to see, participants will create paintings that have veracity and strength. The workshop will include discussion of the tools and materials needed to set up and paint in any landscape you choose. Sign up for one or both of these three-hour morning painting workshops on the meadow alongside the lagoon.

Plan to bring: small gessoed canvases, flat bristle brushes, oil paints, 1 pint of odorless paint thinner, travel easel, drawing supplies (vine charcoal, pencil, white eraser, sketchbook), at least 3 empty tin cans, empty glass jar with lid, blue paper shop towels, 18-by-24-inch plexiglass palette, vinyl gloves, sunscreen, bug spray, and hat with visor.

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

James Brandess (he/him) was born in Chicago. A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he has been a longtime teacher at Ox-Bow. Saugatuck, Michigan, has been home to James Brandess Studios and Gallery, Inc., for over 30 years.

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.

Color Theory Essentials: The Double Primary Palette

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

In this workshop, participants will build a foundation in practical color theory using the double primary palette—an accessible system that expands mixing possibilities and strengthens any painting practice. Working with acrylics, we’ll explore hue, value, saturation, color temperature, simultaneous contrast, and complementary color relationships. We will begin with a brief overview of color’s physical properties, followed by guided mixing exercises that reveal how different primaries interact. Participants will create a series of small color studies to investigate spatial effects, contrast, and temperature shifts—tools they can apply to future painting projects.

Plan to bring: a basic acrylic set, painting surfaces of various sizes and textures, and a color wheel.

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.

Landscape Painting

with James Brandess
August 22, 3:00–6:00 p.m.
Tuition: $100
Materials Fee: N/A

In these multilevel oil painting workshops, students will paint outdoors amid the historic Ox-Bow landscape in the medium of their choice. Instruction will focus on recognizing and then painting what we actually see. Through this process of learning to see, participants will create paintings that have veracity and strength. The workshop will include discussion of the tools and materials needed to set up and paint in any landscape you choose. Sign up for one or both of these three-hour morning painting workshops on the meadow alongside the lagoon.

Plan to bring: small gessoed canvases, flat bristle brushes, oil paints, 1 pint of odorless paint thinner, travel easel, drawing supplies (vine charcoal, pencil, white eraser, sketchbook), at least 3 empty tin cans, empty glass jar with lid, blue paper shop towels, 18-by-24-inch plexiglass palette, vinyl gloves, sunscreen, bug spray, and hat with visor.

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

James Brandess (he/him) was born in Chicago. A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he has been a longtime teacher at Ox-Bow. Saugatuck, Michigan, has been home to James Brandess Studios and Gallery, Inc., for over 30 years.