Steve Rogers

Acadia Workshop Center

Please check back often as we add more artists to the schedule...

Workshops run 5 days, M-F, unless noted otherwise.

Steve Rogers

Painting Color and Light in Plein Air Watercolor

Aug.20 - 24, 2012

Steve Rogers AWS, NWS is an internationally renowned watercolor artist and workshop instructor. The recipient of many major awards including the Best of Show Medal at the National Watercolor Society International Exhibition in 2007, he is a signature member of NWS and AWS. He has been featured in “Watercolor”, “Watercolor Magic” and “International Artist.”

Beginners and advanced painters alike will learn about light and color and the way juicy and vibrant watercolor behaves, “dealing with dark values in watercolor”, “secrets of painting reflections” and much, much more. Lots of student painting time along with personal help is available every day. We'll all learn a lot and have fun painting plein air watercolors in the spectacular setting of Acadia National Park.

All levels - some experience required

Fee: $550

Artist website: www.watercolorsbyrogers.com

Pre-Register for this class HERE

Supply list

Below is a suggested list of supplies. Use your judgment - and please call me for any questions concerning anything at (386) 441-4930 (evenings are best).

PAPERS: I use Fabriano (new )Artistico (traditional white 140 rough or 300 lb cold pressed 22"x30") or Arches in both surfaces and weights.

WATER CONTAINER: Make it adequate– a cut off -11/2 liter water bottle works in the field.

PAPER TOWELS: (I use Bounty)

DRAWING PENCIL: An office #2 is adequate – I use a Berol Turquoise HB lead in a mechanical pencil.

KNEADED ERASER: This eraser will not "tear-up" the paper.

SPRAY BOTTLE: For keeping paints wet

PALETTE: I use a small Cheap Joe’s pallet, which I hold much like an oil pallet or a Holbein metal folding pallet if it is windy. A pallet which will maintain fresh color is important; the Robert Wood or Cheap Joe’s pallets seal in the individual wells better than say a John Pike pallet.The fundamentally important thing is to squeeze out plenty of fresh color when you get to the location.

BRUSHES: I generally use the same size brush throughout the course of a painting accept for very large areas where I use the Hake’ brush. I use an Escoda 1212 Kolinsky Sable round #12 or #14 or #16 or the Cheap Joe’s Dragon’s Tougne in those sizes, depending on the size of the paper I will be painting on. You need only one of these. A good and significantly less expensive alternative are the synthetic brushes available at Cheap Joe’s, but the sable is really the best option. Also I use a 1 ½ inch Holbein Hake' brush for large washes.

PAINTS: Primarily, I use tubes of Winsor & Newton and Holbien professional grade watercolors. Colors vary a great deal between manufactures so if you have a different Cerulean Blue than W/N it may not look or behave the same as in my painting. In other cases especially “staining colors”, like Prussian Blue, American Jouney colors are a less expensive and equally high quality alternative.Many of these colors may be substituted. If you already have Winsor Blue or American Journey Permanent Rose, for instance, you’ll be just fine. Avoid “Sudent Grade” or colors referred to as “tint” which are simply a dye + white paint. These won’t perform the same as the pigment they imitate:

Manganese Blue Nova -Holbein

Burnt Sienna -W/N

Cobalt Blue -W/N

Aureolin -W/N

Brown Madder -Holbein

Cerulean Blue -W/N

Yellow Ochre -W/N

Permanent Magenta -Holbein

Prussian Blue-W/N

Raw Sienna -W/N

Cadmium Scarlet -W/N

Ultramarine Blue -W/N

Cadmium Orange -W/N

Scarlet Lake -W/N

Permanenet Rose -W/N

Cadmium Yellow Pale -W/N

Cobalt Green-Holbein

Cobalt Turquoise -W/N

Perm. Alizarin Crimson -W/N

With plein aire painting, I think we always need to strike a balance between carrying enough equipment to be comfortable and a load that is compact and light enough to be able to transport. A full set of equipment for some, may include a Jullian style French easel, umbrella, and stool while others may prefer to make do without any of these and simply paint on the ground. Some of you are old “ old veterans of plein aire” work, for the rest of you, put together what you think you will need and try it out in your back yard and pack it up and walk a little to see how comfortable the load is.

I am including this for indoors painting during inclement weather:

SOURCE MATERIAL: Please bring enough good quality photos (preferred) or sketches if that’s your method. Do not bring photos of paintings by other artists. Be sure subject is sufficiently large and clear . Sunlit subjects are preferable to overcast. Boats and other subjects with reflections will be covered during the workshop.