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Beginning/Intermediate Watercolor Painting with Ronald Pratt _ April 3rd to June 5th_ 9am to 11:30 am _Studio 1

Beginning/Intermediate Watercolor Painting

Ronald Pratt

Spring 2025

April 3rd to June 5th

Thursdays 9 am to 11:30 am

Rossmoor Activities Center, Painting Studio 1

 

This is the time of year when it stays light a little longer each day, the hills have turned green from the winter rains and spring buds are starting to pop out of the ground and on the branches of trees.  The animals seem a little more energetic and the streams and rivers are full and rushing with spring runoff.  There is a new energy in the air and my creative juices are starting to awaken from their winter slumber.  This is the season where I am my most creative and can’t wait to get painting.

 

If you are like me and find inspiration from the bounty of subjects to be found at this time of year the Rossmoor Art Association is offering a watercolor painting class at the Activity Center on Thursday Mornings designed for you.  The focus of this class is the fundamentals of painting.  You will be given step by step demonstrations of watercolor painting to inspire you while in a friendly atmosphere that will encourage you to explore your own individual creativity.  Subject matter will include spring flowers, an alpine meadow, a poppy covered hillside and a still life subject.

 

This watercolor painting class will be at the Rossmoor Activities Center, Painting Studio 1 on Thursday Mornings from 9 am to 11:30 am.  This 10 week class will run from April 3rd to June 5th at a cost of $150.  For Non-Rossmoor Residents the class fee is $170.  Priority will be given to Rossmoor Residents.  Suggested materials will be discussed at the first class.

 

To register go to the Rossmoor Art Association Website and click on classes on the header bar.  Scroll down until you come to Beginning/Intermediate Watercolor Painting with Ron Pratt and follow the instructions to enroll.  The class maximum is 20 students due to space limitations so get your registration in to reserve your seat in the class.

 

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.

Ronald Pratt, Instructor

I’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!!!