Treat yourself to a week of painting entirely with watercolor, or combining watercolor with pencil, colored pencil, pastels or other mediums. You’ll have your own table space in the Schoolhouse studio on which to spread out and work at your own pace. You’re encouraged to work with ideas you bring with you, surrounded by the natural beauty of The Clearing. (We might sketch outdoors if the weather is agreeable.)

Lee will demonstrate different techniques in capturing cloud patterns, sunlight-on-water, surf, and other natural forms. He will share what he has learned from over 30 years of watercolor painting and pencil drawing. He’ll also share examples of rendering nature in graphite pencil. Lee will offer prompts, though he encourages students to explore their own subjects.  We’ll also take breaks to enjoy time together and to share the work that’s being done.

This is an intermediate class, though beginners are always welcome. Bring your favorite watercolor and drawing supplies. Lee will provide a complete list of supplies to bring with you. You may also bring any other supplies of your choosing to help you explore and play. Lee will contact students prior to class.

Lee Mothes grew up by the Pacific Ocean and was enchanted by its energy at an early age. He began making pencil drawings as a kid, then tried watercolors, then combined pencil and watercolor. He has enjoyed this combination, as well as other mediums, ever since. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in art in 1980, he worked as a graphic artist and as a carpenter until 1990, when he opened his Oceans and Dreams studio in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. He returns to the West Coast once or twice a year to get a fresh ideas from actual observation on the beach. Lee also teaches drawing and painting at the Renaissance School of Art at West High School in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Level: All Levels