All breakout sessions will be on the Saturday of the Convention.
All sessions are 1.5 hours unless otherwise noted.
All sessions cost $15 unless otherwise noted. Sign up for and pay for your sessions when you register for the convention.
Supply lists for all breakout sessions are here.
Where “Video link available for purchase” is indicated: Video sessions are $15 per video. Links to the videos purchased will be sent to purchasers about two weeks after the convention. Videos will be accessible online for one month.
Note on rooms for breakout sessions: All room assignments are subject to change. Please visit the Hospitality Table when you arrive for the latest information.
Breakout Sessions at a Glance
Click on a session’s title to go to its description.
All sessions, except the plein air painting, take place at The Dalles Civic Auditorium (The Civic), 323 E 4th Street, The Dalles, 97058.
| Theater | Community Room | Ballroom | Other Location | |
| Starting at 9:00 AM | Speed Painting a Portrait with Tess Myers Video link available | Gouache on Black Paper with Rebecca Sentgeorge Video link available | Line-Shape-Color- Paint! with Liz Walker 9:00 – 11:00 AM Video link available | Plein Air in the Park with Sally Bills Bailey 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM Drive to Gorge views (meet in The Civic foyer) |
| Starting at 11:00 AM | Juror Critique #1 with Stan Miller | M. Graham Color — The Power of Quality Materials Video link available | Creating Clean Underdrawings for Your Paintings with Tess Myers 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM Video link available | |
| 12:30 – 1:30 PM | Lunch break: Pre-order a box lunch when you register for the convention, or click this link for a list of restaurants. | |||
| 1:30 – 3:00 PM | Juror Critique #2 with Stan Miller | Skip the Glass — Painting Contemporary Watermedia on Aquabord with Tim Gault Video link available | Not So Boring Ways to Change Your Paintings with Boring Grange Painters | Travel Journaling with Winnie Givot Video link available |
| 3:30 – 4:30 PM | Preparing for a National Competition (Panel discussion) Theater | |||
Session Descriptions
Speed Painting a Portrait with Tess Myers
Presenter: Tess Myers
9:00 – 10:30 am, Theater
Demo only, $15 — Limit 75 participants
Video link available for purchase.
Tess will demonstrate portrait painting done quickly! She will speed paint from scratch, stopping to explain her process and answer your questions as she paints.
Gouache on Black Paper with Rebecca Sentgeorge
Presenter: Rebecca Sentgeorge
9:00 – 10:30 am, Community Room
Demo and hands-on class, $15 — Limit 30 participants
Video link available for purchase.
Supply List
Curious about using gouache on black watercolor paper? Looking for a few tips to make the transition from watercolor to gouache? Rebecca will demonstrate first, discussing viscosity, layering, and strategies for working on black watercolor paper. Then you will get a chance to experiment. A $4 donation for supplied paper is suggested.
Line-Shape-Color-Paint! with Liz Walker
Presenter: Liz Walker
9:00 – 11:00 am, Ballroom
Demo and hands-on class, $15 — Limit 25 participants
Video link available for purchase.
Supply List
How do we incorporate a technique into our own personal painting style thereby expressing our own vision? Liz Walker will demonstrate how simple “blind” contour drawings can serve as the backbone of your painting. These lines often lead us to explore a whole new range of subject matter and composition choices. Come prepared to paint along (in watercolor or acrylic) with this award-winning artist. Please note this is a two-hour class and will run right to the next session.
Plein Air in the Park with Sally Bills Bailey
Presenter: Sally Bills Bailey
10:00 am – 1:00 pm, Sorosis Park (meet in The Civic foyer)
Off-site plein air painting activity, $15 — Limit 20 participants
Video recording link not available.
Supply List
Local Columbia River Gorge artist Sally Bills Bailey will lead a group plein air session in a local park with views of Mt. Hood and the Gorge. Artists will need to bring the usual equipment for painting outdoors and any special equipment such as an easel, chair, or small table to use. It is also suggested that artists either bring a lunch or order a box lunch to pick up upon return before the afternoon sessions start at 1:30 pm.
Juror Critique #1 with Stan Miller
Presenter: Stan Miller
11:00 am – 12:30 pm, Theater
Critique, $15 — Limit 20 participants, No limit for auditors
Video recording link not available.
Stan Miller, our juror and workshop instructor, will critique 20 images of water media paintings submitted by WSO members. This critique session is an opportunity for input from an experienced instructor and juror. Learn how to improve a painting and what makes a painting stand out. Participants submit an image for critique with this option. The auditor option grants other attendees the opportunity to observe the critique.
M. Graham Color — The Power of Quality Materials with Dan Justus and Judy Rubitzke
Presenter: Dan Justus and Judy Rebitzke
11:00 am – 12:30 pm, Community Room
Demo and hands-on class, $15 — Limit 40 participants
Video link available for purchase.
Supply List
M. Graham professional artist quality paints are handcrafted in Oregon. Dan Justus, Technical Product Manager, and Judy Rebitzke, Business Operations Manager, will talk about the features and benefits of using M. Graham paints as well as some tips and tricks. Join us to try out our watercolor, gouache, and acrylic paints.
Creating Clean Underdrawings for Your Paintings with Tess Myers
Presenter: Tess Myers
11:00 am – 1:00 pm, Ballroom
Demo and hands-on class, $15 — Limit 30 participants
Video link available for purchase.
Supply List
Drawing on cold or rough press paper can be tough. It’s easy to end up with smears or finger grease and/or tear the surface of your paper. Tess will demonstrate a portrait using a two-step process that will both exercise your drawing skills and leave you with a clean underdrawing for your portrait. Working from a reference photo, we’ll begin with a charcoal drawing to fully understand depth, value, and contour in our subject, and then transfer key portions of this to clean watercolor paper, leaving it ready for painting.
Juror Critique #2 with Stan Miller
Presenter: Stan Miller
1:30 – 3:00 pm, Theater
Critique, $15 — Limit 20 participants, No limit for auditors
Video recording link not available.
Stan Miller, our juror and workshop instructor, will critique 20 images of water media paintings submitted by WSO members. This critique session is an opportunity for input from an experienced instructor and juror. Learn how to improve a painting and what makes a painting stand out. Participants submit an image for critique with this option. The auditor option grants other attendees the opportunity to observe the critique.
Skip the Glass — Painting Contemporary Watermedia on Aquabord with Tim Gault
Presenter: Tim Gault
1:30 – 3:00 pm, Community Room
Demo and hands-on class, $15 — Limit 30 participants
Video link available for purchase.
Supply List
Explore approaches and processes for working with watercolor and acrylic on Aquabord to create a contemporary look and feel. This session includes demonstrations of combining watercolor paints with acrylic medium for unusual effects, mixing colors directly on the painting, the advantages of using Aquabord over paper, and framing the final piece for exhibition. We’ll do a painting together while discussing both the benefits and drawbacks of creating art in this manner.
Not So Boring Ways to Change Your Paintings with Boring Grange Painters
Presenter: The (not so) Boring Grange Painters
1:30 – 3:00 pm, Ballroom
Hands-on class, $15 — Limit 35 participants
Video recording link not available.
Supply List
A round-robin of tables with artists from the Boring Grange will give you a chance to try new techniques to change, correct, or enhance your paintings. Bring some of those “Oops!” paintings to see what you can do with soft pastels, watercolors, ink, watercolor pencils, stencils, and other surprises. Artists will move from table to table so bring a small basic painting kit to carry with you.
Travel Journaling with Winnie Givot
Presenter: Winnie Givot
1:30 – 3:00 pm, Fireside Room
Demo and hands-on class, $15 — Limit 25 participants
Video link available for purchase.
Supply List
Create a watercolor journal in this hands-on class as we explore ways to record our journeys, whether traveling or at home. We’ll play with drawing, painting, writing, and page embellishments on watercolor paper in a simple handmade journal, as well as learn about simplifying our supplies for travel.
Preparing for a National Competition
Presenter: WSO member panel
3:30 – 4:30 pm, Theater
Panel discussion, free — Unlimited participants
Video recording link not available.
What does it take to get a painting into a regional or national exhibition? Thinking about entering the Western Federation of Watercolor Exhibit in Oregon in 2027? Hear from a panel of member experts on choosing what to enter, meeting deadlines, re-working paintings, etc., to achieve success. The presenters will give you lots of good tips based on their own experiences, and there will be plenty of time for Q & A.