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. Order videos at the time you register for the convention. Links to the videos purchased will be sent to purchasers about three 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 take place at the Keck Science Center of Linfield University, 325 SW Linfield Ave, McMinnville OR.
| Graf 111-115 | Graf 117 | Graf Theatre | |
| 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM | Painting Skies from Calm to Dramatic with Michelle Myers Video link available | Let’s Paint on Fiber Paste with Pam Haunschild | Making Watercolor Magic with Children’s Picture Books with Tami Lohman Video link available |
| 10:45 AM – 12:15 AM | Painting with Gouache and Ink Resist with Rebecca Sentgeorge (substituting for Ann Moore) Video link available | Skip the Brush, Grab the Card with Terri Gonzalez | Juror’s Critique #1 with Stan Kurth |
| 12:15 – 1:30 PM | Lunch break: Pre-order a cafeteria meal ticket and choose whatever you want, or choose a local restaurant. Click this link for a list of restaurants. | ||
| 1:30 – 3:00 PM | Mouth Atomizer and Made-up Tools with Margaret Godfrey Video link available | Daniel Smith Watercolor: An Immersive Experience with Scott Stevenson | Juror’s Critique #2 with Stan Kurth |
| 3:30 – 4:30 PM | Gallery Panel Discussion: Panel: Helen Brown (Tumalo Art Company), Tara Choate (Pacific Artists’ Co-Op Gallery), Pam Haunschild, and Ruth Armitage Graf Theatre | ||
“Encore” videos of past breakout sessions
Encore videos are $15 each. Order videos at the time you register for the convention. Links to the videos purchased will be sent to purchasers about three weeks after the convention. Videos will be accessible online for one month. Click on the links for descriptions of the video sessions.
- Gouache on Black Paper with Rebecca Sentgeorge
- Line-Shape-Color-Paint! with Liz Walker
- Creating Clean Underdrawings for Your Paintings with Tess Myers
- Travel Journaling with Winnie Givot
- Tempting Trees with Alisha Whitman
- Painting Desert Sandstone with Mary Elle
- Experiments in Painting and Printing with Margaret Terrall
- Integrated Lettering and Watercolor Illustrations with Nicole Poole
- Abstract Starts with Jeannine Miller
- Painting Realistic Animal Eyes with Marianne Nielsen
- Techniques, Textures and Special Effects on Yupo Paper with Deanna St. Martin
Session Descriptions
Painting Skies from Calm to Dramatic with Michelle Myers
9:00 – 10:30 am, Graf 111 – 115
Limit 30 participants
Video link available for purchase
Supply list
In this breakout session students will paint various sunrises, sunsets, calm and stormy skies. There are many ways to create an interesting sky; we will work hands-on to give some of them a try.
Let’s paint on Fiber Paste with Pam Haunschild
9:00 – 10:30 am, Graf 117
Limit 25 participants
Supply list
Fiber paste makes a wonderful ground, especially for watercolor, which adds dimension to your paper surface. Come and paint on a pre-textured paper, receive a piece of fiber paste “paper” that can be used as a collage element or for image transfers, and practice applying fiber paste yourself.
Making Watercolor Magic with Children’s Picture Books with Tami Lohman
9:00 – 10:30 am, Graf Theater
No limit on participants
Video link available for purchase
No supplies needed
Do you love children’s picture books? Ever wondered if you could write and illustrate your own? The answer is YES! In this breakout session, we’ll survey a variety of works from successful watercolor illustrators whose art is sure to inspire you. We will then explore how you can get started both writing and illustrating a picture book, from coming up with story ideas, designing your illustrations, and creating a “storyboard” you can submit to a publisher or develop into a picture book you can publish yourself.
Painting with Gouache and Ink Resist with Rebecca Sentgeorge (substituting for Ann Moore)
10:45 am – 12:15 pm, Graf 111 – 115
Limit 25 participants
Video link available for purchase
Supply list
Intermediate workshop in which participants will paint a simple image using the rich opaque quality and brilliant colors of traditional gouache, protect your image with one or two additional layers of gouache, then flood your work with India ink and transform it into a dramatic painting with the abstract quality and mystery of batiks and woodcuts.
Skip the Brush, Grab the Card with Terri Gonzalez
10:45 am – 12:15 pm, Graf 117
Limit 25 participants, Intermediate level
Supply list
Have you ever thought of starting a painting with an old plastic credit card and a spray bottle? This workshop offers a process-oriented and instinctive versus intentional way to begin your painting that will spark our creative juices, loosen us up and see where it leads us. This technique can incorporate a landscape, an abstract or a combined composition, using repetition and motion. This can result in a spontaneous surprise!
Juror’s Critique #1 with Stan Kurth
10:45 am – 12:15 pm, Graf Theatre
Critique: Limit 20 participants
Auditors: No limit
Lecture only; No supplies needed
Stan Kurth, 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.
Mouth Atomizer and Made-up Tools with Margaret Godfrey
1:30 – 3:00 pm, Graf 111 – 115
Limit 45 participants
Video link available for purchase
No supplies needed
Margaret Godfrey will demonstrate how to use objects from around your house to create texture, points of interest, patterns and linework in paintings. Do you have a mouth atomizer in a drawer and don’t use it? Margaret will show you how valuable it can be in your art making.
Daniel Smith Watercolor: An Immersive Experience with Scott Stevenson
1:30 – 3:00 pm, Graf 117
Limit 30 participants
Supply list
Join Scott Stevenson, a passionate DANIEL SMITH Artists’ Materials Brand Ambassador and Sales Representative, for an engaging and educational watercolor workshop. This interactive session is designed for artists of all levels who are curious about the art and science behind DANIEL SMITH’s world-renowned watercolor and gouache products. Through lively discussions and hands-on demonstrations, Scott will share the rich history of DANIEL SMITH, the innovative paint-making process, and the unique qualities of their PrimaTek mineral-based colors.
Participants will explore topics such as pigment lightfastness, granulation, and the inspiration behind their iconic colors. Scott’s conversational approach encourages questions, fosters creativity, and empowers attendees to experiment with new techniques and colors. Expect to walk away with a deeper understanding of watercolor materials, practical tips for enhancing your artwork, and renewed inspiration to bring your imagination to life.
Juror’s Critique #2 with Stan Kurth
1:30 – 3:00pm, Graf Theater
Critique: Limit 20 participants
Auditors: No limit
Lecture only; no supplies needed
Stan Kurth, 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.
Gallery Panel Discussion
3:30 – 4:30 pm, Graf Theater
Free
No limit on participants
Panel discussion; no supplies needed
Getting Into a Gallery
Join us for a panel discussion of regular and co-op art galleries. Topics will include:
- How should I approach a gallery?
- How does a gallery work?
- What sells in a gallery?
- How much does it cost to be in a gallery?
- Q and A time for members.
Encore Video Descriptions
Gouache on Black Paper with Rebecca Sentgeorge
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.
Line-Shape-Color-Paint! with Liz Walker
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.
Creating Clean Underdrawings for Your Paintings with Tess Myers
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.
Travel Journaling with Winnie Givot
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.
Tempting Trees with Alisha Whitman
Fall 2022
If you’re a landscape painter living in the PNW, you need to be comfortable painting trees. Learn from great master artists’ examples, discuss tips and tricks to making your trees look interesting and unique, and practice a variety of techniques to give them movement and energy.
Painting Desert Sandstone with Mary Elle
Spring 2022
Paint along with Mary Elle as she demonstrates the method that she uses to capture the layers of color found in the rocks of Petra, Jordan or the slot canyons of Arizona. While many artists use saran wrap to create texture, Mary’s technique emphasizes the layers that make the desert rocks so distinctive and the colors can make your desert paintings glow with warmth.
Experiments in Painting and Printing with Margaret Terrall
Fall 2024
Margaret will give examples of all the ways one can make marks in art: using scrapers, spatulas, foam rollers, combs, chopsticks, etc. She will also show hot to make your own stencils with a glue gun, or with Grafix Dura-Lar and an X-acto knife, make your own stamps with foam sheets and cardboard and then print with these alone or by using them on a Gelli plate. Learn how to get ideas from Google Images or your own photos and edit on an iPhone, how to make laser images from your photos and print from a Gelli plate. She will also show the possibilities of printing with Gelli plates and organic materials. She will demonstrate two these materials and prints made from them can be used as groundwork for future paintings, or can stand alone as pieces of art.
Integrated Lettering and Watercolor Illustrations with Nicole Poole
Fall 2024
Don’t miss this fun and creative breakout with Portland-based artist Nicole Poole, who specializes in illustration, calligraphy, and botanical painting. In this breakout session, Nicole will show how to use a modern Japanese Fudenosuke brush pen to illustrate and letter playful watercolor illustrations. She will share her thoughts about inspiration and techniques as she guides us in choosing prompts for our project that combine life observations to tell a visual story personal to each participant. Examples provided.
Abstract Starts with Jeannine Miller
Spring 2025
Because of the transparent properties of watercolors, I find it exciting to start with abstract shapes. These shapes and colors appear through the subsequent imagery, adding color, texture, contrast and interest. There are numerous ways to begin abstractly, but I have found using thin manila board and blue painters’ taper can produce exciting results. In this class I will teach the steps I use and hopefully you will have fun and a rewarding result as well.
Painting Realistic Animal Eyes with Marianne Nielsen
Spring 2025
Have you ever worked on a painting of an animal and struggled getting their eyes to come to life? Then this is the workshop for you. Marianne has many years of experience in painting realistic animals as well as teaching others her techniques. An animal’s eyes are the windows to their soul and capturing those features correctly is important to painting any animal. Com and learn from a great teacher and take away some wonderful tips.
Techniques, Textures and Special Effects on Yupo Paper with Deanna St. Martin
Spring 2025
Deanna St. Martin will be conducting a demo and provide an opportunity for you to use her demo techniques on your own existing painting. Her demo will show you how to use special textures and effects to create an abstract painting on Yupo paper. Yupo can be scary, but a few techniques will help you learn the best way to control your paint and let water be your guide – and then you can turn out a wonderful abstract painting! Bring one of your own Yupo paintings to class.