Escape to Paradise: Watercolor Sketch Workshops

Registration Required

As Rhode Islanders we are lucky to have the ability to sketch quaint New England scenery and festive foliage. With this workshop you escape to paradise with a guided sketch session as if you were in the tropics! Enjoy warm environment with plants from all around the world with expert instruction from RISD graduate, Thea Ernest.

Two sessions available from 10am-12pm and from 12:00pm-2:00pm. Participants may sign up for one session or for both and are permitted on The Botanical Center grounds/greenhouses for the entire day 10am-4:00pm.

The first session from 10am-12pm will take place inside The Conservatory which features 45’ ceilings, tropical plants, bubbling fountains, and an array of magnificent palm trees.

Ages 14+ welcome. Participants must check in at the ticket booth when they arrive where they will be given an admission sticker to wear on their shirt. Participants may arrive early or stay late to explore the other greenhouses and outdoor gardens or continue to work on their project. However, Thea will only be providing instruction to those who’ve signed up for each individual session.

Materials: Please bring your art supplies, sketchbooks/paper. To respect the property, we ask that you limit supplies to charcoal pencils, graphite, colored pencils, pastels, or watercolor (please, no oils or acrylics). Participants will have access to a chair but are invited to bring an easel or any other equipment you need. It will be warm inside the greenhouses so please dress accordingly and bring a refillable water bottle to stay hydrated. Participants will need to wear a mask and maintaining social distance when possible while inside the greenhouses.

Instructor: Thea Ernest

Several years ago, in search of more color in my life, I signed up for a traditional watercolor class. The emphasis was on excellence and technique. Halfway through the course, the instructor demanded that we wash the page from darker to lighter without showing any brush marks. I dropped out. I felt impatient and edgy. Soon after, I found an Urban Sketchers workshop called Draw Now, Think Later. Since then, making a painting a day is part of my normal routine. I crave it and learn from the practice.

I live in Rhode Island, the smallest state in the US. It has a lot of scenic diversity and it is easy to navigate. So a typical sketch begins by driving, biking or walking somewhere to see what catches my interest. The focus might be shape, color or light.

My Rhode Island School of Design degree in metal-smithing led to a lot of satisfying projects including functional decorative cabinet hardware, reproduction lighting fixtures, bold found object sculpture and whimsical wire sculpture. I love metal, but it was getting hard on the hands. And it never satisfied my need to tell a story. Now I am enjoying a quieter way of telling stories to my viewers through pen and watercolor sketches. Come see what I see.

Visit Thea’s Website: https://www.theaernestartist.com/
Follow Thea on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theaernestdesign/