Dates: Thursdays, October 8, 15 & 22, from 5pm to 8 pm
Fee: $195/ discount with member code
Ages: 16+
Levels: All Levels
Sessions: 3
Instructor: JoElle Gragilla
Location: Schack Art Center, Painting & Drawing Studio

Discover the joy of watercolor in this relaxed four-week evening series designed especially for beginners. Each week, you’ll build on the skills from the previous class while exploring how water, pigment, color, and brushwork come together to create fresh and expressive paintings. Through a variety of fun, approachable projects, you’ll practice painting subjects such as skies, water, trees, rocks, snow-capped mountains, and still life.

You’ll learn the foundations of watercolor, including essential washes, brushwork, layering, and techniques for controlling water and pigment. We’ll explore color theory and practice mixing beautiful, varied colors while learning about the unique properties and characteristics of different pigments. You’ll also be introduced to the basics of an alla prima approach, along with simple layering techniques, and learn when each method can be useful.

By the end of the series, you’ll have a stronger understanding of watercolor techniques, greater confidence in your painting, and the skills to continue exploring watercolor on your own.

Dates: Monday - Wednesday, August 10 - 12, from 5 pm to 7:30 pm
Fee: $155/ discount with member code
Ages: 16+
Levels: All Levels
Sessions: 3
Instructor: JoElle Gragilla
Location: Schack Art Center, Painting and Drawing Studio

Linear perspective is the key to drawing with greater accuracy, depth, and a convincing sense of three-dimensional space. This class is ideal for anyone interested in urban sketching or for those who want to build confidence drawing buildings, vehicles, figures, and everyday street scenes.

We’ll begin by learning the fundamentals of linear perspective through clear, practical exercises. Once the basics are established, we’ll take those skills outside—weather permitting—to sketch from life in the surrounding urban environment. Working on location, students will observe and draw directly from the architecture, streets, and activity around them, gaining confidence applying perspective in real-world settings.

All levels are welcome. The course focuses on practical techniques that will help you better understand structure, space, and proportion in your drawings.

All supplies are included.

Dates: Monday - Wednesday, August 10 - 12, from 11 am to 4 pm
Fee: $275/ discount with member code
Ages: 16+
Levels: All Levels
Sessions: 3
Instructor: JoElle Gragilla
Location: The Jetty Bar & Grille, 1028 13th Street, Everett, WA 98201

This watercolor workshop introduces the fundamentals of painting and how to take those skills outdoors to work en plein air—painting directly from life. Slowing down, observing closely, and responding to the landscape are at the heart of this class, as nature becomes both the subject and the teacher.

We’ll meet each day at The Jetty Bar & Grille, located on the scenic Everett waterfront. After a brief demonstration and discussion of techniques—such as washes, wet-into-wet and wet-into-dry painting, and color mixing—we’ll disperse to nearby waterfront locations to paint the marina, islands, mountains, and working harbor.

All levels are welcome, from complete beginners to those with some experience. The class focuses on essential techniques you’ll return to again and again while building confidence painting outdoors.

All materials are provided for use during the workshop.

Please bring lunch or snacks, a water bottle, and whatever you need to be comfortable working outside—such as a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, and/or a portable seat. We will plan to paint near the grassy areas around the waterfront; shaded spots are often available, though as this is a public space, they cannot be guaranteed.