Georgia

Watercolor on the Golden Isles

Program No. 8213RJ
Find inspiration in the beauty of Jekyll Island as you learn the art of watercolor, enjoying daily instruction, demonstrations and exercises to improve your confidence and technique.

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At a Glance

Learn to express your ideas and creativity through the beauty of watercolor on the gem of the Golden Isles of Georgia – Jekyll Island. Begin to build a solid foundation of basic watercolor skills and learn the unique properties of this medium: pigments, mixing colors with a limited palette, brush control, methods of applying watercolor to paper, papers available for watercolor and building values in a painting. Through natural progression, learn to change shapes into forms, create a color wheel, learn about color theory, and throughout this process paint a number of scenes based on subject matter readily available all around you. Be inspired and create lovely watercolors!
Activity Level
Easy Going
There is minimal walking and standing on this program. At the hotel, there are steps leading from the Bellstand to the veranda at the entrance (there is a handicap lift available). There are also 4 steps leading to the front desk. There is a gift shop at the hotel that has steps as well, which include 3 steps up and 3 steps down.
Small Group
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.

What You'll Learn

  • Enjoy ample individual attention from an instructor who enthusiastically leads you from the color wheel, through sketching to many finished paintings.
  • Daily student exploration of processes introduces ideas and techniques in a loose and free approach.
  • Explore Jekyll Island during free time, and learn how the island was made into a winter retreat for families including the Rockefellers and Pulitzers.

General Notes

Suitable for Beginner/Intermediate watercolor participants. All watercolor materials are supplied for ease of travel. Participants can bring favorite brushes, pigments, and other watercolor tools for use in the evenings. Due to the nature of this program, listening devices are not available.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
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Jim Gensheer
Jim Gensheer has taught watercolor for more than thirty years in a variety of settings, including as a private instructor in his own studio, workshops in France and Croatia, as a high school art teacher, and as an invited guest artist in art programs across Georgia. Jim has studied with Skip Lawrence, Don Andrews, and Charles Reid, and his paintings have been collected internationally.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Profile Image of JoAnn Buisson
JoAnn Buisson View biography
JoAnn Buisson is a retired elementary school teacher from Boston, Mass. After college, she was employed as a nursery school teacher until 1981. She remained at home until 1994 in order to raise her children. In 1994, JoAnn accepted a position with a local elementary school as an art teacher, eventually retiring in 2014. Upon retirement, she moved to Jekyll Island with her husband. She continues her interest in the arts, taking several classes in pottery.
Profile Image of Jim Gensheer
Jim Gensheer View biography
Jim Gensheer has taught watercolor for more than thirty years in a variety of settings, including as a private instructor in his own studio, workshops in France and Croatia, as a high school art teacher, and as an invited guest artist in art programs across Georgia. Jim has studied with Skip Lawrence, Don Andrews, and Charles Reid, and his paintings have been collected internationally.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
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6 days
5 nights
12 meals
5 B 3 L 4 D
DAY
1
Check-in, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation
Jekyll Island, GA
D
Jekyll Island Club Resort

Activity note: Hotel check-in from 4:00 p.m.

Afternoon: Program Registration: After you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing your name-tag, up-to-date schedule that reflects any last-minute changes, and other important information. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in.

Dinner: Dinner in a private banquet room at the hotel.

Evening: The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Periods in the daily schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

DAY
2
Watercolor Instruction & Painting, Open Studio Practice
Jekyll Island, GA
B,L,D
Jekyll Island Club Resort

Activity note: Full day of instruction and painting.

Breakfast: We'll enjoy breakfast in the hotel’s Victorian-era Grand Dining Room.

Morning: Our instructor begins Exploring Watercolor with a discussion of watercolor paper, 3 different brushes that will be used, the limited choice of pigments the instructor has placed on the palettes and choices of palettes that are available. Handouts describe the color wheel and show the group how they are going to create a color wheel from colors on the palette. This process leads to discussion of color schemes like monochromatic, color triads, analogous and complimentary. Group will create some small paintings that explore these color schemes. Group will experiment with different brushes and watercolor papers. These explorations will acquaint the students with vocabulary that will be utilized throughout the entire week. Questions are encouraged and these topics will be reviewed throughout the week. Instructor continues to monitor what each student is working on and answers questions.

Lunch: In a banquet room at the hotel, we’ll enjoy lunch together.

Afternoon: Instructor discusses ways of maintaining white areas. Students do an exercise to understand value and complete a value study. Instructor discusses ways to achieve the darkest values of a color and students do a second exercise exploring making shapes into three dimensional forms. After these two short lessons the instructor shows the students a series of paintings with step-by-step breakdown for the process of creating a finished watercolor. Regardless of subject matter, these basic watercolor painting techniques remain constant. Instructor discusses format of a painting, a decision that must be made with every new painting. Students make a light drawing, determine white areas, apply light values, begin mixing intermediate washes, textures, add darker “glazes”, add the darkest darks and finishing details. The instructor encourages questions and answers so that everyone will benefit. “Tricks of the trade”, like sea sponges, corks on toothpicks, “artistic” tissue techniques are shared to enhance the watercolors.

Dinner: Dinner in the banquet room.

Evening: After dinner we will enjoy music entertainment provided by a local musician. Students are then given time to complete unfinished artwork, begin new pieces, and get one on one attention from the instructor.

DAY
3
Watercolor Instruction & Painting & Behind Scenes Hotel Tour
Jekyll Island, GA
B
Jekyll Island Club Resort

Activity note: Some walking during tour.

Breakfast: Breakfast will be served in the Grand Dining Room at the hotel.

Morning: Instructor reviews Monday’s lessons on color wheel, value, terms used and steps to creating a watercolor. New ideas are shared that include creating texture, unity in a painting, balance, contrast, emphasis, pattern, movement and rhythm. Students are given additional handouts of oak trees, birds, marsh grasses, and palms indigenous to the Jekyll Island area and coast. Instructor gives brief demonstrations on painting the different trees, Spanish moss, birds and grasses. Students do small studies of each before beginning two different paintings that incorporate some of the new subjects that have been discussed. Instructor continues to give one-on-one instruction as questions arise in the process of completing the paintings. After class, we will take a behind the scenes tour to see how the Jekyll Island Club has maintained its standards of luxurious service for over a century.

Lunch: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

Afternoon: Free time. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. As you explore the island, take this opportunity to gain inspiration for your next painting. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

DAY
4
Watercolor Instruction, Historic District Trolley Tour
Jekyll Island, GA
B,L,D
Jekyll Island Club Resort

Activity note: Full day of instruction and painting. Getting on and off the trolley.

Breakfast: Breakfast will be served in the Grand Dining Room at the hotel.

Morning: Coastal Georgia is known for it’s marshes and today the group begins two paintings of the marsh and islands. Format is discussed again and instructor reviews how she would progress through the painting, sharing step by step paintings of how to get to the final, finished watercolor.

Lunch: Lunch will be served at the hotel.

Afternoon: After lunch we will take a guided tour of the historic district on the trolley. We will then have open studio with each student finishing or creating new watercolors. Instructor is available for all students’ questions.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel.

Evening: The open studio will continue so that you may work on your watercolor pieces with instructor guidance.

DAY
5
Watercolor Instruction, Art Opening
Jekyll Island, GA
B,L,D
Jekyll Island Club Resort

Activity note: Full day of instruction and painting.

Breakfast: Breakfast in the historic Grand Dining Room at the hotel.

Morning: Students utilize subjects in photos taken on their adventures around the island on Wednesday for two new paintings. The instructor reviews the steps to planning and laying out the drawing for these new paintings. Each participants’ ideas for their last couple of watercolors are discussed as a group so everyone can hear how to plan for different subjects. Instructor continues to monitor and encourage each student.

Lunch: Hotel meal.

Afternoon: Students finish paintings and select several of their artworks for the art show that will occur Thursday evening. Instructor answers any remaining questions about finishing the paintings.

Dinner: Dinner in the banquet room.

Evening: After dinner we will have an Art Opening. The group gathers around the art show that has been hung in the classroom area. The impact of this final event is so encouraging for the latest group of Road Scholar watercolorists! Wonderful artwork created by each participant are given a positive critique summing up what they have accomplished.

DAY
6
Wrap-up, Program Concludes
Jekyll Island, GA
B

Activity note: Hotel check-out by 11 a.m.

Breakfast: Breakfast in the Grand Dining Room at the hotel.

Morning: Some of our group will be leaving before or after breakfast. This gives those participants who wish to discuss their work with the instructor more time to do so. One on one sessions can be scheduled from breakfast time through the morning. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future.






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