Workshops and Classes
2026 Ohio Watercolor Society Workshop
Watercolor by Design
Ratindra Das
Tuesday, July 21 — Friday, July 24, 2026
Canticle Center – Lourdes University
5335 Silica Dr, Sylvania, OH 43560
Design is a deliberate choice, a thinking process that leads to creating a vision of your painting’s subject, not just rendering a visual copy or pretty picture. Those who are ready to step beyond their standard way of working will benefit most from this inventive workshop.
The design process will explore a number of topics:
- Shapes and their relationships and placement on the paper.
- Learning how to use drawings and photographs in a creative way.
- Exploring values and knowing the difference between “nature’s light” and “artist’s light”.
- Learning to use conceptual and ambiguous lights and value relationship with colors.
- Exploring color in design and how color dominance can achieve unity in a painting.
- Adding energy to your painting by movement, flatness, calligraphy and bold colors.
The workshop will have discussion and demonstrations every day with audiovisual aids and illustrations. Guidance will be given to students during hands-on painting along with critique sessions. Painting subjects will be from the objective world seen in a personal way: primarily landscape in a broad sense (anything that touches land) and not figures, portraits or animals.
Ratindra Das is an award-winning artist whose journey into fine art grew steadily alongside a successful career in architecture. While working full-time, he studied painting at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, eventually turning his full energy toward the expressive world of watercolor—a medium that allowed intuition and atmosphere to take center stage.
As a professional artist he is a Dolphin Fellow of the AWS, more recently a Gold Master in NWS, a Distinguished Master in TWSA, holds a Master Membership in San Diego Watercolor Society and Watercolor West. He is a member Emeritus of the American Institute of Architects.
His paintings have received national recognition and have been featured in prestigious exhibitions, including the 1st Shanghai Zhujiajiao International Watercolor Biennial, the International Watermedia Masters, and the Taiwan World Watercolor Competition. He has published two books, “Watercolor with an Eye for Design” and “Watercolor Beyond Obvious Reality – A Workshop in a Book.”
Das is also a passionate educator and mentor. He regularly serves as a juror for national exhibitions—including the American Watercolor Society—and has conducted workshops and demonstrations throughout the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Italy, Singapore, and China. Whether standing before a class or a blank sheet of paper, he believes in painting not just what we see—but what we feel.
Use the button at the right to download a copy of the workshop flyer.
Registration will be limited to 20 students.
Preregistration fee: $50 (non-refundable—pay by June 1, 2026). Use the form below to preregister.
Fee (total): Members: $350 / Non-members: $375
Early Bird discount— pay by May 15, 2026: Members: $325 / Non-members: $350
Final payment must be made by July 1, 2026. No refunds after July 1.
After you have preregistered, complete your registration by clicking the button below.
Watermedia Workshops and Classes taught by OWS Members
Among the many talented artists of the OWS are outstanding and dedicated teachers who want to pass on the love and knowledge of their art. Several types of instruction are available and include classes, workshops and virtual instruction. Moreover, the instructors' techniques and approaches span a substantial range, so you stand a good chance to find one that suits you.
Mouse-over or touch any workshop card below for a summary and link to the artist's website.
Kevin has always had a passion for the arts. His painting style has been strongly influenced by highly detailed, realistic painters. He greatly appreciates the skill and discipline it takes to produce that level of work. To him, being an artist is not as much about a career choice, as it is a lifestyle.
Kathie George is a talented artist, workshop instructor and the author of five instructional art books. She is experimental when it comes to her use of media, but works primarily in watermedia. She is best known for developing and teaching the watercolor batik on rice paper technique.
Yuki Hall is an award winning watercolor artist known for her loose style and impressionistic approached to working with the medium. She emphasizes simplicity, effective use of tonal value patterns, fluidity and execution of confident brush strokes.
Christopher Leeper is a nationally known artist from Canfield, Ohio. He frequently participates in national juried and invitational plein air events. He teaches in a fun and relaxed style. Each day there will be demonstrations and lots of one-on-one instruction.
Rick is a talented artist probably best known for his paintings of cars. He is available for one-on-one watercolor lessons for beginner on up. Styles include impressionistic, abstract, photorealism, freestyle, and still-life. Located in Gahanna, OH at his studio. Contact Rick for rate and times.
Nancy is an award-winning watercolorist, graphic designer and watercolor painting instructor. Her decades of experience in graphic design are rooted in a BFA in advertising and fashion illustration from the University of Kansas. She enjoys teaching watercolor and drawing classes at her studio, Nanogallery in Berea, Ohio and also via virtual classes.
Vivian Ripley is an accomplished artist of quite varied subject matter, and inherent in all her works is the beauty of color and how it is affected by light and shade. She works in pastel, watercolor, acrylic, and colored pencil (sometimes combining media), always striving to achieve beauty in each medium through her emotional use of color and tone.
Do you teach workshops or classes? If you'd like to have a post here , let us know by filling out the form below. View the cards above to see the needed information (painting image, artist description, website address).
Ohio Art organizations that host workshops of interest to the OWS
The Cliffside Artists Collaborative (CAC) is dedicated to promoting and preserving works of art created by Ohio artists. It was started by Sara Kass, who was a signature member of the OWS. Committed to art education and to the encouragement of young artists planning a career in art, Sara administers art workshops for these students and their art teachers in yearly workshops.
Contact: cliffsideartist@gmail.com or 330.225.5364
With 80 years of admirable service to the Toledo Metropolitan and Northwest Ohio area, the Toledo Artists' Club has clearly been fulfilling its mission to stimulate creativity by offering art exhibitions, workshops, and art classes for adults and children thereby enhancing the fine arts for its members and the community.
The Toledo Artists' Club—Toledo, Ohio
The Central Ohio Watercolor Society was founded in 1964 and is the preeminent transparent watercolor society in the region. Founding members include notable central Ohio painters Richard Bauer, Don Dodrill, Mary Lou Jackson, Byron Kohn, Leland McClelland, Richard Phipps and Edward Tracy. Watercolor artists must apply and are juried into the society. Most of the members are award winning artists with regional and national reputations.
The Western Ohio Watercolor Society was founded in 1974 for the purpose of furthering interest in, and adding stature to, the use of watercolor as a fine art medium, as well as to encourage public interest in the medium. Watercolor is defined as water-based media, executed on paper.
