Watercolor in the Garden

Mitch Roberge leads a watercolor painting class at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens on Saturday, October 17, from 1 PM to 3 PM. It's an outdoor session, so you'll be painting right in the garden rather than in a studio. The subject is the autumn scenery around you: the flowers and foliage of the arboretum in mid-October. Roberge focuses on watercolor layering and texture techniques, so it's as much about how you build the paint as it is about what you're looking at.

If you're not already familiar, the Morris Arboretum & Gardens is the University of Pennsylvania's public garden in Chestnut Hill. It's a research site for plant science and conservation, and it runs a continuing education program open to the public—this class is part of that. The arboretum also offers a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture, which is built around ten core courses and two electives, so there's a fair amount of horticultural study happening on the grounds beyond the weekend workshops.

Since the class is held outdoors, the weather is a factor, but they have an indoor space ready if it rains, so you won't be painting in a downpour. You'll also get a materials list emailed to you in advance, which gives you time to gather what you need before you show up. The session runs from 1 PM to 3 PM on Saturday, October 17, and costs $40.