By Scott D. Johnston
Ocean Shores artist Roy Lowry will once again be teaching a pair of art classes as part of the Community Education program at Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen, starting April 24.
“Wet on Wet Watercolor: Painting Landscapes” will take place on Mondays from 2-5 p.m., from April 24 to June 5. “Water Media: Watercolor and Acrylic Abstract Painting” will be offered from 2-5 p.m. on Thursdays, from April 27 through June 1.
The cost for each non-credit class is $87.78, discounted to $67.00 for people age 50 and older. More information is available online at www.ghc.edu/ce or by phone at 360-538-4088.
This is Lowry’s third year teaching at GHC. His career has encompassed 18 years of commercial art and textile design, as well as fine art, where he currently works in watercolor, pastel, acrylic and alcohol inks.
He said he teaches all skill levels and likes sharing with beginning artists the experiences that are “really just a matter of enjoying the medium and the process, what it is to work with a wet piece of paper, with watercolors that are wet and to watch the color move and then to see something come out of that.
“I really enjoy teaching people how to work with, and relax in, the creative process,” he explained. He teaches the importance of drawing, color and depth or dimension, but also guides his students to view art as a journey.
“I really believe that art is a little bit of facing your fears… learning to relax … it doesn’t have to be a success, you can fail. There’s a lot of reward in failure.
“I like people to be very individual and paint for themselves. I teach mediums. I love to work in and it’s just very rewarding and a lot of fun,” he said.
Lowry has been active in the Ocean Shores art scene since 2009. He is a co-founder and past president of the North Beach Artists Guild and currently teaches classes at the guild’s studios next to its Gallery of Ocean Shores, at 849 Pt. Brown Ave. NW, where several pieces of his art are exhibited. His art also is at Grays Harbor Community Hospital and at Frames-N-Things Gallery in Aberdeen.
This Saturday, April 8, he will teach a daylong class in alcohol ink tiles and watercolor painting, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Sidney Art Gallery in Port Orchard. He also will be teaching a “Wet on Wet Watercolor” class on Saturday, April 22 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and a “Pan Pastel” class from 1:30 to 5 p.m., at the Rectangle Gallery &Creative Space, 209 N Tower Avenue in Centralia.
Lowry’s website is www.roylowrywatercolors.com.
His work also can be found online at www.theartistsgallery.com/portfolio-type/roy-lowry.
