Steve Griggs was our guest speaker last night. Steve has a unique loose style that he demonstrated for us.

Steve started painting when he got his first set of watercolors on his 12th birthday. Early on, he developed a loose style. He met his wife, Sue, while in college, and she is now his Business Director, although she likes to call herself the Artist Whisperer.

Before beginning his painting, Steve demonstrated a few brush techniques he likes to use:

The Dapple: This is where you load your brush and use the tip of a round brush, then apply quick strokes. Mixing with a second color and then lightly spraying with water to blend.

The Patch Quilt: Using a flat brush, he makes cross-hatch strokes.

Broad Stroke: This is where you use the side of your round brush.

Staccato: Using the tip of a round brush, he makes quick, random strokes.

Before beginning a painting, Steve breaks the image down and into simple shapes. He looks at the aggregate values of each shape, then keeps breaking each shape down into simple shapes and values.

Steve will also do a value sketch. This helps him determine how he will paint his painting and which method he will use. This also allows Steve to determine if he wants to change up the colors or the season of the year. By painting just the shapes and using his brush techniques he can add energy or action into the shape.

A little trick Steve shared with us is mixing coarse Kosher salt with hot water to dissolve it. He then puts this in a small spray bottle to create a granulated effect! Of course, you still have to figure out the timing to get the effect!

For tonight’s painting demonstration, Steve used Cad. Yellow, New Gambouge, Lunar Black, Quin. God, Quin Rose, Cad Red, Ultramarine, and Cobalt Turquoise. Steve confessed he is a collector of colors and has just about every color of every line of watercolors!

To create light, Steve applies his paint thick and wet, then blots with a tissue. He told us to get “out of our heads” and you don’t have to paint what you “see!”

When painting figures, he keeps it simple. Just a blob of paint for the head, the torso, and two quick strokes for the legs! The torso should be 3 times the size of the head.

If you are interested in taking class with Steve, or visiting his studio in Denver, please visit his website.