WATERCOLOR WORKSHOP WITH DALE KURTZ

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 18, & 19, 2026 from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm (with a half hour lunch break)

Workshop fee:
$225 for SAA members
$250 for non-members

(You can join SAA as a member here. SAA members receive discounts throughout the year & other perks. Membership fees help support the work of SAA. If you are uncertain of your membership status, please email laura@salemart.org).

Attendees will bring their own materials. A materials list will be sent to you at least a week prior to the workshop.

Please bring a sack lunch for our 30-minute lunch break.  

Workshop details:
This workshop will be about watercolor landscape painting.

People ask me a lot about how I paint the way I do. That often leads to questions about how I paint my trees, bushes or rocks and questions about painting water or a waterfall. This workshop will be about how I paint those things.

I will try to be flexible to meet the needs of what the workshop members are requesting about subject choices. We will begin the workshop with painting techniques for rocks and move on to painting techniques for trees and bushes. The second day we will paint thunderheads, still water, moving water, and a waterfall. These first two days we will not complete a finished painting but rather methods of paintings various landscape subject matter.

The third day we will work through both composition ideas and the stages of a painting as I think about a finished painting. It can be very important to know the reasons for the order of painting those stages. This will be the day for working towards a finished painting.

Again, class requests will determine some of the focus of the workshop.

Oregon and the Watercolors of Dale Kurtz

Both the Oregon landscape and watercolor painting bring unique joys to my life. Combining the two simply doubles life’s pleasures. It is a good day when I am out in the Oregon landscape, and it is a good day when I am painting with watercolors.

Oregon’s landscape ranges from coastal rain forests to high desert, from farming valleys to wilderness mountains, from sparse vegetation to towering firs, and from small lakes and streams to the vast ocean. Add to this the constantly changing sky—often within a single day—and there is endless material to delight the eye and move the soul. Whether I am driving, biking, hiking, boating, or simply standing still, I am continually amazed by the compositions available to the artist.

Watercolor has its own range of variety and rewards. With its many techniques, tools, and approaches, it offers a lifetime of learning. Watercolor can be both boldly loose and carefully controlled, often within the same painting. Watching a painting evolve through its stages is exciting—sometimes the artist is in control, and sometimes the paint is, requiring adaptation and response in the moment.

I want my paintings to convey both the delight of traveling through Oregon and the Northwest and the joy of painting in watercolor. Creating a painting allows me to revisit a place, see it in a new way, and enjoy it again. When I look at a finished work, I see both the day I was there and the day I painted it. Both were good days.

Artist Biography – Dale Kurtz

Dale Kurtz’s interest in art began out of necessity when he “had” to take an art appreciation class at Pacific University in the 1960s. By the early 1970s, that requirement had grown into a lifelong passion and obsession with watercolor.

After college, Dale and his wife, Esther, moved to Douglas County, where they began their teaching careers and raised four children in Days Creek and Riddle. Dale taught history and government for 31 years before retiring, a transition that allowed him to devote more time than ever to painting.

Although Dale does not have a formal art education, “self-taught” is not an accurate description. His early artistic development was shaped by the generous guidance of local instructors and fellow artists. Esther played a vital role as well—together they visited galleries, discussed art, and thoughtfully reviewed his work. Over time, various workshop instructors added new ideas and perspectives. During these early years, Dale sold his work at local festivals and shows. Shortly before retiring from teaching, he purchased a booth and began traveling the summer art-festival circuit, exhibiting in Eugene, Roseburg, Salem, Albany, Bend, and Corvallis.

Dale’s love for Oregon landscapes began in childhood, wandering the farm country and hills of Klamath County. The Boy Scouts fostered his appreciation for camping and hiking, interests he shared with Esther, who also grew up camping and boating. Together, they hiked extensively, including the Rogue River Trail, six-day loops around Three Finger Jack and the Three Sisters, and multi-day trips in the wilderness areas of Douglas County, along with countless day hikes. They also bicycled from the California border to the Washington border just east of the Cascades and later added kayaking, including overnight trips on quiet waters. After retirement, travels throughout the western United States introduced new vistas and inspiration for Dale’s paintings.

Esther passed away in 2021, but she remains at the heart of Dale’s art. The experiences they shared, the material gathered during their travels, and her artistic influence continue to form the core of his work.