Renowned watercolor artist teaches Lee students in campus workshop
Artist Mitchell Tolle, left, is pictured here with Lee University art major Ryan Davison during a watercolor workshop on Friday, Feb. 10.
Photo courtesy of the Lee University Public Relations Office
Mitchell Tolle, an internationally recognized artist, recently taught a watercolor portrait workshop for 15 Lee University art students on Friday, Feb. 10.
Tolle taught the students the finer details of watercolor painting, color theory, brushwork and the importance of light and shadow throughout the day. Students created detailed portraits based on a pencil drawing done earlier and received feedback from Tolle.
Justin Sigel, a senior studio art student, was one of the 15 in attendance. He especially praised Tolle’s artistic ability.
“Tolle is a professional in his medium for sure,” Sigel said. “An incredible artist and a master of the watercolor medium.”
Sigel also stressed the importance of having outside artists teach and hopes more workshops like Tolle’s will happen in the future.
“Bringing in professionals that are outside the university gives you diversity of inspiration, perspective and skill, which allows students to develop and grow in their field of study by exposing them to things they may not experience within the institution.”
Assistant Professor of Art Mary Mathias-Dickerson praised Tolle for his inspirational work and called the event a “great opportunity” for students.
“[Tolle’s] commitment to excellence and continuous improvement is contagious,” Mathias-Dickerson said in a press release. “Students who participated in the workshop have been applying what they learned from him in many of their other classes.”
Assistant Art Professor John Simmons planned the event and was greatly satisfied with its success.
“I think he gave the students a greater sense of professionalism, as far as really wanting to do good quality artwork,” Simmons said.
Simmons shared Sigel’s wish for more art workshops but knows it might be a slow process before they become a regular occurrence.
“We are going to try to have at least one of these types of workshops every year, which isn’t much, but it’s a start,” Simmons said. “Maybe every semester, but it just depends on who we can find and how much funding we have available for that.”
Tolle's artwork and portfolio can be found at mitchelltolle.com.
For more information about Lee’s art program, call (423) 614-8341.
