It is with the greatest pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for Doug Watson. Doug and I worked together as instructors in the Fine Arts Department at Ex'pression College from August 2006 until May 2008. When I came to work at Expression College after a twenty year career with Lucas Films, it was Doug who trained me to teach the Drawing Boot Camp Course. During this training, I found Doug to be a very competent, knowledgeable, and patient mentor. As Doug's assistant and trainee I had the opportunity to observe him teaching on a daily basis. His talent and skill as a teacher have been an inspiration to me. He is organized, well prepared and resourceful. He takes command of the class on the first day, yet also establishes a caring rapport with each and every student. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the classroom with over twenty years of creating art for the pinball and video game industries Drawing Boot Camp is a fast paced, high intensity drawing course that includes three hours of figure drawing from live models every day. This is followed by four hours of lecture and one on one critique, and mentoring for each student. Doug is an excellent mentor who shows great patience and judgment as he gives individual attention to each student. He is also an excellent draftsman capable of producing spontaneous as well as planned drawing demonstrations.
Following my four month training period, Doug turned over the Drawing Boot Camp class to me and moved on to take over the Design Basics class. Doug was an excellent fit for this class since it called upon his formidable skill as a painter. Design Basics covers color theory, composition, sculpture, and art history and introduces the students to a wide range of color media and methods. Besides teaching these two classes, Doug also served as co-manager of the Fine Arts Department. An important part of his duties as co-manager was to search for, test and procure the necessary materials for all of the classes in the department. We could always depend on Doug to find the best materials and have them ready for us when we needed them.
Doug Watson is a skilled, resourceful and passionate teacher. I heartily recommend him for any art teaching position. I believe he will be an asset and valued employee in any teaching community.
Sincerely,
Tony Sommers
Drawing Boot Camp Instructor
Ex'pression College for Digital Arts