The layering of colored pencils and acrylics is a fantastic technique for building up soft textures, sharp edges, and rich colors. Drawing from colorful photographs or still-life objects of flora and fauna, we will explore the techniques used to take colored pencils a step beyond their traditional use.
Request ProgramPainting and Drawing
Color Theory through Watercolor
Understanding color is essential to creating work that captivates the eye and evokes certain moods or emotions. Through a series of fun exercises, you will learn to understand tints, shades and tones, the color wheel, complimentary colors, warm and cool colors, and color schemes. You will also produce useful charts and swatches which you can consult for future reference.…
Request ProgramPainting Portraits in Oil
Discover how a portrait is so much more than simply recording proportions, it can be one of the most expressive paintings you can create. We will focus on identifying the simple patterns and forms that are the basis for a well-designed portrait and learn how to use oils to capture the character of your subject. Students will learn from demonstrations of color mixing and technique. Students should bring a printed photo or an image on iPad/tablet to work from. Images with clear lighting are easiest but working with images in all lighting situations will be addressed.
Request ProgramPortrait Drawing in Charcoal
Discover how a portrait is so much more than simply recording proportions, it can be one of the most expressive drawings you can create. We will focus on identifying the simple patterns and forms that are the basis for a well-designed portrait, students will learn through demonstration to use form, value, and line to develop expression. Students should bring a printed photo or an image on iPad/tablet to work from. Images with clear lighting are easiest but working with images in all lighting situations will be addressed.
Request ProgramOil Painting Basics
This class provides insight into oil painting for beginners starting out in oils to experienced painters developing techniques. During a demonstration of developing composition, participants discover the results of painting wet in wet and creating form with color. By understanding how the paints work, students will be able to translate what they see into finished oil paintings. Emphasis will be on employing a full range of techniques to create an expressive painting. Students can choose to work from their own photos or from still life.
Request ProgramLandscape Painting
How do artists capture the mood and light effects in landscape? In this workshop, participants explore how to use color and form to create an expressive landscape painting. A demonstration shows how to see color and simple shapes as a starting point and how to create atmospheric perspective and depth while developing individual styles. The class can be offered as an oil painting or a watercolor class.
Request ProgramExploring the Mellon Collection: I Spy through Herbert Haseltine’s Eye
This workshop begins with I Spy with My Artist’s Eye, a warm-up game that helps students see the world of nature through their “artist eyes.” Through this exercise, students learn to identify an “artist’s alphabet” of the elements and shapes found in nature. (A poster serves as a quick reference during the sessions.) Once the students have begun to use their “artist eyes,” they explore Herbert Haseltine’s animal sculptures through slides and photographs. Inspired by his work, they create an animal using the “animal alphabet.” These drawings are transferred to watercolor paper and painted with watercolors and oil pastels using a resist technique. The finished work is mounted on a brightly colored card stock, which “frames” the piece. A dramatic finish (optional) is provided as the students use colored paper clips to join the squares to form a paper quilt.
Request ProgramExploring the Mellon Collection: I Spy through George Catlin’s Eye
In this workshop, students study the paintings of George Catlin through slides and photographs. After learning about Catlin’s interest in preserving and documenting the life and culture of the North American native tribes, students explore aspects of their own lives that they would most want to document and share with another culture, as Catlin did when he visited Europe. Students create tempera paintings on cardboard that reflect what they have learned and discovered.
Request ProgramEncaustic Painting & Mixed Media Lab
Encaustic painting is an ancient process that dates back to 5th century BC. Pigmented beeswax is heated on a griddle and applied to rigid panels with brushes. The results yield luminous, richly layered work that has its own unique character. Students will learn classic encaustic painting techniques and explore how to combine them with contemporary processes, such as surface embellishment, image transfer, incising, collaging, and creating marks and images with oil paint, pastels, markers, and inks. It is an ideal complement or stand-alone process for oil painters, printmakers, collagists, sculptors, watercolorists, and other artists. So that students can continue their exploration of this versatile medium on their own, this lab provides information on supply sources, setting up a studio for encaustic work, safety guidelines, framing, and exhibition considerations.
Request ProgramDrawing for the Rest of Us: An Introduction to Drawing
If you can write, you can draw! Drawing is just another form of visual communication, a skill that can be developed by anyone. This workshop is an introduction to basic drawing tools, drawing warm-up exercises, and techniques that can be used to help you build a foundation to experience the joy of drawing.
Request Program