Expressive Figures from Life (Aug 7-9)

Although this class is designed for all level of artists, you should have some experience with basic figure drawing and painting. This is not a traditional anatomical workshop. We’ll explore both quick, intuitive mark-making and slower, more thoughtful observation, without aiming for realism.

This workshop is an ideal space to experiment and push the boundaries of your creativity with a focus on the figure. You’ll receive expert guidance on drawing, painting, and mixed media techniques while being encouraged to maintain an atmosphere of creative freedom.

With ample time for creating art, along with demonstrations, critiques, and both group and individual instruction, this workshop is an enriching experience for artistic growth. The goal is to cultivate personal expression, process, and aesthetics in a supportive and exciting learning environment.

Homework: Prepare a lot of small papers, panels, board, etc. Prepare them with white gesso. If you have a lot of scrap material you don’t know what to do with, gesso it! You can also bring store bought canvas panels ready to go if you would like. OR a mix of everything. I would have a variety of sizes ranging from 8x10 to 11x14.

You can prepare a few large sheets, and then cut them down to various sizes.

Be prepared, we are going to use these for quick figure sketches using acrylic paint.

Supply List:

• Acrylics: At minimum, bring a set of primary colors (blue, red, yellow) plus black and white gesso. Bring any other colors you want to experiment with (I often use bright colors like neon pink, cyan, etc.) This is your opportunity to experiment! Basic palette consists of: 

  • Black Gesso

  • White Gesso

  • Pyrrole Red

  • Colbalt Blue

  • Hansa Yellow Opaque

• Watercolor paper pad: 12”x18” Canson heavy weight

• A solid board or stiff corrugated plastic to put on the easel. We’ll be attaching our paper and panels for painting on at the easel. Should be bigger than the 18x24 paper

• Brushes: A variety of watercolor/acrylic brushes (your favorites). I mostly use flats, but will use smaller round brushes for details and sketching

• Erasers:  Hard eraser and kneaded eraser

• Graphite pencil(s)

• Charcoal Pencils:  General’s Charcoal Pencils

• Willow or Vine Charcoal Sticks (Link)

• If you plan to bring Willow or Vine charcoal, I highly recommend a Chamoise

• Krylon workable fixatif

• Container for holding water (medium to large)

• Paper Towels (I use the blue shop towels)

• Painter’s or artist’s tape

• Palette for your paints

Optional Supplies:

• Oil Pastels, a basic set of colors

• Sketchbook

• Collage Material of your choice (Magazine, homemade papers, Washi Tape, etc.) If you’re going to do collage, be sure to have a medium on hand to use as adhesive. –Medium (Link)

• Colored Pencils (I use colored pencils a lot)

• Water soluble graphite pencils, colored pencils, crayons, pastels, etc.

Model Fee:

• $20 (to be paid to the instructor by cash, debit or credit at time of class)

• Includes the fee for live models.  

Class Size: 

• Min # of students: 6

• Max # of students: 10