Deepen your understanding of color and put color theory to practical use. In this class we will explore various projects to boost your understanding and confidence with using and mixing color. Learn ways to alter chroma, the relative nature of color, color harmony, simultaneous contrast, and more through a combination of presentations, demonstrations, and assignments. Assignments will include color mixing exercises, and painting studies from still life objects and master works. Color I or a very basic understanding of Hue, Value and Chroma are strongly recommended. We will be using the Paxton Palette in oil paint. Limit 8 students.

Building Form Through Light

Value studies occupy a distinct place within academic figure drawing as a preparatory exercise artists use to establish value relationships before moving on to the final work. Instead of drawing with line, you construct the figure with mass—identifying the major planes of light and building form through value relationships rather than contour. A value study serves as a miniature and more simplified version of the final figure drawing, allowing the artist to refer back and maintain the same flow of light established in the study. The practice of doing value studies reveals how essential simplicity is to a successful full-value figure drawing.

In this three-day workshop, students will work from a live model while focusing on identifying major planes, establishing a hierarchy of light and shadow, and examining the way in which the light falls on the figure. Working without the use of line, students will learn to draw with only mass using charcoal and white chalk on toned paper.

Students will gain both technical fluency in their use of materials and a deeper understanding of how simplified value relationships strengthen the overall coherency and unity of a figure drawing, giving them practical tools for approaching larger, more resolved full-value figure drawings.

In this workshop, students will work short figure poses to master the quick figure study. Students will learn the value of decision making and how to prioritize those decisions. Working the quick pose will create the opportunity for students to make fast decisions, which will better prepare the student to make intelligent decisions when faced with a longer pose.

Books, frames, art materials, easels, and more!

We have newly donated items for this annual sale including choice art books, frames, prints, art materials, easels and more. We also have a variety of picture moulding for sale and heavy duty stretcher bars used for creating canvases. First come, first served.

“There is no such thing as bad weather, only poor clothing.”
-Norwegian saying

One of the great things about Minnesota is our four seasons. Painting winter offers a unique opportunity to study light and form in the landscape. It is one of my favorite seasons to paint. Painting in the cold is not without its challenges, but if you are ready to leave that bug spray behind and see what winter has to offer, this class is for you! Mornings will be spent warm and cozy at the Atelier. Bridget will discuss the value of the snow, how snow helps to show us the form of the landscape, overall value structure in the landscape. The second day, Bridget will discuss design principles and mixing neutral colors that we see in the winter. Lecture will also touch on color temperature shifts. The park has a fire pit, so depending if it is available may have a marshmallow roast and hot cocoa on the last day.

Class will be taught in oils. This is a plein air class so, yes, we will be painting outside. This class will be at the mercy of the weather. If there is excessive snow fall, wind or if the temperature is less than 15 degrees, this class may be cancelled. This class may also be cancelled if we get too much warm weather and all of the snow melts.

Books, frames, art materials, easels, and more!

We have newly donated items for this annual sale including choice art books, frames, prints, art materials, easels and more. We also have a variety of picture moulding for sale and heavy duty stretcher bars used for creating canvases. First come, first served.

Art, Civic Identity, and the Making of the Gates of Paradise

The fifty years Ghiberti spent forging the Baptistery doors stand as a testament to the love and devotion he felt for Florence, where civic pride found its truest expression in the patient beautification of the city itself. This lecture considers the moment the craftsman became an intellectual, witnessed in two self-portraits Ghiberti set into the Baptistery doors of Florence. In the first, the young Ghiberti presents himself as a man of the workshop, the turban of a goldsmith shielding him from dust, heat, and noise, while in his later portrait he appears as a thinker who had mastered perspective and his knowledge of classical antiquity, as reflected in his reliefs.

Experience our full-time program in a week-long workshop.

Students begin by drawing a plaster cast or still life in charcoal, developing their ability to render accurate proportions and value relationships. As students progress, they are introduced to the fundamentals of oil and/or pastel techniques, composition and color.