This class includes a lecture and hands-on workshop. Joy’s lecture will discuss how to present your art professionally on an artist’s budget, designing an efficient workspace, and the basic tools of the trade needed to repurpose and craft beautiful one-of-a-kind frames. She will give a demonstration on constructing a frame, glass cutting, and assembling a framed piece of art with basic framing tools. You will walk away with a list of tools and knowledge to create your own winning combinations.

We will have an assortment of sizes and frame styles as well as stretcher bars and canvases to purchase.

Paint the beauty of flowers!

Set up a floral still life with real flowers. A light pencil sketch on watercolor paper will be done before painting. We will then begin watercoloring starting with watercolor glazes. Emphasis will be on light/dark values, warm/ cool colors, and harmony of color. There will be lots of instructor help and demonstrations. Compositions will be discussed, and students will set up their own floral still lifes. Supply list will be sent upon registration.

One-day still-life studies

This class will be focused on one-day oil studies of still lifes in color. The student will begin each class with a quick 20-minute sketch of the still life in paint. The remainder of the day will be focused on color mixing, application, and manipulation of paint on the canvas using brushes or palette knives. Each week will be a new still-life setup in order to study new textures, colors and shapes. Studies, especially done in color paint, are the basis of all finished works. This class attempts to give the student more confidence in applying paint to a surface, relieving the fear of making mistakes in paint by making those mistakes and then correcting them. Only through experimentation with application of paint on the canvas do we learn to create different effects. We will also focus on quick adjustments to value, color, and drawing with differing brushes and mixing color on the palette or directly on the canvas. Some experience in drawing is recommended as much of the class will be in paint application and not perfection of drawing skills. All levels are welcome! This class will not be focused on completing a refined, finished piece but for practice, exploration and fun! This class will use only oil paint and not other mediums. Email Cassandra Ronning at cassandra.ronning@gmail.com for questions and suggested supply list.

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.

Want to work on your still-life skills? Would you like to learn to paint quickly and focus on problem solving? This class will focus on teaching you how to complete a small still life in three sessions.

In this 10-week class we will use a structured approach to create small  paintings in oil. We will spend three days per painting. Subject matter will be set up by the instructor and will be a range of objects including fruit, vegetables, metal, bone, crockery, fabric and other objects.

The approach will be working quickly and efficiently. Day one will consist of a small color study, drawing and a value block-in. Day two will be the color block. Day three will be finishing. We will plan on completing three still lifes in this fashion.

It is suggested to have some experience in drawing and/or painting. If you have questions about your experience level please reach out to the instructor to discuss.

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.

Life drawing is at the core of any serious program of fine arts. In these classes, students draw from the figure in pencil, charcoal, including an option of painting. Each drawing or painting is created over a period of sessions, developing the student’s eye for accurate gesture, proportions, and anatomy. With a single sustained pose, students will have the option of either taking one drawing/painting to a high degree of finish or completing several drawings from different positions around the model.