Requirement: Must have finished the black-and-white painting in Basic Drawing I

This course follows the Atelier curriculum and is intended to support students in developing their skill set. Basic Drawing and Painting II builds upon the fundamentals taught in Basic Drawing and Painting. Students will use the Paxton palette as their base to learn color.

Basic Drawing and Painting II will focus on creating a color painting of a still life. Students will either paint a still life set upon a flat platform or a trompe l'oeil hung on a stand. The focus will be on process, simple composition, lighting, and color. The course will guide students through the process by requiring a color study, a value study and a final color painting.

Supply list will be sent upon registration.

One-day figure studies

Students will paint a new study each week working from the figure. Working from a new pose each week will give students many opportunities to study gesture, anatomy, proportion, value and color! Instructors will guide the student to achieve a complete figure, starting by drawing and progressing to blocking in with paint while striving for accuracy in proportion. All students will begin in black-and-white value for the first two classes progressing to color based on skill level and student preference. Throughout the class topics to be discussed will include value structure/form, some anatomy, color mixing/ relativity, and understanding temperature. Different exercises will be presented throughout the class to focus on these topics.

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.

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.

Are you confused by color? Do you work hard to mix a color only to get a color you didn’t want? My goal is to teach you how to make color mixing less frustrating and help you gain confidence in color mixing. Bring questions and a curious mind. Using the colors of The Atelier’s Paxton Palette, students will create color boards (based on the color boards shown in “Alla Prima” by Richard Schmid), as well as some free-form color exploration. Through these projects students will explore color and practice ways to think about what we see when mixing colors. Topics include mixing analogous colors, complements, the color wheel, color space, gamut, the attributes of color (hue, value, chroma), temperature, color bias, why a 50/50 mix does not make a middle color, mixing “mud”, and more. Each class is mostly work time, part presentation and discussion. Most students find they need additional time outside of class to complete the boards. We will work in oil paint. 

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.

Hybrid Class (Students may attend either in-person or via Zoom.)

Explore your imagination! In this class you will be coached through an imaginative art-making process that Christine uses for creating personal work and client commissions. Emphasis is placed on intent and visual narrative. Christine's teaching is tailored to the needs of each student, be it exploring personal themes or creating work for your portfolio. Assignments can be provided or self-generated. You may work using traditional or digital media. The goal of this class is for you to learn this process (with modifications as needed) and build confidence in and further develop your unique personal creative abilities, therefore, we will avoid using image generators. During class, critiques and discussion are done in a supportive group atmosphere. Students will work on their projects between classes. We use Google Classroom to share information and review projects (Gmail account needed for access). Classes are not recorded. Email Christine with questions or concerns: christine.mitzuk@theatelier.org.

Imaginative Art and Illustration 2: A modified version of the class will be offered in the winter and summer sessions. The full lectures will not be included in those sessions. The goal of this class is similar to Illustration 1 in that we will work to build confidence in and further develop your unique personal creative abilities, therefore we will avoid using image generators.