Prerequisite: Landscape Painting Workshop 

This class will discuss the golden hour and sunsets, but the focus of class time will be an opportunity for students to practice plein-air painting with more instructor assistance at their easel. Bridget’s Landscape Painting Workshop is a prerequisite to this course as it is important to have received a strong foundation of knowledge from which to work.

Tuesdays, June 3, 17, and 24, 2025

Working with a model in a single pose, students will be able to sculpt the entire figure. Starting with the model, we will pose your armature to match the model's pose with a focus on weight distribution, proportion, and anatomy. Once the armature is posed to match the model, we will start applying water-based clay. By gradually building up the masses, we will rely on the sight-size method to match the model's contours. Once the volumes are achieved, we will shape the volumes into planes while still focusing on proportion and anatomy. The third stage will focus on surface-modeling techniques and finishing styles. Whether it's academic realism, rough, or refined, bringing emotion and movement to your sculpture is the goal.

Tools: You may borrow tools such as calipers and modeling tools, but bring your own plumb line.

Get ready for a week filled with drawing creatures, being inspired by famous artists, and creating a 3D project! Bring a Sharpie marker, Strathmore 400 Mixed Media pad (11" x 14" or larger), a pencil and eraser.

Additional Information for Parents:

1. There are no exceptions on age limits.
2. It is warm in our studio, so please have your child dress to be comfortable.
3. Have your kids bring a water bottle and a small snack.
4. Just like a museum, The Atelier has artistic nude paintings on display.

The summer is so beautiful, and painting watercolors outside from nature is wonderful! The first two sessions we will work inside and have a tutorial on mixing colors, values and composition and how to paint trees, flowers, skies, etc. We will then go outside to paint in nature and apply the lessons learned. Locations will be at Lake Harriet - land, flowers, water, bandstand with food and bathrooms. In case of bad weather, an email will be sent that morning, and we will meet at The Atelier, where I will have reference photos to work from.

No class on 7/4.

If you'd like to learn more about the convenience and possibilities of digital tools like Photoshop, then this workshop is for you. Christine will teach you some of the essential digital skills she uses for her digital and traditional art making. Learn about different color modes for making art for print or on screen, “frankensteining” your reference, using a pencil drawing as a base for a digital painting, altering your sketch digitally to explore composition and value design, and drawing and painting digitally. We will not be using any AI/ML image generation tools. You will also be given suggestions to continue to practice on your own. About a week before the workshop, registrants will receive access to the workshop files.

The majority of our projects will be done using Photoshop. I recommend using the 7-day free trial of Photoshop for this workshop. If you choose to purchase a Photoshop plan, be sure you understand the subscription agreement (some are monthly and some are an annual commitment with fees for canceling early). We'll also look at alternatives to Photoshop that cost less.

Please direct questions to Christine.Mitzuk@TheAtelier.org

Some technical assistance will be available. The workshop does not include any software or hardware.

Requirements: You must:

Strongly recommended: If using Photoshop on a laptop, a Wacom drawing tablet or similar is strongly recommended. Christine uses a Wacom Intuos (small size, price starts around $70.00). Some local resources include: Best Buy, Micro Center, Device Pitstop.

Christine has been using Photoshop since the mid 90s, first as a student at the U of MN, then through her graphic design career, and painting digitally for over a decade. She continues to use it as a professional artist and illustrator as part of her traditional painting process and for digital paintings.

Would you like to learn more about drawing faces? Come for a week filled with drawing as well as creating 3-dimensional facial features. We will conclude by putting it all together to either copy a famous portrait, create a self portrait, or draw a friend. We may use our imagination a little, too! Bring a sketchpad, 2H and 6B pencils, soft charcoal pencil, and a kneaded eraser.

Additional Information for Parents:

1. There are no exceptions on age limits.
2. It is warm in our studio, so please have your child dress to be comfortable.
3. Have your kids bring a water bottle and a small snack.
4. Just like a museum, The Atelier has artistic nude paintings on display.

The workshop starts with a lecture and demonstration Friday evening at The Atelier to discuss materials, gear, and process. Attendees will then paint twice a day, Saturday and Sunday mornings and afternoons. Richard Lack once said that if you want to learn about color you paint outside. Focus will be on recognizing the values that capture the light in a scene and the way colors recede into distance. Composition will also be discussed as well as practical tips for working quickly.

Friday evening will be at The Atelier for a lecture, demonstration and Q&A. Saturday and Sunday will be two 3-hour sessions each day: 8:30am to 11:30am and 1:30pm to 4:30pm.

Friday, 6:30pm–9:30pm, Saturday & Sunday, 8:30am–4:30pm

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.