This two-day workshop includes a lecture and demonstration on the use of controlled lighting for a consistent light source resembling natural light. The hands-on portion of the workshop will be a day and a half of working together on still-life setups using various artificial lighting techniques. We will go through a series of steps that will demonstrate some of the various lighting options, as well as using light and shadow as part of the compositional element. Once a satisfactory setup has been established with both the still life and the lighting, participants will be given the option to paint a color sketch of the still life from their setup or continue by working with different light and or setups. If painting, this will enable you to work through the process of painting with and from artificial light.

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.

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.

With a live model

During the first session an accurate portrait drawing will be done. The remaining sessions will be applying watercolor to the portrait drawing. There will be instructor demonstrations on the progression of the painting. We will discuss warm/cool colors and light/dark values. The model will keep the same pose throughout the class. Supply list will be sent upon registration.

As a practicing painter you may have heard the quote, “Value does all of the work, but color gets all of the credit!” Though this is true, in this workshop Bridget hopes to help students discover that color does a whole lot of work, too. The workshop will start with color definitions, discussion of the color wheel, and color-mixing exercises you can work on to improve your color seeing. Then students will advance to the practical application of these skills by painting a “block-in” of color notes for a simple still life. The second and third days will focus on understanding how the color of the light source affects your subject. Students will paint a still life under a warm light source and then paint the same still life again the following day under a cool light source to study color temperature. If you are intrigued by color and would like a few more tools to think about practical application of color in your work, Bridget would love to work with you. Some understanding of value will be helpful as value will be discussed, but the focus of the class will be on color.

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.

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.

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

Life drawing is at the core of any serious program of fine arts. In the class, students draw from the figure in pencil. Each drawing is created over a period of several sessions, developing the student's eye for accurate proportions, gesture and anatomy.