The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts

Andrew Sjodin is a professional painter working in the representational tradition. Along with working as a studio artist, Andrew has also developed a dedicated practice as an instructor, teaching at his alma mater, The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts in Minneapolis, MN, as a core program instructor as well as traveling to teach workshops throughout the United States. Andrew brings over 15 years of painting experience and over a decade of instructional experience to his teaching.

Creating still life paintings has been a major focus of Andrew's career as an artist. His approach to painting attempts to synthesize both a visual/ intuitive as well as an academic/intellectual approach to seeing color, developing form, and telling story. In this five day still life workshop Andrew will be walking students through the entire process of creating a still life—from composing the set-up, to blocking-in, to developing form and color, to finishing.

Each day of the workshop will be split into two three-hour blocks: from 9am to noon Andrew will demonstrate; from 1pm to 4pm Andrew will critique student work. On day one, the morning demo will also include a lecture covering materials, composition, color theory, paint handling, and how to think about the three stages of creating a painting: block-in, development, and finish. Throughout the remainder of the week students will be free to work on their own paintings in the morning session and/ or observe Andrew as he works alongside them. In the afternoon sessions Andrew will work around the room, critiquing individual students, helping them problem solve, and pushing them with new ideas and critical approaches to developing their work.