Before a painting deserves a large canvas, it must survive the study. In this intensive one-day workshop, professional artist Vlad Duchev guides serious painters through the disciplined process that separates hesitation from mastery: structured, intentional studies. In today’s art culture, artists are often encouraged to “just paint.” But strong paintings are not accidents. They are built. A study is not a warm-up. It is not a quick sketch. It is a focused investigation. When you isolate one problem at a time — value, composition, temperature, edge, brushwork — clarity replaces guesswork. Confidence replaces correction. Authority replaces uncertainty.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Vlad Milan Duchev
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This workshop will focus on the problem of combining the genres of still-life and interior painting into a single picture. We will start by addressing the problem of finding a subject and the practical and formal problems of setting up a still life. We will discuss how to organize and simplify complex information, how to have a unified sense of light throughout the picture and how to perceive color and tone relationships. We will also cover aspects of drawing that will help in the creation of a convincing sense of space. Students are welcome to bring their own objects or work with objects on hand at the center.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Peter Van Dyck
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Learn how to paint beautiful landscapes on location! In this class, we will discuss the fundamentals of painting en plein air as well as more advanced topics like drawing, composition, and color theory. The first day will begin with a 30-minute lecture and discussion on the core concepts of plein air painting. This will be followed by a 2.5-hour painting demonstration. After a 1-hour lunch break, students will begin work on their own paintings while Marc gives individualized instruction. Class will end at 4pm, but students may continue to paint if they wish. Days 2 and 3 will follow a similar format. The class will end with a group critique and discussion.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Marc Anderson
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Our interest is whether two distinct pictorial genres, the portrait and the nude figure, can challenge each other and make each more interesting. The expressive overlap in portraiture and figure painting has been a central concern in my work for over forty years. To explore this experience the workshop will consist of two all day poses. Participants may use any painting medium (oil, acrylic, pastel, opaque watercolor), but the emphasis will be in pushing the participants’ efforts through changes and revision which may include the model’s change of state from nude to clothed or vice versa. My interest is in “likeness” which is as much involved with gesture, proportion, and spatial context as the disposition of features, complexion, and light.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Scott Noel
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

In this immersive two-day painting workshop, artist Vlad Duchev emphasizes a practical approach centered on one of the most important elements in painting: composition. Through a series of focused studies, participants will learn how to simplify complex subjects, identify compelling shapes, organize visual relationships, and create compositions that communicate clearly and powerfully. From initial idea to finished painting, emphasis will be placed on editing, design, and the strategic use of suggestion—learning how to leave out the unnecessary so the essential can speak louder. This workshop is designed for painters seeking to strengthen their artistic voice, create more compelling compositions, and develop a deeper understanding of how studies and suggestion work together to elevate their paintings.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Vlad Milan Duchev
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This two-day workshop explores how artists can use limited palettes, dominant color relationships, and value structure to create landscape paintings with greater mood, atmosphere, and emotional impact. Through demonstrations, discussion, and hands-on painting exercises, students will learn how simplifying color choices can create stronger design, clearer visual statements, and more expressive paintings. Student Level: Open to painters with prior experience (beginner through advanced). This workshop is not intended for absolute beginners with no painting experience. Medium: Oil is preferred; however, painters working in other media are welcome provided they have prior experience in their chosen medium.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Mark Vander Vinne
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Every strong painting begins with a thoughtful foundation. In this one-day workshop, students will first explore applying transparent patches of vibrant color to the painting surface, creating an energetic underpainting that adds excitement and provides color relationships to build upon throughout the process. From there, we'll establish transparent darks to define the value structure, composition, and overall color harmony. You'll learn to mix a variety of rich, colorful darks while connecting dark shapes to dark shapes and light shapes to light shapes, creating visual pathways that guide the viewer's eye through the painting. Once the design is established, we'll transition to thicker, opaque light passages, bringing the painting to life with clarity, unity, and luminous color.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Fred Jackson
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

During this two-day color class students will learn how to skillfully mix oil paint through guided mixing exercises and how to better apply these ideas to one's own paintings. We will work also with a variety of palettes and explore how each one can influence color relationships and expression in a painting. Through hands-on exercises, demos, and lectures, color will become easier to use and to understand. This class is for any oil painter- advanced beginner to advanced- who would like to become more confident with color control and mixing, and learn to use different palettes and approaches to color theory. Acrylic can be accommodated if one has a “stay-wet” palette set-up.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Claudia Rilling
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Paint loose and intuitive in a workshop where color, shape and line come together to make impactful designs inspired by your color palette and your style of brushwork. Students will work on various small color studies (4 x 6 or 6 x 8) at first to determine color palette and choose a favorite composition to paint larger the second half of the day (11x 14 or 16 x 20). This is a day for those who move away from painting objects or landscapes to emphasize feeling and movement.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Abby Ober
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Patrick Lee takes a unique creative approach to making paintings in the studio and en plein air. He draws heavily on intuition and imagination to develop an image, often altering the drawing, color, and spatial relationships to create a mood and express a feeling about the subject. This often leads to strong elements of abstraction and suggestion in his work, rather than explicit detail. This gives the viewer an opportunity to connect with each piece in their own way, inviting them to let their own imaginations make personal associations and connections. This two-day workshop focuses on painting interiors from photographic and memory references, as well as establishing a mood through lighting, color, and composition.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Patrick Lee
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553