This tree painting workshop dives into tree structure and how to capture a tree's personality in painting. We will focus on building the tree's gesture, capturing its shape and movement, and understanding how its foliage integrates into the larger form. Our goal is to learn how to generalize the tree's structure and capture its essence without getting bogged down in minute details. The class will include lots of one-on-one instruction and a lecture exploring how both historical and contemporary painters approach tree construction. Instead of aiming for finished paintings, we'll do several small studies to solidify our understanding of trees and how we can communicate their individual character. Some painting experience would be helpful. Students are free to work in oil or acrylic.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Claire Haik
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This one-day workshop teaches participants techniques for creating varied edges in their painting. You'll learn how edge adjustments can enhance visual impact, guide the viewer’s focus, and build dynamic compositions. We will explore how factors like atmosphere, light, values, color, motion, textures, and form create opportunities for different edges in our paintings. All skill levels welcome. Bring photo references. Students can work in oil, acrylic, or gouache.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Fred Jackson
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

The two-day workshop will explore the problem of depicting the meeting of indoor and outdoor light. A figure will pose on successive days in one of the center’s classrooms framed by a window view. On the first day, we will do two (or more) small paintings to vigorously achieve the silhouette energy released in the meeting of two lights of different color and degree. On the second day, the workshop will stretch out on a slightly larger image for an all-day picture. Part of the interest of this day’s study is to develop the detail and incident within the governing fields of light and shadow. The hope is to gain insight into how all light-based images generate structures more suggestive of spaces than things.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Scott Noel
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Paint from a life model in long, multi-class poses to develop and refine your figure painting compositions. Extended poses will allow students to adjust and resolve issues of surface, color, and composition. Instruction will cover a variety of topics including glazing, broken color, surface texture, composition and design, the relationship of the figure to the environment, the creation of atmosphere and color harmony, disrupted realism, and open- versus closed-form painting. All levels welcome. Instruction will be geared toward oil, but students are welcome to draw-only, or use other appropriate media, if they wish. Note: Tuition includes a $35 models fee.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: David Wilson
Cost: $330
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

I will lead you through the process of capturing the overall essence of a particular place and will cover techniques to render the changing light and everyday development in the plein air setting. We will focus on a few key factors including drawing with color shapes, breaking down the motif into a minimum number of color values, the importance of edge quality, and the use of editing. I will conduct a quick painting demo highlighting the feel of the location and to help students with an idea of execution. The objective will be to lay in the whole underpainting, then we will break it down and reconstruct it through the layering process. We will conclude the painting workshop with a group critique.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Charles Newman
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This workshop will focus on “seeing” accurate color in the skin tones and color mixing, while painting from a live model. We will look at how “light on form” breaks down into simple relative values, how the values affect the color chroma and temperature, and how the color of the light source affects the local color. Instructor will demonstrate how to use a chromatic palette of colors to mix the right value as well as beautiful, luminous skin tones. We will use a grey toned surface so that we can paint directly with color after doing a simple block in. Students can choose whether they want to focus on the portrait or the figure. One-on-one feedback at your easels in a supportive, friendly atmosphere.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Ellen Cooper
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Join Jan for this still life workshop working in oils, alla prima style; wet on wet. Students will learn to build paintings with luminous color starting with transparent colors and building towards opaques. Students are encouraged to paint what they love, bringing objects from home to build their own still life arrangements. A personal excitement or connection to an item whether it be a color, subject or personal story, helps the artist create a work that is truly their own. Instructor will provide some items as well for students to work with. Students will be working from life, no photos for this class.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Jan Wier
Cost: $250
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Cultivate fluid mark-making and bold approaches to subject matter through rapid and loose painting studies. Tight and precise painting, especially in the early stages of an artwork, can sometimes lead to work that appears stiff and over-labored, or to locked-in compositions that are difficult to change. Working from the still life, cityscapes, and the life model, utilize short, small painting exercises to learn new ways of starting paintings, keeping compositions open to adjustment, and retaining a sense of freshness in your forms and brushstrokes. Instruction will address color mixing, painting materials and methodologies, and the importance of cultivating viable methods for growth in your painting practice. Discover the beauty and freedom of loosening up your painting! Tuition includes a $15 models fee.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Roger Chavez
Cost: $310
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

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. You can use oil paint, acrylic paint, gouache or pastel.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Peter Van Dyck
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This workshop will concentrate on painting one of the most beautiful and challenging aspects of a tree: its trunk and branches. Trunks are rarely perfectly round; instead, their surfaces present a combination of flat planes and rounded forms that interlock together. The pattern of its branches, roots and rippling bark tell each tree’s life story. Our goal in this class is to simplify the tree's structure and capture its essence as effectively as possible. We will describe tree trunks using intentional brush marks and explore how small adjustments in color and value will bend branches into the foreground and background. The class will include lots of one-on-one instruction and a lecture exploring how both historical and contemporary painters approach tree construction.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Claire Haik
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Wondering what Water Mixable Oil paints are all about? During this one-day intensive workshop, Beth shares her unique technique with students. In the morning Beth will do a demo and show how she uses photography and simple apps on her phone to simplify forms enhance value and emphasize composition. She will also discuss how to pick objects that make an exciting still life set up. Beth will have paint for her students to try as well as one of her prepared painting panels, brushes and other supplies. This workshop is for all level of painters - from beginners to returnees. If you have taken a workshop from Beth before, consider taking this one as we work from an actual still life setup (fruit).
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Beth Bathe
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Highly reflective and transparent/translucent surfaces, such as metal and glass, can be a challenge for oil painters to represent accurately: distortions, abrupt shifts in value, and color influences by surrounding objects can make it difficult for the artist to discern what they are actually seeing or how to capture these effects. Through straightforward demonstrations, learn logical step-by-step approaches for painting each of these challenging subjects, and follow up with hands-on practice working from glass- and metal-themed still life arrangements. Prior drawing and painting experience strongly recommended. Note: This workshop is designed for oil painters, but acrylic painters are also welcome.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan
Cost: $195
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

This class will explore the process of working in the studio from photographs - looking at both historic and contemporary examples, as well as class demonstrations and individual instruction. We will sort through the inherent strengths and weaknesses of using the photograph as the basis for a painting. Jon will also discuss ways to manipulate your photos with the iPhone and how to choose the best photos from which to work.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Jon Redmond
Cost: $240
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Through demos, discussions and class work, I will help you understand how your material choices and aesthetic decisions can greatly affect the direction and outcome of your work.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Jon Redmond
Cost: $240
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Water: It’s all around us -- streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, atmospheric effects, and more. It's a key ingredient in watercolor painting, regardless of the subject matter. But how does the artist create the illusion of water in a painting, regardless of the medium? This two-day workshop will present key tactics an artist can employ when painting bodies of water. Examine the nature of reflections, water movement, how water appears under various weather and lighting conditions, and more. Instruction includes demonstrations and a review of the ways master artists historically have portrayed water in their paintings over the years. Open to all levels. Demonstrations will be conducted in watercolor, but instruction presents valuable information for painters of all media.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: James Toogood
Cost: $225
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

This workshop will focus on understanding color temperature, its ability to bring vitality to the painted surface as well as its use as a powerful tool in identifying and controlling color in your work. Students can work from still life or photo references and in any medium, however, oil painting will be the primary focus. Daily demos will be followed by individual instruction and general discussion.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Jon Redmond
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This oil painting workshop looks at how to find rhythm and tension in a single-object still life, and also how to structure and organize a very complex still life. What are the principles and practical methods of creating a meaningful composition out of random objects? How does one discover complexity in a single object? A strong observational painting is about the shapes, forces, energies and responses arising from how we see, in both a physical and emotional way. This is not a question of technique or ‘style’ – it’s about seeing, making choices and understanding what is important to lead the eye around the rectangle in a way that is both seen and felt. Previous painting experience needed.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Maggie Siner
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This workshop will focus on working though the complexities of oil painting while studying the light, form and space of a small scaled still life. Each student will set up their own subject and work at their own pace.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Jon Redmond
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Join floral designer Jennifer Reed and artist Jan Wier for a workshop blending winter floral design with expressive floral painting. Jennifer will guide students in creating a seasonal floral arrangement perfect for the holidays—think fragrant evergreens, rich winter florals, textural berries, and natural elements that evoke the warmth and beauty of winter. You'll leave the morning session with your own lush, winter-inspired centerpiece. After lunch, we'll turn our attention to painting. Using your own floral creation as inspiration, Jan will begin with a demo and then offer personalized instruction as you bring your arrangement to life on canvas. This session focuses on capturing the color, movement, and mood of winter florals in a loose, expressive painting style—perfect for all experience levels.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Jennifer Reed & Jan Wier
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Distance contributes to the beauty of a scene and this workshop will focus on this goal by guiding you in expressing an atmospheric perspective from an image of your own. Mountain views, farmland or water views are some ideas to look for. Learn to make certain decisions, establishing deep space to create the most impact on your viewer. Inspiration from master and contemporary painters will be shared and discussed and Abby will provide individual attention throughout the day. Oil or Acrylic experience required.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Abby Ober
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Get to the heart of your authentic work and your personal style by: - Making a lot of work (Quantity over Quality - This quiets the internal critic and gives our unique ideas a chance to breathe). - Having a deadline (The best antidote to procrastination and “waiting for inspiration”). - Focusing on process over product. I'll do a demo of a painting for the first half of each day, with the students painting the second half of the day. Attendees may use oils or acrylics. Students should bring their own photos or still life objects to work from.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Patrick Lee
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553